Birmingham Metro Baptist Association’s executive director Chris Crain was honored June 7 as the Southern Baptist Conference of Associational Leaders’ AMS of the Year.
SBCAL met in Orlando ahead of the SBC Annual Meeting and presented the award among other business reports and agenda items.
The award is made annually by SBCAL, which serves associational leaders (also known as associational mission strategists) in Baptist associations across the nation.
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Those nominating Crain said they were impressed with his faithful and consistent service to the pastors of the BMBA. There are 180 churches in the association.
Ray Gentry, president and CEO of SBCAL, said a committee of associational leaders selected Crain based on letters of recommendation submitted. James Risner of the Greater Dayton Association of Baptists in Ohio chaired that committee.
The nominators said they were impressed with Crain’s faithful and consistent service to the pastors of the BMBA’s staggering 180 churches.
‘Personally accessible’
It was noted that, though he oversees a significant staff, “he remains personally accessible to pastors.”
“He brings both relational strength and wisdom to every interaction, effectively ministering to pastors of all ages, levels of experience and church sizes and structures,” the nominators said.
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Eric Taylor once served as a pastor of a BMBA church and is now a fellow AMS serving in Marshall Baptist Association. He said of Crain, “He’s one of those leaders who makes everyone around him better.”
And that impact reaches beyond the Birmingham Metro area, Taylor says.
“Leaders all over Alabama and beyond lead better because Chris is challenging them. Chris models what associational ministry is all about — encouraging pastors, equipping leaders, engaging churches to advance the Kingdom together.”
Crain’s impact
Pastor Michael Wallace, BMBA’s moderator, said, “God has been gracious to provide cheerleaders for me along the way, at just the right times. But no one has been a bigger encourager and a better equipper than Dr. Crain.
“His knowledge is extensive. His compassion is genuine. His leadership is infectious,” Wallace added. “He truly is a pastor to pastors.”
Another nominator, Buddy Champion, pastor of First Baptist Church Trussville, said, “I have personally noticed that he listens to learn and then leads to transform the opportunity that is before him.”
A collective note from the staff of the BMBA highlighted that Crain’s “biggest impact is in the lives of the pastors and ministry leaders. The hours he spends on the phone, over coffee or lunch, or in meetings with leaders are countless. Chris is always available to them and willing to lend a listening and compassionate ear and offer wise counsel.”
‘Never forget’
Crain told The Alabama Baptist he loves being an AMS.
“No two days are alike. I like all the variety,” he said. “My favorite day in the work is when I get to celebrate in the life of a church, help be a small part of their happiness.”
But he said he prefers to stay in the background rather than the limelight.
“I try to never forget what it is like to be a pastor of a local congregation,” Crain said. “I like to be a Barnabas — to come alongside and listen to them. I try to lead with my ears and not my mouth.”
Someone is always speaking to pastors (a deacon, a disgruntled church member, a conference leader, etc.) so he finds it helpful to listen, to let the pastors talk and affirm them.
One of the accomplishments Crain thanks the Lord for is a thriving weekly minister’s conference, where pastors and church staff have lunch and learning experiences. He said he makes it a point to attend as much as possible. Sometimes a pastor just needs the fellowship of those who get it, he said.
The Birmingham metro area has about 1.2 million people, with 320,000 in the city. It is surrounded by suburbs and even some rural areas in Jefferson County. There are many different types of churches in the association, and Crain can be found in one of them almost every Sunday, preaching or just visiting the congregations.
Resourcing churches
The BMBA formed a service called CASH, which is a portal to receive electronic financial contributions for churches and to provide accounting services for churches at a relatively low cost. They try not to displace any church staff in doing so, and they strive to keep the fees for the service affordable.
Their building is a beehive of activity, housing not only offices for the associational staff but also a crisis pregnancy center and counseling service.
Crain is a native of Jasper and “a coal miner’s kid,” as well as a lifelong Baptist, born in the Birmingham Baptist Hospital.
He and his wife, Carol, have three young adult children.
Crain said he is grateful to be a Southern Baptist. “I pray we see value in partnering together, especially in associational work.”
EDITOR’S NOTE — Richard Nations is a retired associational mission strategist and freelance writer living in White Hall, Illinois.
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