Bryant Wright Elected President of Southern Baptist Convention

Jun 15, 2010
Brian Tubbs

Bryant Wright Elected SBC President - Johnson Ferry Baptist Church

Rev. Bryant Wright, an author and pastor, was elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention in Orlando at the SBC 2010 Annual Meeting.

Messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention's June 2010 Annual Meeting elected Rev. Bryant Wright to be their next president. Wright is the senior pastor of Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in Marietta, Georgia and the founder and chairman of Right From The Heart Ministries.

Bryant Wright Wins SBC Presidency Over Four Candidates

Wright was one of four candidates for the office of SBC president. The other candidates were Ted Traylor, Jimmy Jackson, and Leo Endel. Traylor is the pastor of Olive Baptist Church in Pensacola, Florida. Jackson, who currently serves as president of the Alabama Baptist State Convention, is the longtime pastor of Whitesburg Baptist Church in Huntsville, Alabama. Endel is currently the executive director of the Minnesota-Wisconsin Baptist Convention.

The 10,000 plus "Messengers" (what the SBC calls their delegates from affiliated churches) to the SBC Orlando 2010 meeting actually voted twice for president, as no candidate emerged with a clear majority in the first go-around. In that first vote, Wright and Traylor led the pack with 36.84 percent and 29.18 percent respectively. The two then advanced to a runoff election, where Wright emerged the victor with 55.11 percent to Ted Traylor's 43.97 percent.

Bryant Wright's Vision For The SBC

The Southern Baptist Convention is facing some serious challenges in the twenty-first century, as it confronts changing demographics, generational differences, and a culture not always receptive to its conservative, evangelical beliefs. The SBC 2010 Annual Meeting in Orlando has itself been marked with some controversy, particularly over proposals to possibly restructure missions giving.

Wright hopes to lead a more unified and effective Southern Baptist Convention, with a renewed heart for Christ and missions. In an interview prior to the SBC Annual Meeting, Wright told the Florida Baptist Witness: "I am committed to challenging Southern Baptist Christians to return to their first love of Christ, and in the process, love the lost with the radical reprioritization of reaching the unreached for Christ."

What Bryant Wright Brings to The SBC

Wright has served as senior pastor of Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in Marietta, Georgia since its founding in 1981. The church began as a mission with just a few families in a medical office and has since grown to over 7,000 members.

Missions is a passion for Wright and Johnson Ferry. According to the church website, Johnson Ferry sent more than 1,500 members on 70 missions trips to 27 nations around the world.

Bryant also heads Right From The Heart Ministries, which produces inspirational radio and television spots for those "outside the four walls of a church" and also biblical teaching resources for those Christians seeking to be more effective disciples of Jesus Christ.

Wright has authored three books, which are One Minute of Your Time, Another Minute of Your Time, and One Minute of Your Day.

A business professional before entering the ministry, Wright graduated from the University of South Carolina in 1974. He earned a Master of Divinity from Southern Baptist Seminary in 1980.