SBC Executive Committee elects officers, affirms budget

ORLANDO, Fla. (BP)—The Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee reelected Anthony (Tony) Dockery as chairman June 8, along with a full slate of officers and committee chairs in a meeting focused on God and aimed at serving the SBC with accountability and a streamlined budget.

Dockery, pastor of St. Stephen Baptist Church in La Puente, Calif., was elected to a second term along with Vice Chairman Adam Wyatt, pastor of Bethel Baptist Church in Monticello, Miss., both uncontested.

Kathryn (Katie) Creery, children’s director at Central Baptist Church in Warner Robins, Ga., was elected secretary, stepping into the role Nancy Spalding fulfilled for the maximum two years.

Newly elected standing committee chairs, all uncontested and promoted from vice chair in their respective committees, are Dean Inserra, lead pastor of the City Church in Tallahassee, Fla., chair of the Committee on Southern Baptist Relations; and Corey Cain, lead pastor of Seymour First Baptist Church in Seymour, Tenn., chair of the Committee on Convention Events and Strategic Planning.

Also elected were Sarah Rogers of Greenville, S.C., women’s ministry coordinator for the Pillar Network, chair of the Committee on Convention Missions and Ministry; and David Twiddy, a Florida civil engineer, chair of the Committee on Convention Finance and Stewardship.

Executive Committee members approved all items unanimously, including a vote to recommend to 2026 SBC annual meeting messengers a 2026-2027 SBC comprehensive budget that will grant to the International Mission Board 51 percent of Cooperative Program national receipts.

Executive Committee president’s report

“The recommendation is significantly different than last year’s budget in two ways,” Iorg told the Executive Committee in his president’s report.

“First, the new budget does not contain any priority allocation to the Executive Committee for legal or operational expenses. Second, the new budget allocates 51 percent of our national Cooperative Program budget to the International Mission Board. These two changes will shift more than $2 million in new funding to the International Mission Board beginning in October 2026.”

The changes will lead the Executive Committee in particular to consider cost-cutting measures, Iorg said, while praising all entities for making sacrifices to achieve the budget mandate benefitting IMB that messengers approved more than a decade ago.

“These changes are only possible because entity presidents came together to make them happen. Every [Southern Baptist Convention] entity that receives Cooperative Program funding, the ERLC (Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission), North American Mission Board, and all six seminaries agreed to reduce their allocation, so more money can be sent to the IMB,” Iorg said.

“The Executive Committee is making the largest contribution, both foregoing any further priority allocation and reducing our standard CP allocation by about $660,000, or about 12 percent of our previous allocation,” he continued.

With special priority allocation funds and decreased legal fees, the Southern Baptist Convention and Executive Committee budgets are fully funded, Iorg said, adding the changes have implications for the Executive Committee.

“We will be considering options like reducing compensation and benefits, curtailing some ministry efforts, increasing fees for services, and looking for efficiencies in every department,” Iorg told trustees.

“The convention has mandated these changes as reflected in their decisions over the past five years related to minimizing the influence of the Executive Committee. In response, we must streamline operations and focus more narrowly on our core functions,” Iorg added.

Leadership and budget updates

Trustees approved an Executive Committee accountability letter, required in the new Business and Financial Plan messengers approved in 2025. Iorg described the letter, drafted by the Committee on Convention Finance and Stewardship Development, as a “thorough description of how the Executive Committee has complied with the expectations of the convention for its business, financial, and legal operations.”

The Executive Committee commended incoming entity leaders including ERLC President Evan Lenow, Lifeway Christian Resources President Ryan Blackwell, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary President Scott Pace, and retiring SEBTS President Danny Akin.

In other business, the Executive Committee:

• received as information the 2025-2026 SBC cooperative program allocation budget report ending March 31 and showing receipts of $95,156,447, a 0.16 percent increase over the same period in 2025;
• received as information the 2025-2026 Executive Committee and SBC operating budget report, showing a total and positive change in net assets of $2,547,926;
• approved the Committee on Convention Missions and Ministry’s recommendation to nominate Janine Sanchez to serve a three-year term on the SBC Credentials Committee.