Educational, humbling — those are the two words Joe Godfrey used to describe his first year as president of the Alabama Baptist State Convention (ABSC).
“It’s been educational, because I’ve learned a great deal about the Alabama Baptist State Convention,” said Godfrey, who is pastor of First Baptist Church, Pleasant Grove. “It’s been humbling to realize the opportunities for ministry (Alabama Baptists) have and that the state convention messengers put their confidence in me to be president.”
Prepared for the presidency by his past experiences as first vice president of the state convention, president of the Alabama Baptist Pastors Conference and a member of the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions (SBOM) and its executive committee, Godfrey said he still had lessons to learn.
“I learned the ins and outs of how the convention operates on a level that was unknown to me,” he said.
This included discovering all that Alabama Baptists do through the convention that is not often at the forefront of publicity, such as church and ministry support. “When I look at what a tremendous and godly organization the Alabama Baptist State Convention is, it’s a grassroots organization that has accomplished so much,” Godfrey said.
Part of experiencing the work of Alabama Baptists at the state level was getting to know the convention entities and their directors better. Godfrey served on the board of regents at the University of Mobile and on the board of ministerial mentors of Samford University in the past, but he now serves ex officio on all Alabama Baptist entity boards.
He said he has enjoyed the chance to see the inner workings of the entities by attending board meetings and visiting with the entities’ directors.
“Developing relationships with the entity leaders and having the opportunity to observe them as they work, I’ve developed a new appreciation for them and the jobs they do,” Godfrey said.
Through these meetings and working with the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions (SBOM), Godfrey said he also discovered the true role of the ABSC president.
“Being president is not a power position,” Godfrey said. “It is a servant role. I discovered I have a responsibility for being a source of support for Dr. [Rick] Lance (executive director of the SBOM) and the missionaries of the state board.”
“My role is to be a communication link between Alabama Baptists and our entities,” he said.
In that servant role, Godfrey said it humbled him to realize Alabama Baptists trusted him to serve them faithfully. “I realized that I had opportunities to minister to other pastors and people beyond my church that I hadn’t had before,” he said.
He added that the two churches he has been pastor of during his presidency — first Taylor Road Baptist Church, Montgomery, then First, Pleasant Grove — saw it in the same light.
“Both churches agreed that it was an opportunity for the church to give something to the state convention and Alabama Baptists,” Godfrey said.
Godfrey came to First, Pleasant Grove, May 11 as pastor after serving Taylor Road as pastor for 19 years.
Godfrey said serving a church, the convention and his family has taught him lessons in balance.
Godfrey said when First, Pleasant Grove, called him as pastor, he told the church he would do everything he could to keep (travel) to a minimum and “not neglect my duties as pastor.”
Still, being convention president requires time away from the church and he is able to fulfill his duties to both church and convention because “[First, Pleasant Grove] has a staff here that can carry the load.
“The ministries are not dependent on me,” he said, adding that the family side is easier to balance because his wife, Joy, is able to travel on some of his trips with him.
As the annual meeting of the state convention approaches, Godfrey said he is beginning to feel some of the pressures of being president.
“I’m nervous because I want things to go smoothly and well,” he said. “But that’s the wonderful thing about Dr. Lance and his staff — they make sure things go well.”
Godfrey said he wants Alabama Baptists to attend the Nov. 18–19 meeting in Mobile even though it may be a long way to travel for some.
“It will be a great time for worship and conducting convention business,” he said. “When we meet as a convention, we’re doing the work of the Lord and that has eternal significance. People need to be involved.”
This spirit of working together is the theme of Godfrey’s presidential address.
“We are interdependent upon each other,” he said. And although his address is based on passages from Exodus, he said his first year as convention president has provided him with plenty of life examples for illustration.
As to his hopes of being re-elected for another term, Godfrey said. “If the convention sees fit to re-elect me, I’d be honored and humbled to serve.”
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