Southern Baptist Convention

The SBC prides itself in the“autonomy” of individual churches, which operate independently but contribute to multimillion-dollar budgets for missions, seminaries and other collective efforts. The transactional nature of the denomination allows pastors and lay members to financially benefit from things like pastors’ health insurance and reduced tuition rates at its schools. What matters at the convention is that individual members come forward and vote collectively in order to find a unifying voice on different matters and to vote for its next president.