When Paul Moore stepped in 13 years ago to serve the Alabama Baptist Benefit Society as executive
secretary-treasurer, the first thing he and his wife, Barbara, did was transfer the society’s paper records onto the computer. That way everything was easily accessible with the touch of a computer key, he said.
It was just the first of many ways the Moores would serve the society, with Paul Moore at the helm and Barbara Moore managing a variety of roles: bookkeeping, handling financial records and fielding telephone calls from its members.
The society was initially established in 1904 by a group of ministers. Its purpose “is to provide financial aid to the families of its members in the event of death,” according to the society’s literature.
Requirements to enroll include being 60 or younger and in good health. Membership is open “to all ministers and/or staff persons (pastors, education, music, youth, church secretaries, chaplains) and their spouses, living in Alabama and serving in some capacity at the time of enrollment in a church, an employee of the Alabama Baptist State Convention or employed by an entity of the Convention,” according to the literature.
Paul Moore explained that because membership is portable (members can maintain their membership wherever they serve in the world as long as they continue to pay assessments and membership dues), it is not uncommon to have members of the society in foreign countries.
After many years of service, Paul Moore decided it was time for someone else to take over and in late 2011 announced that he planned to transition into retiring from his position. In the spring of 2012 the society’s board began to search for a new executive
secretary-treasurer.
After the subsequent search and with a new leader not yet secured, Mike McLemore, executive director for Birmingham Baptist Association and a society board member the last couple of years, volunteered himself and his wife, Wanda, to take the reins.
“I feel real encouraged that [Mike] was willing to step in and take this over,” said Paul Moore, who serves as the associate pastor in charge of senior adults at First Baptist Church, Pelham. “I think he will be a tremendous asset in the … society and [I] have great confidence that he will help the ministry … and the program along.”
Reflecting on his former tenure with the society, Paul Moore said that he considered the ministry a blessing as he and his wife had opportunities to help widows and widowers who were experiencing grief. In fact, some of the telephone calls the couple fielded became a ministry in and of themselves, as it was not unusual for members to call the Moores and share about their loss. “They just needed someone to talk to,” Paul Moore said. “That was a ministry for us” to encourage and assure them, he added.
Mike McLemore, who joined the society in the late 1980s, reported that membership now stands at more than 1,400 when factoring in those who registered at the Alabama Baptist State Convention in November.
With the average funeral today costing $10,000, he noted, the money the society is able to send to its members “can be a big help.”
For several years the average death benefit has been about $1,300 to $1,400 per death claim, depending on the number of members, according to the society’s literature. Each member contributes $1 per member for each death claim. The larger the membership, the more the death benefit to be paid.
Following the Moores’ transition this summer, Wanda McLemore now handles the duties that Barbara Moore had. Mike McLemore explained that a significant portion of his role as the executive secretary-treasurer is serving as an ambassador for the society — speaking at churches, associations and other events about its work and mission.
“Our motto … [is] ‘Serving those who serve others,’” he noted. “That says in a short sentence what this ministry is about.”
For more information about the society and how to join, visit alabamabaptistbenefits.org.
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