Generally, the process described in the SBC Bylaws is as follows: 1) The president of the Southern Baptist Convention appoints the Committee on Committees, 2) The Committee on Committees nominates the Committee on Nominations [two members from each qualified state or region] to the messengers attending the next annual meeting of the Convention, 3) During the following year the Committee on Nominations reviews the qualification of potential nominees to fill SBC trustee and committee vacancies whose names are brought to their attention by interested Southern Baptists, 4) The Committee on Nominations nominates to the messengers attending the next annual meeting of the Convention those nominees they believe to be most worthy of election, and 5) The Convention then elects its trustees and committee members for terms stipulated by the bylaws of the Convention and other appropriate governing documents [for detailed information read SBC Bylaw 19, Committee on Committees, and SBC Bylaw 15, Committee on Nominations, which may be found in the SBC Annual, SBC Book of Reports, or on SBC.net at http://www.sbc.net/aboutus/legal/bylaws.asp ].

The members of the Committee on Nominations serve for only one year, meeting together just once, in early March. The chairman of the committee is nominated by the Committee on Committees and is elected by the Convention. In the fall of each year, information packets about open positions and qualifications required are mailed to each member of the Committee on Nominations from the offices of the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention, and the committee begins gathering the names of potentially qualified nominees from a variety of sources. The committee divides its work up by assigning the task of collecting appropriate nominees from a particular state or region to the committee members from that state or region. While it is true that names are often submitted by "recognizable" figures in Southern Baptist life, it should by no means be presumed that one must hold an official office to submit a name to the committee. Said more simply, any member of a Southern Baptist church may submit a name to the committee for consideration. The committee members have begun enlisting names to consider for the trustee and committee vacancies that will occur effective at the end of the SBC Annual Meeting in June of each year, so now is an appropriate time to suggest nominees to them.

Therefore, if you hear a fellow Southern Baptist ask the question, "Can I participate in the process by recommending a name or names to one or both members of the Committee on Nominations from my state?" your answer should be an unqualified, "Yes!"

The requirements to serve as a trustee on an SBC entity board are printed in SBC Bylaw 15, Committee on Nominations. One important criterion states, "The committee shall recognize the principle that the persons it recommends shall represent the constituency of the Convention, rather than the staff of the entity" [SBC Bylaw 15 (E)]. The Committee on Nominations traditionally has ranked two characteristics extremely high among those they have used to select appropriate persons for service from the pool of qualified candidates. Those two important characteristics are 1) whether the candidate embraces the Baptist Faith and Message as the representative confession of faith among Southern Baptists and 2) whether the candidate’s home church has regularly given a substantial percentage of its undesignated receipts through the Cooperative Program.

To assist you in nominating members of the Committee on Order of Business, you should know that it presently is the only standing committee in the Southern Baptist Convention. Members of the Committee on Order of Business may be nominated from any qualified state. There are seven members on the committee including the president of the Convention. Two of the six other members are elected each year for a three-year term and no member can succeed himself or herself. For detailed information, read SBC Bylaw 21, Committee on Order of Business.

If you wish to submit a recommendation when the Committee on Nominations is ready, consider the following items, 1) determine the entity and the trustee vacancy or vacancies for which you are making a nomination, 2) access www.sbc.net and locate the Recommendation Form and addresses of the committee members (found also in the SBC Annual), fill out the forms completely, and send them to the Committee on Nominations. In March, the Committee will meet to discuss the recommendations being made by the members from each qualified state and approve those who are to be recommended to the Convention the following June.

The strength of the Southern Baptist Convention is its people. None are more important than grassroots Southern Baptists who faithfully serve the Lord, often in anonymity, in their churches and communities. This process is open to any and every Southern Baptist who is a member in good standing of a Southern Baptist church. Whether you choose to engage in the process is a matter for you to prayerfully determine between you and the Lord. Individuals you may recommend should be bathed in prayer. Trustees have a critical role in the life of the Southern Baptist Convention. Year after year trustees are needed who come with a love for our Lord Jesus, a desire to please Him, strong biblical convictions, and a determination to review each issue upon its own merit and prayerfully conclude how to vote on matters before the body that ultimately could affect the entire Convention and beyond. The SBC owes genuine gratitude to the trustees rotating off the various trustee boards each year for the extraordinary faithfulness with which they have performed their assigned duties as representatives of the Convention.

I hope you will be praying for the trustees and SBC committee members serving presently and especially for God's perfect Will to be accomplished in the election of trustees yet to be nominated. Trustees, men and women, are needed who come to the position with a desire to accomplish God's purpose, not man's agenda. Please join me in asking God to bless each person who is willing to serve sacrificially for the sake of our dear Lord Jesus and the expansive witness of our Convention.

Dr. Frank S. Page
President & Chief Executive Officer
SBC Executive Committee