Who Are YOU Afraid Of?
Tuesday, June 16, 2026
“It is not enough to affirm right doctrine… If we seek the favor of the world more than the approval of Heaven, if we fear the rejection of men more than we fear the judgment of God, we are already on a dangerous slide.” – Rev. Willy Rice, newly elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention
Willy Rice is the pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Clearwater, Florida. He briefly considered running for president of the Southern Baptist Convention in 2022, before withdrawing his name from consideration and throwing his support behind Tom Ascol, a fellow Florida pastor who leads Founders Ministries, a group of Southern Baptist Calvinists. Ascol lost that year’s election by 22 points to a more mainstream candidate, but this time around, the conservative Rice won a decisive 15-point victory.
Rice was nominated by Pastor Jay Hardwick of Tennessee, who described him as “humble, approachable, and wise.” Not a bad endorsement and very much in line with the qualifications of a pastor/elder/bishop as outlined in I Timothy 3 and Titus 1.
Addressing the convention prior to the vote, Rice said “It is not enough for us to engage in religious ritual. Saul had lost sight of what mattered most: to obey is better than sacrifice, to pay attention is better than the fat of rams.”
Rice also warned his fellow delegates that success “rooted in compromise” will “foreshadow a greater defeat to come.” However, he added, “Faithfulness today will bring fruitfulness tomorrow.”
According to observers, Rice’s tenure as SBC president promises a sharper focus on theological orthodoxy, cultural conservatism, and global missions. Rice also intends to focus on what he calls the
“seven pillars of renewal: convictional clarity, denominational accountability, missional integrity, cultural responsibility, biblical unity, global intentionality, and spiritual vitality.”
It sounds to me like the SBC is in good hands for the next several years. Let’s join together in praying for Pastor Rice as he leads the largest Protestant denomination in America with 46,608 congregations and 12,331,954 members.
Let’s also take to heart Pastor Rice’s words – as well as those of Dr. Billy Graham, who once warned that “Our society strives to avoid any possibility of offending anyone – except God.”
“But Peter and the other apostles replied, ‘We must obey God rather than men.’” Acts 5:29 (BSB)
- Rev. Dale M. Glading, President
