The Southern Baptist Convention is the nation's largest Protestant denomination and is holding its annual meeting in Dallas.

Southern Baptist representatives have fended off two efforts to move the staunchly conservative body even more sharply to the right.

A constitutional ban on women pastors and a proposal to abolish a public policy agency accused of compromising with leftists narrowly failed on the last

The decision comes from an influential faction of President Trump's base and sends a message to the White House.

Actor Ashley Judd mourned Southern Baptist abuse victim Jennifer Lyell this week, praising her bravery in standing up against attempts to downplay the sexual abuse of women in the church. “Sister Jennifer did a good, true, and honorable thing,” Judd wrote on her social media accounts. “A hard, costly thing.” Lyell died June 7. She was 47.

The proposed resolutions call for laws on gender, marriage and family based on what they say is the biblically stated order of divine creation. They also call for legislators to curtail sports

The resolution's passage signifies the church's efforts to garner its influence to make U.S. society adhere to Christian conservative values.