--- type: newsletter-issue title: State of the Church Today — Issue 06 issue: 6 date: 2026-07-05 audience: Pastors & Elders status: draft created: 2026-07-05T07:00 updated: 2026-07-05T07:03 --- # State of the Church Today *A weekly digest of Southern Baptist, Reformed, and broader theological news — curated for pastors and elders.* **Issue 06 · Sunday, July 5, 2026** > The White House Religious Liberty Commission has released a 224-page draft report recommending twelve federal actions — including repeal of the Johnson Amendment — with public comment open only through July 13; meanwhile the SBC's longest-serving seminary president prepares to hand off the reins, and the OPC quietly stands up a study committee on race. --- ## ⛪ SBC & Convention Watch *Annual meeting, entities, ERLC, resolutions, denominational politics.* **Akin's 22-year tenure at Southeastern ends this month.** Daniel Akin retires as president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary on July 31 after 22 years — the longest presidency in the school's history — handing off to Scott Pace, unanimously elected as the seminary's seventh president. Akin will carry the title president emeritus, serve as a Southeastern ambassador, and continue teaching preaching and theology part-time. A significant leadership transition at one of the SBC's flagship institutions; worth watching how Pace stewards the "Great Commission seminary" identity Akin cultivated. — [Baptist Press](https://www.baptistpress.com/resource-library/news/danny-akin-announces-retirement/) · [Southeastern Seminary](https://www.sebts.edu/akin-retirement/) **African American fellowship presses for more dialogue on the Truth & Unity amendment.** The National African American Fellowship — nearly 4,000 churches and missions — has called for extended conversation before the Truth & Unity amendment (barring cooperation with churches affirming a woman in the office or function of pastor) returns for its decisive second vote in 2027. NAAF grieved "the lack of meaningful, open dialogue leading up to this monumental shift," noting the roughly 25% who voted against it. New NAAF president Jerome Coleman plans board discussions and recorded panels for the wider convention. A reminder that even settled-seeming votes carry pastoral and relational weight across the SBC's diverse fellowship. — [Baptist Press](https://www.baptistpress.com/resource-library/news/african-american-fellowship-calls-for-extended-dialogue-on-truth-unity-amendment/) · [Baptist Standard](https://baptiststandard.com/news/baptists/african-american-fellowship-urges-dialogue-on-truth-unity-amendment/) **Southwestern back in full accreditation compliance.** Following action by the SACSCOC board on June 11, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary is now in full compliance with all accreditation expectations, president David Dockery announced — closing a chapter on years of institutional crisis. Baptist Press framed it as the seminary "finding its path" after a turbulent decade. Good news for a school that supplies pastors to many of our churches, and a case study in slow institutional recovery. — [Baptist Press](https://www.baptistpress.com/resource-library/news/after-years-of-crisis-southwestern-baptist-theological-seminary-finds-its-path/) --- ## 📖 Reformed & Confessional *Reformed Baptist, Presbyterian (PCA/OPC), confessional churches and networks.* **The OPC's 92nd Assembly stands up a study committee on race.** Meeting June 3–9 at Geneva College, the Orthodox Presbyterian Church joined its sister NAPARC churches in publicly affirming a commitment to "condemn without distinction any theological or political teaching which posits a superiority of race or ethnic identity," and established a Study Committee on Race. The Assembly also called the churches to a season of prayer and fasting the week of September 13, pleading with the Lord of the harvest for more ministers. Alongside the PCA's Christian nationalism report, this is the second Reformed body in a month to speak formally against ethnic partiality — a coordinated confessional witness worth noting. — [OPC](https://opc.org/GA/92nd_GA_rpt.html) · [Heidelblog](https://heidelblog.net/2026/06/a-retrospective-of-the-2026-opc-general-assembly/) --- ## 🕊️ Theology & Doctrine *Major debates, books, controversies, council and committee statements.* **A book-length counter to the nationalism reports arrives.** Stephen Wolfe, Zachary Garris, and Sean McGowan's *Reformed Christian Politics* (Berith Press) presents an alternative Reformed political theory built on the American revisions to the Westminster Confession and 18th–19th-century American Presbyterians, arguing that "civil government must promote true religion." Circulating during the PCA's General Assembly as that body advanced a report rejecting Christian nationalism, it frames the live fault line: whether religious liberty is chiefly freedom of conscience to worship or a call to a religiously neutral state. Whatever one concludes, the debate is now well-supplied with primary sources — useful reading before the conversation reaches your own officers. — [American Reformer](https://americanreformer.org/2026/05/review-of-reformed-christian-politics/) · [TruthScript](https://truthscript.com/reviews/book-review-reformed-christian-politics/) --- ## 🏛️ Culture & Church-State *Religious liberty, ethics, politics affecting the church, cultural engagement.* **Trump's Religious Liberty Commission delivers its draft report.** The White House Religious Liberty Commission, chaired by Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, delivered a 224-page draft report to the president this week — the fruit of a yearlong study ordered by a May 2025 executive order. Its twelve recommendations include repealing the Johnson Amendment (which limits political activity by tax-exempt churches), religious-liberty violation reporting hotlines, expanded DOJ guidance, protections for military religious objectors, and a call to "rethink" the separation of church and state. Critics — including several interfaith and civil-liberties groups — charge the commission is tilted toward Christian nationalism, and its makeup is being challenged in court. The draft is open for public comment through July 13. Pastors should read it directly rather than through headlines; the Johnson Amendment proposal in particular carries real implications for how churches engage politics. — [DOJ](https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/president-trumps-religious-liberty-commission-delivers-historic-report-draft) · [Religion Unplugged](https://religionunplugged.com/news/2026/7/1/trump-ordered-religious-liberty-commission-issues-first-draft-report-heres-what-they-found) · [Deseret News](https://www.deseret.com/politics/2026/07/01/trump-religious-liberty-commission-wants-americans-to-rethink-separation-of-church-and-state/) --- ## 🔥 Also Worth Noting *Notable controversy and media shake-ups — reported with discernment, not appetite.* **A Michigan pastor charged in a hidden-camera case.** Joshua VanderKlok, formerly of Resurrection Life Church in Holland, Michigan, has been charged with six felonies after allegedly placing a hidden camera; an investigator testified he admitted doing so because it gave him a "connection" to the alleged victim. A preliminary examination is set for July 29. A sober reminder — as the summer's steady drip of clergy-misconduct cases continues — that safeguarding, accountability, and clear reporting structures are not bureaucratic overhead but shepherding. — [The Roys Report](https://roysreport.com/michigan-pastor-charged-with-six-felonies-in-hidden-camera-case/) --- ## 🧭 For the Elder's Desk *A pastoral takeaway for your leadership team this week.* > Two of this week's stories concern government and the church's political engagement — the Religious Liberty Commission's proposals and the fresh Reformed argument over whether the magistrate should promote true religion. Both invite a congregation to conflate the kingdom's advance with a legislative agenda. A question for your elders: *If the Johnson Amendment were repealed tomorrow and our church were free to endorse candidates from the pulpit, would we? What does our answer reveal about where we locate our hope — and how carefully are we guarding the pulpit for the proclamation of Christ crucified rather than a partisan program?* --- *State of the Church Today · Compiled July 5, 2026. Reply with corrections or tips. Forward to a fellow elder.*