Convention president, Litton, presents theme for SBC 2022

At a gathering of approximately 300 California pastors and church leaders with Southern Baptist Convention leaders at the Anaheim Convention Center in mid-August, SBC President Ed Litton presented the theme for the 2022 SBC annual meeting: “Jesus: The Center of It All.”

The unity that so many look for can only be found in Christ, Litton said. And while no one argues that, it nevertheless can become a difficult concept to put into action.

“In the SBC, we are always on guard — and rightly so — about false theology,” he said. “But we also ought to be careful about false leadership. Jesus said of the Pharisees to do what they say, but do not follow them. In the same sense, we have a struggle between our orthodoxy and our orthopraxy.

Southern Baptists, Litton urged, should focus on Jesus’ qualities as outlined in Colossians 1:15 — the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation, all things in heaven and on earth created by Him and for Him. “He is also the head of the body, the church,” Litton said.

The 2022 SBC annual meeting will take place at the Anaheim Convention Center June 14-15. It will be preceded by the two-day Pastors Conference, making its return after a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19 and this year’s Send Celebration temporarily taking its place.