Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) President Willy Rice is currently calling for the denomination to get in consideration about adding a new article to the Baptist Faith & Message addressing marriage, gender and human sexuality.
Rice presented this proposal during his first ever address to the SBC Executive Committee as the convention president on September 21, 2026, in Nashville. He said cultural or modern changes surrounding marriage and humans identity have created what Rice described as a confusion that Southern Baptists needs to address through their statement of faith.
He specifically asked the Executive Committee to consider recommending an amendment that would affirm the Southern Baptist understanding of marriage as the union of one man and one woman and state that God created humanity as male and female.
The proposed language would clearly represent an addition to the Baptist Faith & Message 2000, that reportedly serves as the Southern Baptist Convention’s doctrinal statement. Rice further cleared the air that, he would like the new article to be modeled partly on a statement adopted by First Baptist Church of Jacksonville, Florida, in 2022.
While still presenting his thoughts, Rice argued that changing cultural definitions do not change what Southern Baptists understand to be biblical truth. He also clarified that the proposal would communicate the denomination’s position to both people outside the SBC and to Southern Baptists themselves.
The proposal is still at an early stage. According to Baptist Press, the SBC Executive Committee is expected to vote in February on whether to recommend bringing the amendment before messengers at the 2027 SBC Annual Meeting in Indianapolis. If eventually presented, the amendment would require approval by two-thirds of messengers in two consecutive years before becoming part of the Baptist Faith & Message.
Rice’s proposal also comes alongside with his support for the Truth and Unity Amendment, which concerns the definition and function of pastors within cooperating Southern Baptist churches. That amendment received initial approval at the 2026 SBC Annual Meeting and is scheduled for another possible vote in 2027.
