Morris Chapman, president and chief executive officer of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) Executive Committee (EC), announced plans Sept. 21 to retire at the end of September 2010. He will have served in the position for 18 years at his retirement.
Chapman, 68, a former pastor who this year celebrates his 50th anniversary in the ministry, called his election to the post both “one of the greatest honors of my life” and “one of the most humbling challenges I have ever faced.”
EC member Steve Loggins, director of missions for North Jefferson Baptist Association, said, “[Chapman] has steered us through some major overhauls of the convention [including a major restructuring of the convention in 1995]. He has done so much behind the scenes that so many people just don’t know.
“I am so thankful for the way he has led,” Loggins said. “I have come to really appreciate him through the last three years serving on the Executive Committee. He also surrounds himself with great people who are very thorough in what they do, and he is very dedicated to keeping costs to a minimum as far as administrative costs.”
EC member Scott Ferguson, pastor of Westview Baptist Church, Opp, also noted the many accomplishments that have come during Chapman’s tenure. “Crossover is one and the vital role he played in that,” Ferguson said, noting the large number of people who have come to know Christ because of Chapman’s leadership in areas such as Crossover.
“I’m excited about the future and deeply appreciative of the last 18 years where Dr. Chapman has brought us,” he noted. “In my five years on the Executive Committee, I’ve gained a new appreciation for him as a person and the office.”
Saying he does not want to spend the entire year preparing to vacate his office, Chapman said he would launch a prayer initiative to support what he called a Great Commission resurgence, urging all pastors and SBC agency heads to publicly challenge Baptists to commit themselves to sharing the gospel with individuals. “You may see hundreds, even thousands, come to Christ,” he said. “This would be a Great Commission resurgence.”
Chapman was elected as EC president while concluding two years of service as president of the SBC (1990–1992).
He had preached the convention sermon at the 1989 SBC annual meeting in Las Vegas, served as president of the SBC Pastors Conference in 1986 in Atlanta and served as chairman of the SBC Committee on Order of Business for the 1985 SBC meeting in Dallas.
Chapman was pastor of First Baptist Church, Wichita Falls, Texas, 1979–1992 and pastor of First Baptist Church, Albuquerque, N.M., for five years, serving as president of the New Mexico Baptist Convention 1976–1978. Earlier he had led First Baptist Church, Woodway, in Waco, Texas, and First Baptist Church, Rogers, Texas. He began his ministry in 1959 as a minister of youth.
Chapman holds doctor of ministry and master of divinity degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. He is a native of Kosciusko, Miss., and graduate of Mississippi College in Clinton.
He and his wife, Jodi, have two children and eight grandchildren. (BP, ABP, TAB)
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