As the members of Alabama Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (AlabamaCBF) met Nov. 14 at Trinity Baptist Church, Madison, one thought was heavy on their hearts: Mart Gray, state coordinator for AlabamaCBF, was resigning after eight years to serve as a full-time pastor.
About 120 people gathered at the Madison Baptist Association church to conduct the group’s business and honor AlabamaCBF’s first state coordinator.
Representing AlabamaCBF’s coordinating council, Todd Heifner presented Gray and his wife, Mary, with a travel voucher to the United Kingdom. Heifner then announced a gift that will continue giving throughout the years.
The coordinating council has established the Mart and Mary Gray Endowment Fund through the CBF Foundation.
“We will use a portion of the earnings (from the fund) to supplement the work of AlabamaCBF as a way of honoring the work Mart and Mary have begun among us,” Heifner said.
Gray, who will serve as state coordinator on a part-time basis until his replacement is found, said he is humbled by the gift. “I’m grateful people would be making an investment in AlabamaCBF over a long period,” he said. Gray said he hopes the endowment will help fund projects such as Sowing Seeds of Hope in Perry County.
In other business, Jane Brunson, AlabamaCBF treasurer, presented the 2006 budget as developed and approved by the coordinating council.
Although designations to certain budget items were reworked, the overall budget remained the same as 2005 at $193,000.
Gray and Paul McLendon with Volunteers of America (VOA) shared how VOA and AlabamaCBF partnered to respond to the needs of those in south Alabama affected by Hurricane Katrina, specifically in Bayou La Batre. McLendon said the work would probably continue in the area for at least three more years.
John Mitchell, AlabamaCBF’s coordinator for missions partnerships, announced that Sowing Seeds of Hope was exploring a possible partnership with the national Episcopal Church.
This would entail groups going to work in Perry County with Sowing Seeds of Hope, much like the Passport Inc. youth camps do, he said.
The night’s keynote speaker was Molly T. Marshall, president of Central Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Kan., and author of several articles and books, including “Joining the Dance: A Theology of the Spirit.”
Marshall spoke about the Holy Spirit and what it means to live in the Spirit.
Reading from Psalm 51:10–12 and Romans 8:9–17, she noted that the Spirit of God is the primary motivation and enabling force by which believers live the Christian life.
Marshall also noted some characteristics of those who are living in the Spirit.
- Living in the Spirit helps Christians exhibit a certain kind of freedom.
- Those who live in the Spirit are willing to take risks for God’s work.
- Those who live in the Spirit are people of prayer.
- People who live in the Spirit know deep within their bones that they belong to God.
“The Spirit not only reveals God’s Spirit to us but reveals who we are to God and ourselves,” she said.
“The Spirit is our connection with God, who alone can restore our joy in our salvation.”
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