--- type: newsletter-issue title: State of the Church Today — Issue 01 issue: 1 date: 2026-06-08 audience: Pastors & Elders status: draft created: 2026-06-08T23:06 updated: 2026-06-09T08:15 --- # State of the Church Today *A weekly digest of Southern Baptist, Reformed, and broader theological news — curated for pastors and elders.* **Issue 01 · Monday, June 8, 2026** > All eyes turn to Orlando this week: the SBC Annual Meeting convenes June 9–10, with Al Mohler's revised "Truth & Unity Amendment" on women in the pastoral office set to be the flashpoint, a two-man presidential race, and a new ERLC president stepping onto the stage for the first time. --- ## ⛪ SBC & Convention Watch *Annual meeting, entities, ERLC, resolutions, denominational politics.* **The Annual Meeting opens tomorrow in Orlando.** Messengers gather June 9–10 at the Orange County Convention Center. The Tuesday morning session also marks the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence — expect a patriotic note woven through the program. — [Baptist Press](https://www.baptistpress.com/resource-library/news/2026-sbc-annual-meeting-schedule-released/) **Mohler's "Truth & Unity Amendment" is the story to watch.** Al Mohler is bringing a sixth criterion to Article III stating a cooperating church "does not act to affirm, appoint, or endorse a woman serving in the office or function of a pastor/elder/overseer." His late revision swapped "such as" for "specifically" to tighten the language. After three years of failed "Law Amendment" attempts, this is the fourth run at constitutionalizing the complementarian line — and even if it passes, it needs a second affirming vote in 2027. — [Christian Post](https://www.christianpost.com/news/al-mohler-to-propose-sbc-constitutional-ban-on-female-pastors.html) · [Baptist Report](https://baptistreport.substack.com/p/as-the-2026-sbc-annual-meeting-convenes) **A two-man presidential race.** Florida pastor Willy Rice (Calvary Church, Clearwater) and South Carolina pastor Josh Powell (Taylors First Baptist) are the announced nominees. Both confirmed candidates have voiced support for Mohler's amendment, so the presidential vote and the Article III debate will read together. — [Baptist Press](https://www.baptistpress.com/resource-library/news/florida-pastor-willy-rice-to-be-nominated-for-sbc-president-in-orlando/) · [Baptist Standard](https://baptiststandard.com/news/baptists/josh-powell-candidate-for-sbc-president/) **New ERLC president debuts.** Evan Lenow, elected unanimously by trustees in April, assumed the ERLC presidency June 1 and will step into the annual-meeting spotlight for the first time — a notable moment given how close messengers came to defunding the entity in recent years. — [ERLC](https://erlc.com/press/dr-evan-lenow-elected-to-serve-as-erlc-president/) **Resolutions slate spans church and culture.** President Clint Pressley's committee has released resolutions on the office of the pastor and disability ministry alongside immigration, political violence, and artificial intelligence. Debate is scheduled across both days. — [Baptist Press](https://www.baptistpress.com/resource-library/news/resolutions-committee-releases-slate-for-2026-sbc-annual-meeting/) --- ## 📖 Reformed & Confessional *Reformed Baptist, Presbyterian (PCA/OPC), confessional churches and networks.* **PCA heads to Louisville with a record overture load.** The Presbyterian Church in America's 53rd General Assembly convenes June 22–26 at the Kentucky International Convention Center — a record number of overtures tendered, two active study committees (one on Christian nationalism, one on the Directory of Worship), and Kevin DeYoung slated to preach. Watch whether either committee brings recommendations to the floor. — [byFaith](https://byfaithonline.com/5-pca-stories-were-tracking-in-2026/) · [Heidelblog overture preview](https://heidelblog.net/2026/05/2026-pca-overtures-a-simplified-preview/) --- ## 🕊️ Theology & Doctrine *Major debates, books, controversies, council and committee statements.* **The "can Baptists be Reformed?" debate keeps simmering.** The perennial intramural question — whether confessional credobaptists belong inside the Reformed tradition or merely borrow its soteriology — drew fresh writing this winter, including a Christianity Today review engaging the toughest challenges to Reformed theology. Useful framing if the conversation surfaces in your own context. — [Christianity Today](https://www.christianitytoday.com/2026/02/able-reply-toughest-challenges-generously-reformed-theology-review/) --- ## 🏛️ Culture & Church-State *Religious liberty, ethics, politics affecting the church, cultural engagement.* **Interfaith coalition sues over the federal Religious Liberty Commission.** A challenge brought by Interfaith Alliance, Muslims for Progressive Values, the Sikh American Legal Defense Fund, and Hindus for Human Rights targets the commission created by Executive Order 14291, arguing its near-exclusively Christian membership and "Judeo-Christian nation" framing cross constitutional lines. A live test of how the church-state debate is playing out under the current administration. — [Interfaith Alliance](https://www.interfaithalliance.org/post/diverse-faith-leaders-groups-unite-to-challenge-administrations-biased-so-called-religious-liberty-commission) --- ## 🔥 Also Worth Noting *Notable controversy and media shake-ups — reported with discernment, not appetite.* **Christianity Today's editorial realignment keeps shedding staff.** Continued turnover has followed Marvin Olasky's move into the editor-in-chief seat, with a senior news editor resigning over "significant disagreements with the new leadership, practical and philosophical." It caps a turbulent stretch for the magazine — which also publicly rebuffed an unsolicited $10M acquisition bid from Doug Wilson's Canon Press — and is a window into the broader realignment underway in evangelical media. — [Baptist News Global](https://baptistnews.com/article/more-turnover-at-christianity-today/) · [The Roys Report](https://roysreport.com/christianity-today-rejects-10-million-buy-out-offer-by-doug-wilson-affiliated-publisher/) --- ## 🧭 For the Elder's Desk *A pastoral takeaway for your leadership team this week.* > Much of this week's news is about boundary-drawing — what makes a church "cooperating," what makes a Baptist "Reformed," what makes a nation's posture toward faith just. Boundaries matter; faithful shepherds guard the flock's doctrine. But the same week hands us a caution: the appetite for controversy can outrun the love that's supposed to drive the discipline. As you track Orlando, a question for your elders: *Where are we contending for truth out of love for Christ's people, and where might we be contending simply because contending feels like faithfulness?* --- *State of the Church Today · Compiled June 8, 2026. Reply with corrections or tips. Forward to a fellow elder.*