By Editor Bob Terry
The week before Thanksgiving, Alabama Baptists regularly gather for their annual meeting. The two-day event — this year set for Nov. 13–14 in Mobile — is the only time in the year the Alabama Baptist State Convention (ABSC) is actually in session. That makes the time precious as various entities and ministries report about their faithfulness to the messengers from the cooperating Baptist churches of the state.
A major report will be the State Board of Missions (SBOM), which provides an accounting of the various programs and ministries committed to its care. Sunday School, church training, evangelism, missions — the list goes on and on. Even included is the annual Cooperative Program (CP) budget, which undergirds all the work Baptists do together in Alabama.
The SBOM, an entity of the state convention just like other entities, is charged with presenting an annual budget for consideration by the messengers. This year’s proposal is a $44,585,000 base budget, which is 1.5 percent more than the 2007 CP budget. The challenge budget is $45,585,000.
The largest segment of the budget — 42.3 percent — will go to causes beyond Alabama through the Southern Baptist Convention portion of CP funds. The SBOM will receive about 28 percent, the same percentage as received by the state’s other entities and auxiliaries. About 2 percent of the budget total will help fund insurance protection benefits for ministers of eligible churches.
Finalizing the annual budget is important for all that Baptists do together. It allows entities to plan with a high degree of confidence in the financial support provided by Alabama Baptists through the CP. That is one reason SBOM Executive Director Rick Lance always presents what he calls “a conservative budget.” By that, Lance means an achievable budget that ministry leaders can rely on rather than a budget total that has little chance of being achieved.
Messengers will hear about the progress made at Samford University, the University of Mobile and Judson College. They will learn about families served through the Alabama Baptist Children’s Homes & Family Ministries. Messengers will receive information about the care offered through Alabama Baptist Retirement Centers, about the resources provided churches through Shocco Springs Baptist Conference Center and much, much more.
These reports provide times of communication and feedback between the trustees and directors of these ministries and the messengers to the annual meeting of the state convention. This communication helps ensure the ministries and entities stay focused on the charge given by Alabama Baptists.
Messengers will also elect officers for the coming year. However, this year, there is little suspense about whom those officers will be. President Roger Willmore, pastor of Deerfoot Baptist Church, Trussville; First Vice President Jimmy Jackson, pastor of Whitesburg Baptist Church, Huntsville; and Second Vice President Mike Shaw, pastor of First Baptist Church, Pelham, are all eligible for re-election and are likely to be tapped for another year of service without opposition.
When Baptists gather, there is never any way to predict what will surface in the business sessions. Any messenger from any church is free to take the floor and introduce a resolution or motion. That means business sessions can be interesting at times. But in recent years, resolutions and miscellaneous business items have not been divisive to Alabama Baptist fellowship.
The resolutions committee of the state convention has opted to bring forward proposals that reflected consensus positions rather than focus on items of disagreement. This has been a positive development that has kept the convention focused on things that unite us in the Lord’s service rather than on debatable issues.
In 1994, Mobile hosted the largest attended convention in Alabama Baptist history with 3,137 messengers. This year’s attendance is not expected to come anywhere near that number. For each of the past four years, slightly more than 1,000 messengers registered for the annual meeting. This year’s registration is expected to follow that trend.
That means only about 20 percent of the churches cooperating together in the ABSC will send messengers to the annual meeting. That is not a high percentage, but it reflects the open way Alabama Baptists conduct their business. Churches make the decision about whether to send messengers to the annual meeting or not.
The expected registration also emphasizes the necessity of fervent prayer in behalf of those who do attend. It is vital to the welfare of the Lord’s work as expressed through Alabama Baptists that messengers reflect the mind of Christ in all that is done. Only as Alabama Baptists are led by the Holy Spirit to be and do as God desires can we hope to bring honor and glory to His name.
If you can attend the annual meeting at Cottage Hill Baptist Church, Mobile, then by all means do. If you cannot, then pray that the messengers will be sensitive to the will of God in all things and that what transpires in that place during the annual meeting will be acceptable in His sight.
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