2 Corinthians 5:17
NIV: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation …”
2011 NIV: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come …”

Complaints that the New International Version of the Bible is inaccurate and too gender-inclusive won’t stop Nashville-based LifeWay Christian Resources from selling it.

That translation was criticized at the 2011 Southern Baptist Convention meeting in Phoenix. Church representatives approved a resolution asking LifeWay — owned by the denomination — to take the translation off its shelves.

Critics said the translation, which was updated in 2011, is filled with errors when it comes to language about gender, using “brothers and sisters” instead of “brothers” and “they” instead of “he” for a single pronoun. That kind of approach undermines the authority of the Bible, they said.

LifeWay’s trustees disagreed.

After having a committee review the 2011 NIV, they voted unanimously Tuesday to keep selling it, while making clear they don’t endorse it.

“We do not believe the 2011 NIV rises to the level to where it should be pulled or censored or not carried in our retail chain,” said Adam Greenway, a trustee who is senior associate dean of the Billy Graham School at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, in a statement.

That decision disappointed the Rev. Tim Overton of Halteman Village Baptist Church in Muncie, Ind. Overton wrote the resolution against the NIV that passed in Phoenix.

His resolution initially was rejected by the committee that vets resolutions before they are presented at the annual meeting. But he brought it to a floor vote, where it was approved.