June 17, 2021

Chairman Rolland Slade
Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention
901 Commerce St.
Nashville, TN 37201

Mr. Chairman:

With gratitude for the opportunity to serve Southern Baptists as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Southern Baptist Convention, I hereby tender my resignation, effective June 30, 2021.

This week, the messengers to the 2021 SBC Annual Meeting have authorized a Task Force to oversee an investigation of the Executive Committee’s handling of sex abuse since 2000. In that motion, the convention has requested that the Executive Committee waive attorney client privilege if that is outlined by a third party investigator within the range of “best practices.”

During the annual meeting, I attempted to persuade the motion’s authors, Dr. Grant Gaines and Dr. Ronnie Parrott, that the motion was an unwise move that could open a Pandora’s box of legal, ethical, structural, and insurance challenges for the Southern Baptist Convention. These pastors were within their right to press the motion, and the messengers spoke clearly.

Given this action, I am unable to perform my fiduciary service to the Executive Committee. I simply cannot execute a messenger action that I believe to be deleterious to our missionary enterprise. That said, I pledge my full cooperation with the Task Force and pray that your work will bring justice where it is demanded, forgiveness where it is needed, and unity where it is lacking.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve Southern Baptists in these recent months.

Sincerely,

Ronnie W. Floyd