A local pastor traveled to Maryland this week to attend the Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting.

Greg Warnock, pastor at First Baptist Church Brookhaven, said the conference was a great experience with more than 5,000 messengers present from churches across the country. The theme, “Restoration and Revival through Prayer,” came from Psalms 80:18-19, which says “So will not we go back from thee: quicken us, and we will call upon thy name. Turn us again, O Lord God of hosts, cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved” (KJV).

Warnock said the SBC president Fred Luter Jr. preached a dynamic message about repentance and forgiveness so that Christians can experience true revival and restoration.

The SBC also elected the next president, Ronnie Floyd of Arkansas. The runner up was a Korean pastor from Maryland with over 40 percent of the vote. Warnock said that and the fact that Luter was the first African American SBC president shows the purpose of the Southern Baptists.

“It’s showing a desire to be more diverse to reflect the world we’re trying to reach,” he said.

This year, the SBC passed some resolutions but none were not controversial among attendees.

Warnock pointed out a few that stood out to him. The first was a resolution recognizing the sufficiency of the Bible in affirming the afterlife. He said it was a response to popular books about people who have claimed to have experienced the afterlife and returned to life.

He said they also resolved to oppose all cultural claims to transgender identity. The reasoning is that God’s plan is always the correct one.

Finally, they passed a resolution acknowledging the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act in July.

“We will continue to call on all Christian men and women,” he said.

He said they will look toward a future will racial prejudice will be no more.

Warnock clarified that a resolution by the SBC requires no action. A resolution is simply an expression of opinion that the convention either confirms or denies.

Warnock also said the International Mission Board was recognized for supporting over 5,000 Southern Baptist missionaries. Also over the past three years, the IMB has reached 919 unengaged, unreached people groups.

“It is the greatest number of UUPG in Christian missionary history,” he said. “Our international mission work is going really well.”

While in Baltimore, Warnock and his wife, Terri, were able to sightsee some of the historic landmarks and taste the famous Maryland crab cakes.

“Even though Maryland is known for their crabcakes,” Warnock said, “they’re not as good as the crab cakes at Porches in Wesson, Mississippi, and that’s the truth.”