Baptists form a major branch of evangelicalism distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul competency, sola fide, sola scriptura and congregationalist church government. Baptists generally recognize two ordinances: baptism and communion.
The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), alternatively the Great Commission Baptists (GCB), is a Baptist Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist organization and the largest Protestant and second-largest Christian body in the United States. The SBC is a cooperation of fully autonomous, independent churches with commonly held essential beliefs that pool some resources for missions.
The American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA) is a Baptist Christian denomination established in 1907 as the Northern Baptist Convention, and named the American Baptist Convention from 1950 to 1972. It traces its history to the First Baptist Church in America (1638) and the Baptist congregational associations which organized the Triennial Convention in 1814.
Charles Frazier Stanley Jr. was an American Southern Baptist pastor and writer. He was senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Atlanta for 49 years and took on emeritus status in 2020. He founded and was president of In Touch Ministries which widely broadcasts his sermons through television and radio. He also served two one-year terms as president of the Southern Baptist Convention, from 1984 to 1986.
Lifeway Christian Resources, based in Nashville, Tennessee, is the Christian media publishing and distribution division of the Southern Baptist Convention and provider of church business services.
Adrian Pierce Rogers was an American Baptist pastor and conservative author. He served three terms as president of the Southern Baptist Convention.
Richard Albert Mohler Jr. is an American evangelical theologian, the ninth president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, and host of the podcast The Briefing, where he gives a daily analysis of news and events from a Christian worldview.
Mark A. Brister is a humanitarian, Baptist pastor, and former university president.
Wanda Elizabeth "Beth" Moore is an American Anglican evangelist, author, and Bible teacher. She is president of Living Proof Ministries, a Christian organization she founded in 1994 to teach women to know and love Jesus through the study of Scripture. Living Proof Ministries is based in Houston, Texas. Moore, who is "arguably the most prominent white evangelical woman in America," speaks at arena events and has sold millions of books.
James Emery White, is the founding and senior pastor of Mecklenburg Community Church in Charlotte, North Carolina; President of Serious Times, a ministry that explores the intersection of faith and culture and hosts ChurchandCulture.org; ranked adjunctive professor of theology and culture on the Charlotte campus of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary where he also served as their fourth president; and author of more than 20 books that have been translated into ten languages.
Wallie Amos Criswell Jr., was an American Baptist pastor, author, and a two-term elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention from 1968 to 1970. As senior pastor of the First Baptist Church of Dallas for five decades, he became widely known for expository biblical preaching at a popular level, and is regarded as a key figure in the late 1970s "Conservative Resurgence" within the Southern Baptist Convention.
Beginning in 1979, the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) experienced an intense struggle for control of the organization. Its initiators called it the conservative resurgence while its detractors labeled it the fundamentalist takeover. It was launched with the charge that the seminaries and denominational agencies were dominated by liberals. The movement was primarily aimed at reorienting the denomination away from a liberal trajectory.
Duke Kimbrough McCall was an American Christian religious leader who served as Chief Executive Officer of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) Executive Committee, as president of two theological seminaries, as president of the Baptist World Alliance, and as a Baptist pastor.
Thom S. Rainer is an American writer, researcher, speaker, and former president and CEO of LifeWay Christian Resources, an entity of the Southern Baptist Convention in Nashville, Tennessee. He is the author of several best selling books, including I Am a Church Member, named a CBA #1 Best Seller (2013–2014) and Monthly Best Seller (2013–2015). It was also recognized as a Monthly Best Seller (2013–2015), a Gold Medallion Award winner (2015), and a Platinum Book Award winner (2016) by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association, and recognized by Leadership Journal as Best of the Best in the Leaders Outer Life category (2013); Autopsy of a Deceased Church, Christian Retailing's Best Book of the Year: Church and Culture (2015); and Simple Church, the 2007 Christianity Today Book Award winner in the Church/Pastoral Leadership category. After resigning as CEO, Rainer remained as the Chief Advisory Officer On September 29, 2020, it was announced that Lifeway filed a lawsuit against Rainer after he allegedly violated a non-compete agreement by publishing a book with Tyndale Press, but on September 30 it was announced they decided to seek a non-litigation resolution and October 5 it was announced that Rainer agreed to end his relationship with Tyndale and avoid litigation
Jack Graham is the pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas.
Morris H. Chapman was elected president and chief executive officer of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) Executive Committee on October 1, 1992. In September 2009 he announced that he would retire from this position effective September 30, 2010.
Timothy George is an American theologian and journalist. He became the founding dean of Beeson Divinity School at the school's inception in 1988 and was the dean from 1989–2019, now serving as Research Professor of Divinity. George teaches church history and doctrine and serves as executive editor for Christianity Today. He is on the editorial advisory boards of the Harvard Theological Review, Christian History, and Books & Culture. He also serves as a fellow for The Center for Baptist Renewal.
Robert James Jeffress Jr. is an American Southern Baptist pastor, author, radio host, and televangelist. He is the senior pastor of the 14,000-member First Baptist Church, a megachurch in Dallas, Texas, and is a Fox News Contributor. His sermons are broadcast on the television and radio program Pathway to Victory, which is broadcast on more than 1,200 television stations in the United States and 28 other countries, and is heard on 900 stations and broadcast live in 195 countries.
Henry Thomas Blackaby was a Canadian evangelical pastor who was the founder of Blackaby Ministries International. Most known for his best selling study called Experiencing God, he also authored many other books and articles. His books have been translated into more than 40 languages.
