Willy Rice to Be Nominated as Ed Litton Replacement

According to Baptist Press Willy Rice, Pastor of Calvary Church of Clearwater, FL, is to be nominated as President of the Southern Baptist Convention following Ed Litton’s announcement that he will not be seeking a second term as President.

Participants in the 2021 Southern Baptist Convention will remember Rice for his inflammatory “sermon” at the Annual Meeting that amounted to an all out assault on members of the SBC concerned about theological drift. In his address Rice equated the importance of doctrinal compromise inherent in CRT/I with being mean on social media, dismissing those with concerns as jerks attempting to build their own fame. He also took a thinly veiled shot at John MacArthur’s comments about Beth Moore.

Don’t take our word for it. Listen to his Convention address (in entirety) and decide for yourself: is this a man for Southern Baptists or a Southern Baptist Company Man?

Clint Pressley’s comments in support of Rice’s nomination reflect the what has become the all too typical dismissal of those who have concerns about the doctrinal health of the Southern Baptist Convention.

“Willy Rice represents who Southern Baptists are at their best,” Pressley told Baptist Press in a statement. “He loves Southern Baptists, believes in Southern Baptists, and has demonstrated at every level of our convention his ability to lead Southern Baptists.

n his convention sermon at the 2021 SBC Annual Meeting, Willy Rice issued a prophetic call to our Convention, warning us of the dual threats of theological drift and of a pharisaical spirit of pugilism and condescension,” Pressley said. “He is more than a statesman—he’s a man who understands the times, sees the challenges before us clearly, and has the vision, wisdom, and courage to lead us. I can say with all confidence that he is the man to meet the challenges of this moment.”

Willy Rice’s “love” for Southern Baptist, as expressed in the Convention sermon Pressley lauds, extends in only one direction and that direction is not where brothers and sisters with serious concerns about the doctrinal health of the Convention have gathered. In this sense Rice’s candidacy represents another opportunity to re-elect J.D. Greear or Ed Litton.

Perhaps Rice’s campaign slogan should be, Meet Willy Rice: the new boss, same as the old boss.