Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting preview

Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting preview

Dallas to host 2018 Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in June

Dallas attendance is in line to be the highest at a Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) annual meeting since 2010, according to an event coordinator. SBC President Steve Gaines also hopes it is the most prayed for annual meeting in modern days.

Advance hotel reservations, which ended May 14, were about 25 percent ahead of reservations from 2017, said William Townes, SBC Executive Committee vice president for convention finance.

“With less than a month remaining until our upcoming SBC annual meeting, we are looking forward to a prayerful, deliberative, constructive and gracious gathering of our Southern Baptist family in Dallas this summer,” Townes said.

Between 8,000 and 9,000 messengers could attend the meeting June 12–13 at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, he projected, based on current hotel reservations and advance messenger registrations.

Messenger attendance at an SBC annual meeting has not been that high since the 2010 annual meeting in Orlando when the official count was 11,075.

Topped with 5,000 to 6,000 invited guests, exhibitors and other participants, total Dallas attendance could surpass 14,000.

Messengers in attendance

At the 2017 annual meeting in Phoenix, 5,015 messengers were joined by 4,300 guests and exhibitors and others to total 9,315 in attendance, Townes said. When the SBC last convened in Dallas in 1997 messenger registration was 12,420.

Since 2012 messenger registration has fluctuated between 5,103 and 7,874.

Gaines, pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church, Cordova, Tennessee, said in a May 11 statement that Southern Baptists are at a pivotal time. “In the very near future we will elect a new president of the SBC, the International Mission Board will elect a new president and the SBC Executive Committee will also elect a new president.

“For such a time as this, I’m asking all Southern Baptists to do four things:

“Pray for the SBC. Ultimately, our struggle is not with people, but with Satan and demonic spirits (Eph. 6:12). We must stop fighting one another and start fighting the devil on our knees.

“Fast and pray 21 days for our SBC meeting in Dallas. I call all Southern Baptists to participate in a 21-day fast beginning Tuesday, May 22, through Monday, June 11. That will enable us to fast for 21 days immediately prior to the SBC meeting that begins on Tuesday, June 12. Some can do a regular fast (liquids but no food). Most anyone can do some sort of partial fast.

“Speak positively and constructively. Every word we speak, in private or public conversation, even on social media, should be Christlike and filled with grace. If anyone reviles you do not respond in kind. Far better to be wronged than to participate in an ungodly exchange of words before a lost world that is listening and watching.

“Pray for our SBC trustees. They are accountable to the Lord and to our SBC churches, not to the employees of the SBC entities. Let them do their work as we pray.

“The Southern Baptist Convention needs your help,” Gaines wrote. “God has allowed us to live during such a time as this. Let’s unite in Jesus Christ and come together in Dallas and show a lost world that we really do love Jesus, love each other and love them as well.”

Both SBC presidential candidates also have issued a joint call for prayer, grace and civility.

J.D. Greear (see story below) and Ken Hemphill (see story below), both tapped as 2018 nominees for SBC president, made the joint appeal as the International Mission Board and the SBC Executive Committee are tasked with finding new entity leaders.

“After speaking w/my friend @kenhemphill today, we’d like to call all Southern Baptists to act w/civility & integrity toward one another & to join us in praying for the entity transitions ahead & for the upcoming #SBC18 presidential election,” tweeted Greear, pastor of the Summit Church, Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, on April 5.

Social media

Hemphill, an administrator at North Greenville University in Tigerville, South Carolina, followed April 6 with another tweet: “In a phone conversation with friend @jdgreear we agreed to invite Southern Baptists to pray for leaders in transition, search committees, that our respective supporters will speak with grace and civility so we can leave Dallas revived, unified and focused on God’s kingdom.”

Gaines retweeted both messages. The original posts drew more than 1,000 likes and were retweeted hundreds of times.

Gaines also is encouraging messengers to the Dallas meeting to “dress casually” thanks to summer heat.

“Summer temperatures in Texas can run in the 90s and men should feel free not to wear a necktie,” he said. “I hope this will make our annual meeting more enjoyable for all.”

Hotel reservations

Anyone still needing housing for the annual meeting should make reservations directly with Dallas area hotels. The Omni Dallas Hotel is the official convention hotel, located next to the Dallas convention center at 650 South Griffin Street.

Churches or bus operators bringing groups to the convention center should contact Executive Committee meeting planner Lynn Richmond at lrichmond@sbc.net for information on available bus parking and passenger drop-off and pickup locations.

Child care is available but pre-registration is required and will be handled online at www.sbcannualmeeting.net under the “children/youth” tab. The deadline for registration for most programs is when the space limitation of 125 children is reached. There will be no onsite registration. (Compiled from Baptist Press articles)

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Going to the annual meeting?

Stay up-to-date on activities with the SBC Annual Meetings app. Download the app on your mobile device by accessing the App Store, Google Play or by visiting app.core-apps.com/sbc_am2018.

This year’s preferred hashtag will be #SBC18.

For more information, visit sbcannualmeeting.net.

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Ethnic breakdown of SBC committees

This year’s Committee on Resolutions may be “one of the most ethnically diverse committees in the history of the SBC,” according to convention president Steve Gaines.

Of the Resolutions Committee’s 10 members, four are African-American, four Anglo, one Hispanic and one Asian.

Two members are female. The committee is tasked with preparing and submitting resolutions to the convention and recommending them for adoption.

The Committee on Committees and the tellers each include 16 percent non-Anglo members. The Credentials Committee includes a lower percentage of non-Anglos (4 percent). (BP)

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Greear responds to Baptist state editors’ questions

North Carolina pastor J.D. Greear is one of two candidates to be nominated for Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) president in June. Florida pastor Ken Whitten announced Greear’s nomination for SBC president Jan. 29.

The new SBC president will succeed Memphis-area pastor Steve Gaines, who was elected to the first of two one-year presidential terms in 2016.

During the 16 years Greear has pastored The Summit Church, Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, worship attendance has grown from 610 in 2002 to just under 10,000, according to statistics available through the SBC’s Annual Church Profile. Total baptisms increased from 19 in 2002 to 631 in 2017 at the church’s nine campuses.

The Summit has planted 248 churches to date, including 208 outside the U.S., with a goal of starting 1,000 churches in 50 years, according to North Carolina’s Biblical Recorder paper.

Greear responded to six questions from Baptist Press (BP) and Baptist state editors. BP requested each candidate to respond within 150 words.

Here are Greear’s responses:

Q: What are some specific ways you would like to help bridge possible theological and generational differences in the SBC that Southern Baptists have expressed concerns about in recent years?

A: The basis of our unity in the SBC has always been the gospel and beyond that, the Baptist Faith and Message (BF&M). It’s what the messengers have seen fit, under the direction of the Holy Spirit, to establish as the parameters of our cooperation.

Basis of unity

Every word taught in Scripture is important, but we have set the BF&M 2000 as the basis of our unity and I believe that should be our guide. Whenever we let secondary or tertiary doctrines, cultural customs or worship preferences distract or divide us, the devil wins and evangelism loses.

Q: Please describe why you believe support for the Cooperative Program (CP), Lottie Moon Christmas Offering and Annie Armstrong Easter Offering is vital to Southern Baptists’ mission and vision.

A: Cooperation between churches for the sake of missions is why the convention exists and that cooperation has enabled Southern Baptists to produce more church planters, more missionaries and more seminary graduates than any other group in America. Cooperative giving through the CP, Annie Armstrong and Lottie Moon Offerings is a powerful and proven method for supporting Great Commission work.

Beneficiary of the CP

As a former International Mission Board missionary and a two-time seminary graduate, I have been the beneficiary of the CP in multiple ways.

In recent years our church has increasingly gotten involved in giving and we only plan for that to continue. We want to call a new generation of Southern Baptist churches, similarly, to rise up and engage in cooperative mission and giving.

Institutions like the CP and the entities they support enable our missions efforts to have staying power and they should be important to all Southern Baptists.

Q: What are some lessons Southern Baptist churches in the South can learn — and possibly apply to their ministries — from congregations outside of that region in more pioneer or unreached areas of the country?

A: Baptisms are down in the SBC, especially in the Southeast, where the population is growing the fastest. The answer isn’t to be found in circling the wagons. It’s to remember that God founded every church with sending in mind.

Many churches in the SBC have devolved from missions outposts to maintenance facilities, and as such they have lost the presence and power of Jesus. Jesus said, “If any serves Me, where I am, there he will be also” (paraphrase of John 12:26). Jesus is seeking and saving the lost. Churches in frontier regions naturally live there; all churches should return to that.

This also is where the distinction between smaller and larger churches becomes insignificant. Smaller churches often reach people in frontier areas more effectively than big ones. Most of the churches in the New Testament, for instance, were smaller, but the impact they made for the Great Commission was nothing short of miraculous.

Q: What would you suggest should be changed across the convention within the next two to three years to ensure growth?

A: We need (1) to focus again on the priority of the gospel as the basis of our unity and evangelism as our mission; (2) to make way for ethnic leaders to lead us in reaching a changing demographic; (3) to make it easy for churches to get involved in church planting, here and abroad; (4) to mobilize a generation of college students to live on mission; and (5) to increase involvement in the CP.

We can increase CP involvement in three ways. First call for churches to give more to the CP. (Obvious, but bears repeating.) Second celebrate state conventions getting money to the field. (Southern Baptists have many desires in their giving, but I believe this is dearest to their hearts.) Third encourage all forms of Great Commission giving. We do not, of course, want to foster a societal approach, but we need to allow churches freedom in engaging.

Q: What are some ways relationships between SBC entities can be improved or strengthened?

A: All backbiting and cynicism has to stop. We are one people with a gospel too great and a mission too urgent to focus on petty differences or territorialism between ourselves.

Each entity should look at itself as the servant of the others and most of all as servant of the mission. Practically, this means we give each other the benefit of the doubt, assume the best in one another and extend grace just as Christ did with us.

Trustee boards

Trustee boards should allow appointed leaders the freedom to lead, but those leaders should lead transparently and in submission to the oversight of those boards.

Our trustee boards are there to offer counsel, to manage crises and, at times, to put on the brakes or redirect the focus. In other words, boards should hold the entity heads accountable but let them lead the charge in mission.

Q: In the wake of the #MeToo movement and numerous sex-related scandals that have impacted our nation, including Southern Baptist churches and leaders, what are some ways congregations can better respond to these issues and minister to those affected?

A: First we must understand that some actions are not only immoral but also illegal. In such cases, rebuking the immorality is not enough; we need to involve law enforcement. Our government structures, Paul says, are appointed by God to keep the peace and we should submit to them.

Second we need to become as skilled in applying the gospel to suffering as we are to sin. We must learn to listen, to seek counsel and to fight to protect the vulnerable in our flocks.

Third we should mention the experience of abuse in our teaching. When we don’t mention experiences like sexual abuse, we indirectly communicate, “The gospel doesn’t apply here.”

Fourth we must insist on the highest standards of transparency and accountability. Things that grow in a secret garden always grow mutant! Pastors must be wise in not putting themselves in tempting or compromising situations. (BP)

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Alabamians nominated to serve

Nominees to serve on the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) Executive Committee, the four denominational boards — International Mission Board, North American Mission Board, LifeWay Christian Resources and GuideStone Financial Resources — the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, the six seminaries and the Committee on Order of Business have been selected by the 2018 SBC Committee on Nominations.

Nominees will serve if elected by the messengers to the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention on June 12–13 in Dallas.

Alabama Baptists nominated:

Executive Committee — Phyllis S. Ingram, Montgomery, and Neal Hughes, Montgomery, terms expiring in 2022.

GuideStone Financial Resources — Nominated for a second term, David S. Puckett, Birmingham.

International Mission Board — Nominated for a second term, Cecil M. Sanders Jr., Headland.

North American Mission Board — Nominated for a second term, Charles M. (Danny) Wood, Birmingham.

LifeWay Christian Resources — Benjamin D. Posey, Kinston, term expiring in 2022.

Southern Seminary — Bradley M. Rushing, Dothan, term expiring in 2023.

New Orleans Seminary — Braden W. Mims, Thomasville, term expiring in 2023. (BP)

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Committee on Resolutions named

Jason Duesing, of Missouri, has been named chairman of the Committee on Resolutions for the June 12–13 Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) annual meeting in Dallas.

According to SBC Bylaw 20, proposed resolutions may be submitted as early as April 15 but no later than 15 days prior to the SBC annual meeting.

Resolutions may not be submitted during the annual meeting. Proposed resolutions should be submitted by email or mailed to the Committee on Resolutions in care of the SBC Executive Committee, 901 Commerce St., Nashville, TN 37203.

The drafts must be typewritten, titled, dated and include complete contact information of the author and his or her church, as well as a letter from the church stating the submitter is a member in good standing. (BP)

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SBC presidential nominee Hemphill responds to Baptist state editors’ questions

University administrator and former seminary president Ken Hemphill is one of two candidates to be nominated for Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) president in June.

A coalition of Southern Baptists announced the nomination Feb. 1 via a Baptist state paper.

The new SBC president will succeed Memphis-area pastor Steve Gaines, who was elected to the first of two one-year presidential terms in 2016.

Hemphill was president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, from 1994 to 2003 and national strategist from 2003 to 2011 for the SBC’s Empowering Kingdom Growth (EKG) emphasis.

Hemphill now serves as special assistant to the president for denominational relations at North Greenville University in Tigerville, South Carolina. Hemphill also has pastored churches in Kentucky and Virginia and led the Home Mission Board’s (now the North American Mission Board) Southern Baptist Center for Church Growth in the early 1990s.

Hemphill responded to six questions from Baptist Press (BP) and Baptist state editors. BP requested each candidate to respond within 150 words.

Here are Hemphill’s responses:

Q: What are some specific ways you would like to help bridge possible theological and generational differences in the SBC that Southern Baptists have expressed concerns about in recent years?

A: In order to bridge any “potential” barriers to fellowship and mutual cooperation, we must restore trust and civility in our conversations about each other. Social media gives everyone instant access to unfettered means of sharing opinions on everything.

Biblical standards

The internet is an effective tool of communication, but it must be self-monitored by biblical standards such as “speak the truth in love” (Eph. 4:15) and avoiding unwholesome words and speaking for edification (Eph. 4:29).

Second we must provide opportunities for listening and discussing theological, racial or generational differences.

Local associations and state conventions can play a vital role in bringing together diverse groups of people for fellowship, respectful discussion and prayer. We must avoid labeling faithful Southern Baptists.

Third our structure at every level of our convention must reflect and celebrate our racial and generational diversity while maintaining our core spiritual and theological convictions.

Q: Please describe why you believe support for the Cooperative Program (CP), Lottie Moon Christmas Offering and Annie Armstrong Easter Offering is vital to Southern Baptists’ mission and vision.

A: This is a key issue that motivated me to become a candidate.

First establishing the budget requires cooperation at every level of SBC life. It is fine-tuned by the Executive Committee and approved by messengers at the annual convention. A church’s nonrestricted gift through CP should be the norm for the sake of budgeting and planning.

Second cooperative giving is a biblical approach to funding missions by churches who work together for Kingdom-sized goals. As a funding mechanism for supporting missions, it has absolutely no peer in Christian history.

Third CP giving and our missions offerings allow every church of every size to be an equal partner in the ministries of the state and national convention. Percentage giving is not measured by the size of the gift but the size of the sacrifice.

We must celebrate percentage giving rather than actual dollars given by a particular church.

Q: What are some lessons Southern Baptist churches in the South can learn — and possibly apply to their ministries — from congregations outside of that region in more pioneer or unreached areas of the country?

A: I have been privileged to speak in many new-work areas and have learned far more than I have ever imparted.
First we can learn the importance of working together on those things that facilitate gospel encounters.

In this same vein, they teach us how to build relationships and share the story of Jesus with persons with little exposure to the gospel or Southern Baptists.

Also, we can learn from them how to do much with so little. Few of these churches have full-time or multiple staff members and many of our smaller state conventions no longer have the equipping resources they once had, therefore they teach us to rely upon the Lord and to work with others.

Because they understand the crucial nature of working together, these new-work churches are often very generous in their cooperative giving. They teach us percentage giving has greater value than flat-lined dollar amounts.

Q: What would you suggest should be changed across the convention within the next two to three years to ensure growth?

A: Let’s be clear! The Lord builds His church (Matt. 16:18). He uses human instruments and expects all of us to engage in the singular mandate of the Great Commission — to make disciples. This requires going (evangelizing), baptizing (congregationalizing) and teaching (disciple making).

History shows that when our convention loses its laser-like focus on the Great Commission we lose ground.
We must regain our Kingdom focus. We are called to be a royal priesthood (Ex. 19:4–6), representing the King and advancing His kingdom to all peoples before His triumphal return.

Our goal is far larger than growing our church or even our convention. We must regain the high ground of being a people on mission with God. That means some of our personal preferences must be put aside as we renew our minds — a Kingdom mindset through churches, associations, state conventions and SBC missions and ministries. We need to revitalize the role of state convention evangelism director, invest more in campus ministries, utilize gifted evangelists and restore a passion for soul-winning.

Q: What are some ways relationships between SBC entities can be improved or strengthened?

A: There is a “hermeneutic of suspicion” in our culture today and it impacts the Christian community and our ability to cooperate.

We must repent of critical attitudes and rhetoric that damage our ability to work together for the Kingdom. We must learn again to operate based on the principle of love which chooses to believe the best and refuses to judge motives.

When you have a valid criticism, express it with kindness with a view to finding helpful solutions. We must restore trust because cooperation is impossible without trust. Trust and mutual care can only happen when we sit down together, discuss issues, pray and work for a solution. We must re-learn the art of “pulling for each other.”

We need to work to establish situations that produce “win-win” outcomes. As Scripture indicates, when one member suffers we all suffer together and when one succeeds we all succeed.

SBC entities must be transparent and responsive to its constituents.

Q: In the wake of the #MeToo movement and numerous sex-related scandals that have impacted our nation, including Southern Baptist churches and leaders, what are some ways congregations can better respond to these issues and minister to those affected?

A: We must first teach biblical holiness as a positive alternative to the world’s obsession with sexual permissiveness. We must provide biblical teaching that the body belongs to the Lord and is a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19–20).

Safety and security

We must train church leaders concerning the importance of safety and security. Such measures include adopting strong policies, properly reporting and taking seriously the claims of those indicating abuse.

Churches should create accountability groups where a mentor or a mature friend has permission to ask the hard questions about what we are listening to, reading and watching.

The sexual abuse of women and children should never be tolerated or left unpunished. When church leaders/members are guilty, action needs to be swift and decisive.

If someone experiences moral failure, the Church must respond with biblical discipline that has as its ultimate goal the restoration to fellowship of the repentant offender (2 Cor. 2:7–8). (BP)

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Two Alabama preachers to be featured

Two Alabama preachers are among the diverse speakers at the June 10–11 Southern Baptist Convention Pastors Conference in Dallas.

Robert Smith, the Charles T. Carter Baptist Chair of Divinity at Samford University’s Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham, and Daven Watkins, pastor of First Baptist Church, Pelham, are both preaching Monday, June 11. Smith closes out the afternoon session and Watkins opens up the evening session.

Pastors Conference President H.B. Charles said all the speakers — who are black, white and Hispanic — illustrate that “God uses different persons, different personalities and different backgrounds.”

“My first concern was that these men … are faithful preachers … (who) rightly handle the Word of Truth,” Charles said.

The conference will center on the theme “Fulfill Your Ministry!” and exhort pastors and other ministers to finish strong in their callings, according to Charles. (TAB, BP)

For more information, visit sbcpc.net.

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Gaines addresses issues regarding Patterson controversy

SBC President Steve Gaines on the Patterson controversy:

I want to address the issues regarding comments made by one of our seminary presidents, Dr. Paige Patterson. I praise God for the leadership he gave to the SBC during the Conservative Resurgence. I am also grateful for his leadership at my alma mater, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. I have talked with him in person and by phone regarding his comments and told him that I disagree with the counsel he gave to a woman who was married to an abusive husband. I personally believe that if a husband abuses his wife physically, the wife should immediately: 1) notify the police and follow their instructions, 2) remove herself and her children physically from the abusive husband under the protection of police for her safety and 3) notify the family’s pastor so the church can engage in church discipline toward the abuser. The church should also seek to come alongside the woman and help her in any way possible to ensure her protection and care.

Regarding Dr. Patterson’s more recent remarks about a teenage girl, I believe they were improper. While I love him and appreciate him, I disagree with what he said. Preachers should never refer to women in any way that could be considered demeaning. SBC pastors must do everything we can to protect all women from being subjected to any form of abuse.

On behalf of the SBC, I ask for the forgiveness of all women who have been hurt by these comments and the issue of ill treatment of women within churches in particular. I believe we should esteem and regard women in the same way Jesus did during His earthly ministry. Women are created in the image of God and are of great value and worth. The church especially is no place for misogyny or disrespect for anyone. This year marks the 100th anniversary of women being messengers to the SBC annual meeting. It is my prayer that this year will also mark a renewed commitment to honoring women and their contributions to our churches and convention.

Some have called for me to stop Dr. Patterson from preaching the Convention Sermon in Dallas. The SBC president does not have the authority to make that decision. Neither does the SBC Committee on Order of Business. It was the messengers of the 2017 SBC meeting that selected Dr. Patterson to preach the 2018 Convention Sermon. There are only two scenarios in which Dr. Patterson will not preach the Convention Sermon: 1) the messengers of the SBC vote at the annual meeting in Dallas for him not to do so, or 2) Dr. Patterson personally withdraws from that responsibility. In either case, the alternate preacher, Dr. Kie Bowman, would preach the Convention Sermon.

SBC trustees

Some have asked how our SBC process functions regarding SBC entity heads and to whom they are accountable. All SBC employees, including presidents, answer ultimately to their respective trustee boards. SBC trustees are elected by and accountable to the SBC churches, not to the entity heads. SBC messengers from our churches elect all SBC trustees at our annual conventions. Ultimately, the trustees have the right to decide all matters regarding any SBC entity, including matters related to any entity president. The trustees alone are invested with ultimate authority by the SBC. (BP)

Editor’s Note — This is an excerpt from a May 11 statement Steve Gaines provided to Baptist Press.

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National WMU meeting changes format

National Woman’s Missionary Union (WMU) leaders are changing the routine missions celebration and annual meeting up a bit to offer unique experiences in Dallas.

This year’s program centers on the theme “Unshakable Pursuit,” which also is the name of a 30-day devotional by Alabama Baptist Grace Thornton set to release in June.

WMU general sessions will be Sunday, June 10, at Eddie Deen’s Ranch beginning at 3 p.m.; and Monday, June 11, at the Bruton Theatre in the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center at 7 p.m.

Sessions

In addition to general sessions, there are three missions experiences available on Monday:

  1. Conferences — Dynamic small-group breakout sessions on a variety of topics will be offered at 9 a.m., 10 a.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. These will take place in the convention center on the first level/ground in Lobby C. Thornton will lead breakout sessions on the theme during this time.
  2. Refugee Simulation — Gain an understanding about the plight of refugees and ways you can minister as you explore the refugee simulation in the SBC Exhibit Hall, presented in partnership with the International Mission Board, North American Mission Board and Baptist Global Response.
  3. Tour Area Ministry Sites — Learn more about missions efforts in Dallas and make an impact through serving and prayerwalking area ministry sites; roundtrip transportation from the convention center is provided. Preregistration is required at https://form.jotform.com/80384152958161.

There is a registration fee for Sunday activities and a minimal fee for the tours. For more information, visit wmu.com and type “annual meeting” in the search field. (WMU, TAB)

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Alabamians to serve at annual meeting

Alabama Baptists will be represented in various roles throughout the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) annual meeting in Dallas.

Greg Hyche, pastor of Ladonia Baptist Church, Phenix City, is chairing the credentials committee. Chad Burdette, pastor of Macedonia Baptist Church, Ranburne, and Tim Cox, pastor of Liberty Baptist Church, Chelsea, will serve on the Committee on Committees.

Representatives from University of Mobile and Shocco Springs Baptist Conference Center in Talladega will be among the hundreds of booths in the exhibit hall.

Samford University representatives are hosting an alumni and friends reception (see information below).

Rick Lance, executive director of the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions, is leading the Tuesday evening closing prayer. And several top-level SBC leaders on the program have ties to Alabama, including SBC President Steve Gaines. (TAB)

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All alumni and friends of Samford University are invited to attend the Alumni & Friends Reception at the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Wednesday, June 13 / 2 p.m.

Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center / Room C143
Dallas, Texas

Joe Hopkins, Kevin Blackwell, Gary Fenton and Scott Guffin will provide updates related to Samford. Along with coffee and a variety of desserts, everyone who attends will receive a gift.

The event is complimentary but registering will assist with preparing for the event.

Please RSVP at alumni.samford.edu.