This week in Christian history: Charles Stanley elected SBC president, HR Mackintosh dies, Benjamin Bosworth Smith born
Charles Stanley elected SBC president – June 12, 1984
This week marks the anniversary of when Charles Stanley, the late pastor and author known for his In Touch Ministries broadcasts, was elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention at the denomination's Annual Meeting in Kansas City, Missouri.
Nominated by Jerry Vines of Florida, Stanley was elected on the first ballot, receiving 7,692 votes, or 52.18% of the vote. Behind him was John Sullivan of Louisiana with 3,174 votes (21.53%) and Grady Cothen of Mississippi with 3,874 votes (26.28%).
Stanley’s election was an important victory for the Conservative Resurgence, a movement within the SBC that had begun in the 1970s which sought to remove theologically liberal ideas from the convention.
In his 2016 autobiography Courageous Faith, Stanley recounted that his election “infuriated the opposition” and “revealed many of the underlying problems that had existed in the convention for a long time.”
“All the liberal and moderate political forces of the Southern Baptist Convention were against me, which included seminary presidents and state convention newspapers,” wrote Stanley.
Despite this, Stanley added, “I knew I was in the center of His will, so I never felt anxious or angry even when the conflicts were at their very worst.”
Stanley was reelected president the following year at the SBC's Annual Meeting in Dallas, Texas.
