Southern Baptists meet, trying to combat stagnation

''I'm tired of having my membership in a convention that's declining," he said in a presidential address on the opening day of the Southern Baptists' annual meeting in Orlando, Fla., on Tuesday (June 15).

''I'm tired of not putting the priority in reaching teenagers for Jesus Christ. I'm tired of being hammered over and over again about money instead of the mission in Jesus' name. Let's get a compelling vision that people would want to give more money to."

Taking up that charge will be Bryant Wright, senior pastor of a church in Marietta, Ga., who beat out three other candidates to succeed Hunt as the SBC's next president. Wright, 57, also is founder of Right From the Heart Ministries, a broadcast and Internet ministry focused on evangelism.

Hunt's remarks came as delegates spent more than two hours debating whether to adopt a "Great Commission Resurgence Task Force" report, which was later adopted by a clear majority.

The report noted that the number of teenagers baptized by Southern Baptists has dropped from 140,000 in 1970 to 75,000 in 2008, and said the average Southern Baptist gives 2.5 percent of his or her annual income to local and wider church causes.

Though Baptists have long been committed to Jesus' command to make disciples in all nations, there was deep division among members of the 16.1 million-member denomination over the report's recommendations.

Critics cautioned the report's recommendations could have detrimental effects on Southern Baptist agencies, including cutting the budget of its Executive Committee and changing the way state Baptist conventions work with the denomination's domestic mission board.