By Grace Thornton
The Alabama Baptist
Tim Cox said his dad has long been his hero. He grew up under his preaching, and his dad was there when he surrendered his life to Christ. His dad also preached his wedding.
“The big markers in my life have always had Dad in place,” Tim Cox said.
That’s why it was even more special when Tim Cox was elected president of the Alabama Baptist State Convention on Nov. 14. He was following in the footsteps of his father, Henry Cox. Both men served as the convention’s second vice president for two terms, then first vice president for two terms, then president — the first father-son duo ever to serve through the ranks that way.
Henry Cox was the one to nominate his son for the position — just like Tim Cox nominated his father for re-election in 2005.
Henry Cox said he never imagined that would come full circle — that he would have the privilege of nominating his son. But Tim Cox “is a remarkable person” with a servant’s heart, he said, and as a father he felt “unbelievably happy and indescribably blessed and honored” to nominate his son.
‘Called of God’
Henry Cox told messengers that his son is a “man who’s called of God.”
He encouraged them to elect Tim Cox because he is “a God-called preacher of the gospel, a loving pastor and teacher who is a humble servant of Jesus Christ, a gifted leader who continues to serve you well and a man who knows and loves his Heavenly Father and walks in His ways every day.”
Tim Cox, who has served as pastor of Liberty Baptist Church, Chelsea, since 1998, said it’s a comfort to him that he’s not alone — that men like his father have gone before him and stand beside him, he said.
“I’m not out here by myself — we’re doing this together,” Tim Cox said. “It’s not about me — it’s about fanning the flame of the Great Commission.”
Giving back
Over the course of his life, Tim Cox has been invested in by Baptists — he earned degrees from University of Mobile and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Now he said he’s excited for the opportunity to give back and invest in others.
“I hope to be an encourager to our state missionaries and fellow officers and people called Alabama Baptists,” he said.
Also elected unanimously during the state convention annual meeting were first and second vice presidents, who both — like Tim Cox — ran unopposed.
Buddy Champion, pastor of First Baptist Church, Trussville, was elected first vice president.
Blake Kersey, pastor of First Baptist Church, Decatur, nominated him, calling him a genuine and authentic Christian leader.
“He is the same man of God on Tuesday in staff meeting or Thursday in his office as he is Sunday in the pulpit,” Kersey said. “He walks with such humility before his congregation and displays genuine love to his family, staff and congregation.”
Morgan Bailey, pastor of Canaan Baptist Church, Bessemer, was elected second vice president. He was nominated by Travis Coleman, pastor of First Baptist Church, Prattville, and a former convention president.
Coleman said Bailey has proven himself a leader as a pastor for more than three decades and in his work as chairman of the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions (SBOM). He said Bailey has a passion to lead his church and state Baptists.
‘Seasoned leader’
“He is a seasoned leader ready to serve our state convention and assist Dr. Rick Lance in carrying out the mission of the Alabama Baptist State Convention,” Coleman said.
Messengers also re-elected Billie Davis as the recording secretary and Bobby DuBois as statistical secretary and registration secretary. Davis serves in the SBOM executive director’s office. DuBois is the SBOM associate executive director.
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