When Mike Shaw reflects on his two years as president of the Alabama Baptist State Convention (ABSC), three words sum up his observations: struggles, storms and service.
Shaw began the first of his two one-year terms as the country was still reeling from the U.S. economic crisis. From the members in the pews of local churches to the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions (SBOM), Alabama Baptists faced lingering financial uncertainty.
“We were struggling with some of the worst economic times since the Great Depression,” Shaw said. “In the past, every year’s budget was bigger than the year before and we could give everyone what they needed. But with the economic slide, the budget had to come down.”
Then the storms of 2011 hit, and disaster relief teams in the state were called into action like never before. At every level of state Baptist life, people got involved and demonstrated what it truly means to follow Christ, Shaw said.
“We are never more like Jesus than when we are serving, and I believe Alabama Baptists have learned what it truly means to be a servant through the trials of the last two years,” Shaw said.
According to SBOM Executive Director Rick Lance, Shaw’s own history of “servant leadership” at First Baptist Church, Pelham, and his work in state and national Baptist life over the last 30 years prepared him for leading Alabama Baptists through the challenges of the last two years. Lance described Shaw as “gifted with a keen intellect, a warm heart and a kind spirit,” adding that Shaw “epitomizes the very best in Alabama Baptist life.”
Lance also praised Shaw’s “dedication to the ministry of the local church and to missions in Alabama and around the world,” which Shaw has sought to keep at the forefront of Alabama Baptist efforts during his time as president.
Shaw commends Alabama Baptists for maintaining their focus on the Great Commission. He sees the Great Commission Ministries FutureFocus Task Force report (see pages 8–9 of the Nov. 1 issue of The Alabama Baptist) as proof of a shared commitment at all levels of Alabama Baptist life to spreading the gospel across the state and throughout the world.
“A lot of people have put a lot of time and prayer into this report,” Shaw said. “It represents a good plan that won’t require us to make dire cuts in order to reach Alabama and the world for Christ.”
While Shaw does not question the need to go into the world for Christ, he does want to see Alabama Baptist churches reach their communities with the gospel.
“Jesus said, ‘You will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’ People in Alabama are dying without Christ, and we need to consider what we are doing to reach them,” Shaw said.
Recently, Shaw was sidelined by emergency eye surgery to repair a detached retina. As part of his recovery, he had to keep his head down, chin to chest, in a position of prayer. Though his physical limitations were very frustrating at first, Shaw said his recuperation has given him an unusual opportunity to pray at a critical point in the life of our state and nation.
“I’ve spent a lot of time praying for the election, for my convention message, for my church and for all our churches,” Shaw said.
“This has been the worst 10 days of vision I’ve had in my life,” he said. “But I’ve been reminded that through prayer, God grants us a spiritual vision. In the midst of our busy lives, we all have to ask ourselves, ‘Have I applied all the prayer to this situation I need to?’”
Shaw wants pastors and leaders throughout the state to make intentional efforts to share Christ in their communities. In his convention sermon, Shaw will challenge Alabama Baptist pastors to prayerfully seek a vision for their communities that “reaches people, teaches people and disciples people.”
“In the Great Commission, Jesus told us to ‘go and make disciples.’ We are good at preaching the gospel, but we also must help converts grow as disciples of Christ. It’s not ‘either-or’ — it’s both,” Shaw said.
As he completes his service as ABSC president, Shaw is looking forward to directing his focus back to his pastoral duties at First, Pelham, and to his newly elected position as a member of the board of trustees at his alma mater, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. However, he said he will be more supportive of Baptist work as a former state convention president than as president.
“I can honestly say that our Baptist entities don’t vie with each other. They work with each other and share with each other, and I will take every opportunity I get to talk about how the Cooperative Program benefits Baptist life and the work of reaching the lost with the gospel of Jesus Christ,” Shaw said.
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