Pastor Willy Rice of Calvary Baptist Church of Clearwater, Florida, has announced his intention to be nominated for president of the Southern Baptist Convention at next year’s annual meeting.
In a video message posted to YouTube on Friday, the 62-year-old Rice highlighted the Protestant Reformation, which began on Oct. 31, 1517, when Martin Luther nailed 95 theses to a church door in Wittenberg, Germany.
“The Church is always reforming,” Rice said. “We receive correction, adjust course, and embrace renewal. And it is to that end today that I want to share with my Southern Baptist family my desire for renewal in our time.”
Rice, who has been a pastor for over 40 years, stated that there were “real concerns” with the SBC, which “call for serious reflection, humble correction and a new day of renewal.”
The 2026 SBC Annual Meeting is scheduled to take place next June at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida.
Clint Pressley, the current president of the SBC, nominated Rice in March 2022, stating at the time that he believed “Rice represents who Southern Baptists are at their best.”
“He loves Southern Baptists, believes in Southern Baptists, and has demonstrated at every level of our convention his ability to lead Southern Baptists,” Pressley told Baptist Press at the time.
However, soon after the 2022 nomination, Rice’s church garnered controversy when it was revealed that it ordained a deacon who, before he had become a Christian, had engaged in sexually abusive behavior.
Rice then withdrew his name from the nomination, stating in a statement at the time, “I’ve found myself in an untenable position of watching people I love in a church I love done immeasurable harm simply because my name was being considered for this office.”
At the SBC Annual Meeting earlier this year, Rice introduced a motion to abolish the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, explaining that he “defended the ERLC for years, but I can’t do that anymore.”
“Many have been stunned to learn that outside progressive advocacy groups have financially supported our ERLC, and there’s been no public repentance, no rejection of those alliances,” said Rice.
“My head has to admit what my heart didn’t want to believe. Facts are stubborn things, and the evidence is clear and the trust is broken.”
Rice called on messengers “to abolish the ERLC,” saying he did not want “to erase it, but to restore it” and “reforge it into a voice unincumbered by outside interests.”
The ERLC and its supporters have disputed claims of secular progressive influence and funding.
Richard Land, ERLC president from 1988 to 2013 and executive editor for The Christian Post, said in a piece co-published by CP that calls to abolish the ERLC were misguided.
“The answer to such disagreements related to one of our entities is greater discussion and dialogue, not eliminating the entity altogether,” wrote Land. “Such a move would be analogous to amputating an arm to cure a hand infection.”
Rice’s motion failed when 56.89% of messengers voted against the proposal, while 42.84% of messengers supported it. Eighteen ballots had been disallowed.
Pastor Steve Willis of One Church in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, defended the ERLC during the annual meeting, highlighting the SBC body’s pro-life efforts, which included helping to provide sonogram machines to pro-life pregnancy care centers, including one where his wife works.
“There is no other entity that has stood for a child’s right to life more than the ERLC,” said Willis. “I encourage this body to continue the support of this vital Southern Baptist ministry and vote no on this recommendation.”
For his part, Pressley was elected SBC president in 2024 and reelected overwhelmingly earlier this year. He will be stepping down next year, as SBC presidents cannot serve more than two consecutive terms.
