Louisiana moderates and conservatives agreed to a consensus presidential candidate, bringing respite to intense partisanship characterizing recent annual meetings. Georgia Baptists also adopted a compromising mood, approving a nine-point plan aimed at healing a rift with Mercer University over a controversial book written by the school's president. The compromise stops short of calling for President Kirby Godsey's dismissal. Those meetings contrasted to overt politicking in Tennessee, where a conservative was elected president following a campaign charging that the moderate Cooperative Baptist Fellowship exercises undue control in the state. Florida Baptists elected an avowed conservative as president, while a candidate with moderate leanings prevailed in Arkansas.
Moderates control Kentucky, Missouri, Texas and Virginia.
Georgia, Louisiana, Tennessee and North Carolina are divided. Other smaller state groups, usually in newer-work areas, tend to be conservative in their outlook but are less active in convention politics. Mention of this summer's SBC boycott of The Disney Co. was noticeably absent from state-convention resolutions this fall. Some states, in fact, took steps to avoid resolutions, non-binding but often divisive statements that can address almost any topic. A reorganization adopted by California Southern Baptists eliminates its resolutions committee altogether.