Morris H. Chapman took “the hardest job in our convention” in 1992 as president and CEO of the SBC Executive Committee.
James T. Draper Jr., describing the challenge Chapman accepted, said he has “a lot of responsibility and no authority” for leading the prime coordination entity of the Southern Baptist Convention.
Speaking during a Sept. 17 luncheon honoring Chapman for his decade of service in the position, Draper said Chapman has “the responsibility for guiding us, challenging us.”
Yet, in dealing with 11 SBC entities and one auxiliary, Chapman must rely on persuasion rather than edict, said Draper, a former SBC president.
Draper told a crowd of 250 at the luncheon that Chapman has met the challenge well, “He handles his job with grace and integrity,” Draper said.
Draper noted that the unfolding SBC-wide Empowering Kingdom Growth emphasis “is really the passion of his heart”-for Christians “to seek first the King and His Kingdom,” as stated in the initiative’s vision statement.
Chapman, in his remarks, voiced gratitude to God and to Southern Baptists for placing confidence in him.”It has literally been an enjoyable 10 years,” he said.
Chapman, who moved to the Executive Committee’s helm from the SBC presidency, was pastor of First Baptist Church in Wichita Falls, Texas, for 13 years and First Baptist Church, Albuquerque, N.M., 1974-79. (BP)
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