‘Count All as Loss’ theme of annual meeting
Missouri Southern Baptists will assemble amidst the fall foliage of Tan-Tar-A Resort on the Lake of the Ozarks Oct. 31-Nov. 2 to hold their 177th annual meeting, a gathering whose theme “Count All As Loss” is based on Phil. 3:1-11.
Click for Annual Meeting Schedule
Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) President John Marshall, pastor, Second Baptist Church, Springfield, will preside over the meeting that will feature the usual blend of worship, business and fellowship. Marshall will be accompanied by Second Springfield’s Worship Pastor Kevin Hawkins along with the church’s choir and orchestra, which will lead in worship during the opening session on the evening of Oct. 31. Marshall’s wife, Ruth, will also bring a message in music.
The first evening session will also feature MBC interim Executive Director Jay Hughes, who will bring a report on convention ministries. It is possible that an address by the new MBC executive director will be delivered that evening as well.
The Nov. 1 morning session will feature Joshua Hedger, pastor, Freshwater Church, Bolivar, will bring the annual convention sermon. Neil Franks, pastor, First Baptist Church, Branson, will offer this year’s theme interpretation periodically throughout the meeting. Other guest speakers will include Jim Shaddix, senior teaching pastor, Riverside Baptist Church, Denver, Colo., and Frank Page, president and chief executive officer of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee.
Additional musical guests include the Missouri Music Men, Higher Ground from Southwest Baptist University, the Hannibal-LaGrange University Chamber Choir, and soloists Kevin Stratton of Freshwater Church, Bolivar, Mark Meyers, minister of music, Concord Baptist Church, Jefferson City, and Christian music recording artist Joe Engel from Dallas, Texas.
The Nov. 1 evening session will be highlighted by an Engle concert, an emphasis on the MBC’s partnership with the Missouri National Guard, mission updates and reports from the MBC staff.
Prayer to launch annual meeting each day
Solemn Assembly prayer meetings have become a familiar event leading up to recent years’ Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) annual meetings, but now there will be something different at Tan-Tar-A.
Room 74 at the Tan-Tar-A resort has been set aside specifically for prayer during the MBC annual meeting Oct. 31-Nov. 2. Each morning, from 7:30 to 8 a.m., messengers can go there to pray over the upcoming day’s business.
Frank Welch, director of missions for Salt River Baptist Association, will lead the prayer room in “guided” prayer sessions. Prayer suggestions will focus on the musicians and speakers and stage personalities as well as MBC Executive Board members and officers. There also will be prayer for the upcoming business sessions.
“We were in a time of conflict when we started the solemn assemblies,” said Bob Loggins, MBC prayer and spiritual awakening specialist. “It’s time to move on to the next step. There is still a need for healing, but it’s time for restoration. God doesn’t send us through trials without perfecting.”
Loggins also said the Sunday evening time slot for the extended solemn assemblies made it difficult for many to attend.
“The Joy of Restoration: A Blessed Hope” is the “theme” of the prayer meetings. It will be somewhat similar to a solemn assembly in that there will be times of cleansing, confession, and repentance.
“God sent Jeremiah with words of encouragement to His chosen people, Israel, in Jeremiah 30,” Loggins said.
Verses 1-3 say: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says, ‘Write in a book all the words I have spoken to you. The days are coming; declares the Lord, ‘when I will bring my people Israel and Judah back from captivity and restore them to the land I gave their forefathers to possess,’ says the Lord.
“In the next chapter, the Lord declares: ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness; I will build you up again and you will be rebuilt,’” Loggins said. “Missouri Baptist family, it’s prayer time.”
Loggins asked people to get on their knees before the annual meeting begins.
“Pray that the Lord will send even more prayer warriors,” he said,
“both young and old, crying out to God. Even if you can’t come, meet us in prayer wherever you are across Missouri.”
Familiar faces running for top MBC officer spots
John Marshall, pastor, Second Baptist Church, Springfield, has announced he is running for re-election as Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) president in a year when the other three officers are attempting to do the same.
The elections will take place over the course of the 177th annual meeting of the MBC from Oct. 31-Nov. 2 at Tan-Tar-A, Osage Beach.
Wesley Hammond, pastor, First Baptist Church, Paris, is running for first vice president again. The same holds true for Second Vice President Micah Fries, pastor, Frederick Boulevard Baptist Church, St. Joseph, and Recording Secretary Jamie Hitt, member, First Baptist Church, Winfield. Hitt is trying for her fourth year.
Marshall is trying for his fifth year overall as an elected office holder. He previously served one year on the state level as second vice president and two years as first vice president. In the midst of that he also preached the 2009 Southern Baptist Convention sermon at Louisville, Ky.
Hammond and Fries won contested races for their positions at last year’s annual meeting in Springfield.
There are no other announced candidates for any of the convention’s four offices at this time.
SBC Exec. Committee president to speak at Tan-Tar-A
Frank Page, president and chief executive officer of the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), will deliver the main message of the morning session of the Nov. 2 portion of the 177th annual meeting of the Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) at Tan-Tar-A, Osage Beach.
Page is scheduled to speak at 9:45 a.m.
He is relatively new to his position, having been affirmed by the trustees in June 2010 and having officially started Oct. 1. His first year in office has been marked by the convention adjusting to Great Commission Resurgence (GCR) reforms and a realignment of the domestic missionary force.
A native of North Carolina, Page is a graduate of Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs. He received his Master of Divinity Degree and his Ph.D. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas.
Most recently, he served as vice president for the Evangelization Group at the North American Mission Board (NAMB). Before that, Page served as Pastor for Taylors First Baptist Church, Taylors, S.C. He also served as pastor for churches in Georgia, Texas, and North Carolina for the past 34 years.
He served as president for the Southern Baptist Convention from 2006-2008, and since then he has traveled across the Convention speaking to various groups, ministries and churches. He served as a member of the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force of the SBC from 2009-2010. In January 2007, he was named one of the Fifty Most Influential Christians in America by the Church Report. He also served on the Faith Based Council for President Obama from 2009 to 2010.
Page has appeared on numerous radio and television programs including ABC 20/20, Larry King Live, CBS Morning News, Scarborough County, CNN Profile, NBC Morning News, and Fox News. He is quoted regularly in The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, and The Associated Press. Page has also written several books and many articles.
He is married to Dayle Gibson Page. They have two grown daughters, Laura (Oklahoma) and Allison (South Carolina). Their oldest daughter, Melissa, passed away in November 2009.
Shaddix lined up for Nov. 1 speaking slot
Jim Shaddix, pastor of Riverside Baptist Church in Denver, will speak Nov. 1 to the 177th annual meeting of the Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) at Tan-Tar-A, Osage Beach.
Shaddix is scheduled to speak at 4 p.m.
He has been pastor of Riverside since January 2005. Before that he served as pastor in New Orleans, La., Picayune, Miss., and Arlington, Texas. He also held interim pastorates in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.
Shaddix, 50, who lives in Evergreen, Colo., is also known as a professor and author.
Since 2006 he has taught as an adjunct professor of preaching at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary (Rocky Mountain Campus) in Denver. He previously served as dean of the chapel and associate professor of preaching for New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, where he also was director of professional doctoral programs and assistant professor of preaching.
From 1996-2004, he was founder and president of Burning Heart Ministries, Inc., in New Orleans. Also from 1997-1998 he was director of field education for the seminary.
His education includes a bachelor of science degree from Jacksonville State University in Alabama, a master of divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, a doctor of ministry degree from Southwestern, and a doctor of philosophy degree from New Orleans Seminary.
He co-wrote a book with Jerry Vines in 1999 entitled Power in the Pulpit. He later wrote, The Passion-Driven Sermon in 2003.
His speaking appearances include three evangelism conferences (Northwest Baptist, 1995, Mississippi Baptist, 2001, and Tennessee Baptist, 2002) and several preaching/pastors conferences including Florida Baptist and Alabama Baptist (both in 2002) and one at the Adrian Rogers Center of Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary in 2008.
He is married to Debra Gail Joyner. Their three children are Clint, Shane, and Dallys.
1st Branson’s Franks set for theme interpretation
“Count All as Loss,” the theme for the 177th annual meeting of the Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC), is based on Philippians 3:1-11.
Neil Franks, pastor of First Baptist Church here, will lead the three theme interpretation sessions at Tan-Tar-A.
“The theme emphasis is coming from verse eight,” Franks said. “Paul is talking about the righteousness that comes from faith in Christ. We should count that as the most valuable and not righteousness through works.”
Franks said in the first theme interpretation session he would discuss background.
“As pastors, we have degrees from seminary, titles and experiences,” he said. “We spend a lot of time and focus on these. But they are not as valuable as knowing Christ. Regardless of the size of our church, which committees we serve on or the positions or titles we hold, nothing is as important as totally relying on Christ.”
According to Franks, the second session will look at heritage.
“I grew up in Arkansas and I participated in all the Baptist programs, activities and camps,” he said. “Sometimes, we hold on to past Baptist things to the detriment of today. We can get value from what we’ve done and not from coming to Christ.
“I’ve been in Baptist life and it is great and helpful. But we need to focus on knowing Christ and how others can know him,” Franks said. “Relationships grow and evolve and we need to be ready to adapt to what is going on now and to respond to the needs of today’s culture. We owe our allegiance to Christ and to His message.”
Franks will look to the future in the third session.
“Paul is thinking of the future in this passage,” he said. “As Baptists, we need to be sure that we are not looking at past successes or programs to the degree that we are not doing what we should be doing. We need to be ready to know Christ and to focus on what He’s done rather than what we’ve done.”
Franks since 2007 has led First Branson to more than double in size, running more than 1,000 in worship with three weekly services. He previously served as teaching pastor of Council Road Baptist Church, Bethany, Okla., and associate pastor of First Baptist Church, Festus/Crystal City. Before that he was pastor of Illmo Baptist Church, Scott City.
Franks earned his doctor of ministry degree from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Kansas City. He also holds a master of divinity with Biblical languages degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Ft. Worth, Texas.
Times, dates set for related meetings as messengers fellowship at Tan-Tar-A
Monday, Oct. 31
11:30 a.m. – Missouri Fellowship of Evangelists Business Meeting & Luncheon, Redbud Room, Level 7, Tan-Tar-A Resort. Reservations required: contact Ron Shrum at 314-629-5766.
8:30 p.m. – SEND Missouri Cafe Coffee Reception, Redbud Room, Level 7, Tan-Tar-A Resort. Hosted by Church Planting Team. Everyone welcome!
9:00 p.m. – One21 Late Night, Crystal Ballroom, Tan-Tar-A Resort. Hosted by Student Ministries Team. Everyone welcome!
Tuesday, Nov. 1
4:30 p.m. – Director of Missions Fellowship Dinner, Parasol I, Level 7, Tan-Tar-A Resort. Reservations required: contact Al Groner at 573-231-6755.
9:00 p.m. – Hannibal-LaGrange University Alumni & Friends Meet & Greet Dessert Reception, Rooms 70-73, Level 7, Tan-Tar-A Resort. Everyone welcome!
Noon – Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary Alumni & Friends of Missouri Luncheon, Redbud Room, Level 7, Tan-Tar-A Resort. Reservations required: contact Sue West at 816-414-3720.
Noon – New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary Missouri Alumni Lunch, Eastwinds Room, Black Bear Lodge Restaurant, Tan-Tar-A Resort. Reservations required: contact Don Currence at 417-849-1693.
12:15 p.m. – Mid-American Baptist Theological Seminary Alumni Luncheon, Room 73, Level 7, Tan-Tar-A Resort. RSVP: Josh McGuire at 573-230-6582.
12:15 p.m. – Partnership Missions Luncheon, Parasol I and II, Level 7, Tan-Tar-A Resort. Register Online or contact Linda Stockton at 1-800-736-6227 ext. 621. Read More…Limited to the first 250 to register!
12:15 p.m. – Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary Alumni Luncheon Meeting, Room 70-71, Level 7, Tan-Tar-A Resort. By invitation only!
12:30 p.m. – Ministry Wives Luncheon, Crystal Ballroom, Tan-Tar-A Resort. Reservations required.
9:00 p.m. – Missouri Baptist Children’s Home Meet & Greet Reception, Parasol I and II, Level 7, Tan-Tar-A Resort. Everyone welcome!
9:00 p.m. – Southwest Baptist University Alumni & Friends Meet & Greet Dessert Reception, Redbud Room, Level 7, Tan-Tar-A Resort. Everyone welcome!
9:00 p.m. – Southwest Baptist University Alumni & Friends Meet & Greet Dessert Reception, Redbud Room, Level 7, Tan-Tar-A Resort. Everyone welcome!
Wednesday, Nov. 2
12:30 p.m. – Missouri Baptist University Trustee Luncheon & Meeting, Room 70, Level 7, Tan-Tar-A Resort. By invitation only!
MBC’s worship blend spreads wide, deep
Worship time is often a highlight of the annual meeting, and this year’s program features a lineup of powerful music.
Joel Engle will share his worshipful music during a concert during Tuesday evening’s program. Engle is a church planter in Keller, Texas, and is looking forward to ministering to pastors through the concert.
“As ministers, we are probably the most thirsty worshippers in the world because so often we are so busy ‘doing’ ministry rather than enjoying the presence of God with other believers,” he said. “This will be a chance for every minister to take off the minister hat and just be a child of God for a while.”
Messengers may be familiar with his songs on Christian radio including “Shadow of Your Cross” and “Louder Than The Angels.” Engle hopes to use music to amplify truths taught through Scripture.
“It’s one thing to read or listen to truth and it is another thing to sing it!” he said. “I think the Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) is wise in creating a time of praise and worship so ministers can process the truth and express their love for Christ through music.”
He describes his music as intense, theological, authentic and uncompromising.
“My concerts are designed to create a worship experience with Christ, so my songs are Christ-centered and my message points to his love, life and power,” he said.
In addition to being a recording artist, worship leader and church planter, Engle is a husband and the father of four. He will also perform during the Tuesday afternoon session.
The three-day meeting will feature special music and worship led by a wide variety of Missouri Baptists.
For the opening session on Monday evening, Kevin Hawkins will share pre-session music and lead congregational singing. Hawkins is worship pastor for Second Baptist Church in Springfield, where convention president John Marshall serves as pastor.
Before joining Second Baptist, Hawkins was choral director at Glendale High School in Springfield where he led the choir to achieve national recognition and was named the 2005-2006 Springfield R-12 “Teacher of the Year.” He graduated from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and is working to complete his doctorate in music education from Boston University. Second Baptist’s choir and orchestra will be joining Hawkins for a few numbers.
One other member Second Baptist will also share special music on Monday evening. Ruth Marshall will share prior to her husband delivering the president’s address. She is a direct descendant of charter members of Old Bethel Baptist Church, the first Protestant church west of the Mississippi River near Jackson
Kevin Stratton, worship pastor at Freshwater Church in Bolivar, will offer special music during the Tuesday morning session. Freshwater’s pastor, Joshua Hedger, will preach the annual sermon following the music. The two men became friends while serving at another church previously. Stratton enjoys sharing his pastor’s heart in inviting people to worship.
Missouri’s Baptist colleges will lend their musical talent to the annual meeting. The Hannibal-LaGrange University Chamber Choir will present sacred a cappella music as a worship ministry during Tuesday’s morning session. Higher Ground of Southwest Baptist University will perform on Wednesday morning.
The Missouri Music Men will also sing during Wednesday’s session. The Music Men are a group of worship leaders, leading worship.
MBC meeting for ministry wives will feature Rhea
The sacrifices that Missouri Baptist women make for their men in ministry are ongoing and many. On Nov. 1 here at Tan-Tar-A, the caring will be on display for all to see.
The Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) Ministry Wives Task Force Luncheon is planned for 12:30 p.m. in conjunction with the MBC annual meeting. It will feature the theme “Purse-uit of Holiness,” which is patterned after the title of a book written by Pathway Columnist Rhonda Rhea, a minister’s wife from Troy. Rhea will be the guest speaker that day in the Crystal Ballroom.
“It’s a time to relax and fellowship,” said Cindy Taylor, president of the Ministry Wives Task Force. “It’s also a time to be inspired and be encouraged.”
Taylor said women can sometimes fall into the trap of overloading their purses as well as their spiritual lives.
“Sometimes we just need to keep it simple—prayer, Bible study, read good books, listen to good music, anything to keep our minds focused towards our Father,” she said.
Allison Steiner, a teacher and violinist from Second Baptist Church in Springfield, will be on hand along with a couple of other stringed musicians to play soothing music during the luncheon. The intent is for the women to leave realizing that their souls have been enriched and their ministries refreshed.
“I want them to realize they need to keep their focus on their focus,” Taylor said. “For ministers’ wives, God has put us there for a reason. It took me a long time to understand this. God didn’t allow us to marry the men that we married unless He wanted us there. He put us there in that spot to serve that man, to serve that minister. Sometimes we lose that focus.”
Rhea is married to Richard Rhea, the pastor of First Baptist Church, Troy. She is a radio personality who enjoys a recurring role on Focus on the Family’s “Weekend Magazine” program. Her popularity is evidenced by her more than 3,200 Facebook friends.
Rhea is also a humor columnist for publications in the United States, like The Pathway, and Canada.
Cost is $20 per registered person, which includes a free copy of the book that carries the luncheon’s theme. Women can also get in by paying $25 on site at the Ministry Wives Exhibit Booth.
Hedger prepares to deliver convention sermon
Joshua Hedger, lead pastor/planter of Freshwater Church here, will give the convention sermon at the 177th annual meeting of the Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) at Tan-Tar-A, Osage Beach.
The message is scheduled to be delivered at 11:35 a.m. Nov. 1.
Hedger and his wife, Tish, moved to Bolivar in August 2009 to plant the church. It has been a journey of character growth for the young Hedger, whose father, Rick, is partnership missions specialist for the MBC.
On his blog July 28, Joshua Hedger reflected on what God has done in his life. He will turn 31 on Nov. 23.
“It is only by God’s grace that this prideful, perverted, temper-ridden man could ever be considered worthy to take another breath, let alone pastor a church,” he wrote. “But that’s just what God’s grace has done.”
Hedger referred to himself as “one jacked-up fool” apart from grace alone, which he wrote “has removed all of that.” He went on in his blog post to boast in the majestic wonder of God alone.
“He looks at me with joy,” Hedger wrote. “With love. With pleasure. He doesn’t look at me with any of those responses because I’ve grown a church fast. He doesn’t look at me like that because I’m a good communicator. He doesn’t look at me like that because He’s impressed with anything I’ve done. He looks at me like that because of everything Jesus has done on the cross for me!”
Freshwater is one of those rare Missouri Baptist churches that is experiencing exquisite, explosive, sweet expansion. In its first six months of life, the church increased from 24 to 500. Then came another growth spurt that took Freshwater all the way up to 700, now bumping up to 800.
“God has been graceful beyond belief,” he wrote.
Hedger is a 2004 graduate of Southwest Baptist University and a 2008 graduate of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has served in various churches in Missouri and Texas as a youth / college pastor. n
Pastors Conference features three Missourians
This year’s Pastors Conference at Tan-Tar-A will feature faces familiar to Missouri Baptists as they tackle the theme, “From Generation to Generation.”
The speakers are: Kenny Qualls, senior pastor of First Baptist, Arnold; Joshua Hedger, lead pastor of Freshwater Church, Bolivar; Rustin Umstattd, professor of theology at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (MBTS); and Steve Dighton, senior pastor at Lenexa Baptist in Lenexa, Kan.
The conference will begin with worship at 8:30 a.m. Oct. 31 and end at 4:30 with a break for lunch at 11:30. Officer elections will be at 3:15.
The theme finds its roots in Titus 2:6-8: “Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled. Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us.”
Qualls studied at Missouri State University, Drury College, Southwest Baptist University (SBU) and MBTS and served as pastor of two churches. He also was associate executive director of the MBC and served for a time as MBC president in 2002. First Arnold has the largest deaf ministry in a hearing Baptist church in America and they are a Strategic Partner Church with the International Mission Board (IMB). They have mission partnerships in Colorado, New York, Mexico and India. They were involved in 12 new church plants during 2010 and went on 19 mission trips during 2010.
Hedger is a 2004 graduate of SBU and a 2009 graduate of MBTS. He has served in various churches as student pastor and has served overseas with IMB as a semester missionary in West Africa.
Umstattd is associate academic dean and assistant professor of theology at MBTS. He earned his doctorate and a Master of Divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, Texas. He also holds a master of business administration degree from Georgia Southern University and bachelor of business administration from Georgia Southwestern University. Before joining the faculty at Midwestern, Umstattd served 15-plus years in student ministry. Umstattd is a member of Northland Baptist Church where he serves in the student ministry and the music ministry and is the interim senior pastor.
Dighton has been the senior pastor at Lenexa Baptist Church since 1990. Prior to coming to Lenexa, he was the senior pastor at First Baptist Church in Piedmont, Okla. Dighton received his education at Dallas Baptist University and holds two degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Before his call to the ministry, Steve enjoyed a career in the men’s clothing business. But, while serving as a deacon and a Sunday School teacher at his home church, he began to feel God’s call to full-time service. The Dighton family then moved to Fort Worth, Texas, so that Steve could follow God’s leading and attend seminary. Since that time, God has confirmed that calling in many ways. His God-given vision for Lenexa Baptist is that they would become the “flagship conservative evangelical church” in Johnson County, taking the Gospel to the surrounding community, while spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ to the world through their mission endeavors.
The Pastors Conference officers are Matt Marrs, director of missions for Clay-Platte Baptist Association in Liberty, president; Micah Fries, lead pastor of Frederick Boulevard Baptist, St. Joseph, president-elect; and Phil Bray, pastor of First Baptist, Puxico, treasurer. n
Conference schedule
8:30 Worship
8:45 Welcome
8:55 Conference Introduction
9:10 Message Joshua Hedger
10:05 Giveaway / Offering
10:25 Message Steve Dighton
11:30 Lunch Break
12:50 Logos Giveaway
1:05 Message Dr. Rustin Umstattd
2:00 Giveaway / Offering
2:20 Message Dr. Tom Hufty
3:15 Officer Election
3:35 Message Kenny Qualls
4:30 Introduction of 2012 Conference
Committee on Convention Committees report
To serve at 2012 annual meeting, St. Louis
Committee on Convention Preacher for 2013 (reporting in 2012)
1. Andy Chambers, West County Community (M), Chairman
2. Joy Caldwell, FBC, Arnold (L)
3. Justin Mosher, Fifth Street, Hannibal (M)
Committee on Resolutions
1. Jason Davis, Bethany, Sikeston, Chairman (M)
2. Howell Burkhead, FBC, Houston (M)
3. Boone Middleton, Golden Avenue, Springfield (M)
4. Darrel Payne, Cornerstone, Sedalia (L)
5. Leslie Thayer, Ozark, Houston (L)
Credentials Committee
Chairman – Gary Mathes
Term expiring 2012
1. Terry Buster (M)
2. Gary Mathes (M)
Term expiring 2013
3. Doug Austin (L)
4. Jule Maskrod (M)
Term expiring 2014
5. Charlie Dawson, Sturgeon (L)
6. Chance Glenn, Atlanta (M)
Committee on Order of Business
Chairman – Glenn Scott
Term expiring 2012
1. Darrell Critten (L)
2. Glenn Scott (M)
Term expiring 2013
3. Kevin Dodd (M)
4. Sharon Paris (L)
Term expiring 2014
5. Jim Breeden, DOM, St. Louis Metro Association (M)
6. Travis Edwards, Orchard Crest, Republic (M)
Committee on Continuing Review
Chairman – David Sheppard
Term expiring 2012
1. Gary Burchett (M)
2. Kevin Farr (M)
Term expiring 2013
3. Reta Smith Gaither (L)
4. Jim McNiell (L)
Term expiring 2014
5. Mark DeShon, Immanuel, Moberly (M)
6. David Sheppard, FBC, Ballwin (M)
Committee on Enrollment – St. Louis
1. Bill Curp, DOM, Jefferson Baptist Association (M) – Chairman
2. Terry Coker, FBC, Fenton (M)
3. VACANT
Elected in 2010 to Committee on Local Arrangements for 2012 annual meeting,
Millennium Hotel, St. Louis
1. Jeff Lunn (M) – Chairman
2. Dana Burris (M)
3. Brent Campbell (M)
4. Tom Firasek (M)
5. Audie Laubinger (L)
6. Christy Nance (L)
7. Juanita Nobles (L)
Committee on Local Arrangements for 2012 Convention, Millennium Hotel, St. Louis
1. Pat Rankin, Have Bible Will Travel, St. Louis (M) (replacing Ken Klaus on 2012 Committee)
Committee on Local Arrangements for 2013 Convention, Hyatt Regency Crown Center, Kansas City, Missouri
1. Rodney Hammer, DOM, Blue River/Kansas City Association (M), Chairman
2. John Mark Clifton, Wornall Road, Kansas City (M)
3. James Freeman, Country Meadows, Independence (L)
4. Scott Gordon, Claycomo, Kansas City (M)
5. Larry Heenan, Spring Valley, Raytown (M)
6. Don Kendal, Park Hill, Kansas Cityl (L)
7. Joe Nelson, Northland, Kansas City (M)
8. Trent Skaggs, FBC, North Kansas City (L)
Committee on Continuing Review report offered
Purpose of the Committee:
According to the MBC Bylaws, Article VI. – Standing and Special Committees:
1. The Convention shall elect standing committees as follows:
d. Reporting at the annual meeting following election with three-year terms for members:
(1) Committee on Continuing Review, consisting of six members, two of whom shall be elected each year on the final day; it shall review Convention operations and shall recommend for Convention action such revisions of the Constitution, Bylaws, or Business and Financial Plan as it determines necessary. Any amendment to the Missouri Baptist Convention Constitution proposed during the annual sessions shall upon introduction and being seconded, stand referred to this committee for examination and hearing on such amendment and a report and recommendation to the Convention at its next annual meeting. Any proposed amendments to the Bylaws or Business and Financial Plan upon being seconded shall stand referred to this committee for report on the final day of the annual meeting.
Report:
The following proposed amendments to the Constitution of the Missouri Baptist Convention were presented in 2010 for debate and vote at the 2011 Annual Meeting.
1. The Committee on Continuing Review recommends the following proposed amendment to the Constitution of the Missouri Baptist Convention (deletion is shown by strikethrough):
That Article VIII, Section 2. d. of the Constitution of the Missouri Baptist Convention be amended by making the following change:
If a vacancy on the Board occurs between annual meetings of the Convention, the chairman of the Board shall promptly notify the chairman of the Convention Nominating Committee, and the Nominating Committee shall, within sixty days, from the list for that area offered by the last committee, fill the position until the next annual meeting of the Convention.
2. The Committee on Continuing Review recommends the following proposed amendmentto the Constitution of the Missouri Baptist Convention (change shown in bold italics and underlined):
That Article IV, Section 1 of the Constitution of the Missouri Baptist Convention be amended by making the following change:
Any Southern Baptist church singly aligned with the Convention and desiring to cooperate with the Convention in her program of single alignment with the Southern Baptist Convention and any Baptist church meeting the qualifications stated in Section 2 shall be entitled to one messenger for every one hundred members or fraction thereof, or for every $2,500.00 given to the Convention through the Cooperative Program, or Great Commission Giving, in the previous reporting year, provided that no church shall be entitled to have more than fifteen messengers. Messengers shall be members of the Missouri Baptist Convention churches that elect them.
Committee members include: James Plymale, chairman, David Cox, Gary Burchett, Kevin Farr, Reta Smith Gaither and Jim McNiell.
Recommendations from the Executive Board
to the churches of the Missouri Baptist Convention
1. That the 2012 Cooperative Program Goal of $14,500,000 be designated 37.25 percent for Southern Baptist Convention Causes and 62.75 percent for Missouri Baptist Convention causes;
19. Legal Services
The Executive Board of the Convention shall retain general counsel for the Executive Board and the Convention.
The Executive Board of the Convention shall upon annual recommendation from the Administrative Committee of such Board review and retain qualified legal counsel to perform such legal services.
19. 20. Insurance
Any institution, agency, or body receiving substantial funds from the Convention must carry sufficient insurance to safeguard the Convention and the churches of the Convention in matters of property loss and/or liability.
20. 21. Amendments
The Business and Financial Plan shall be published in the Annual following the Constitution and Bylaws for the Convention and may be amended at any annual session of the Convention by a two-thirds vote of the messengers present, provided that any amendment to this Business and Financial Plan shall be made by motion no later than the end of the business session on the day preceding the final day of the annual meeting, and upon receiving a second shall stand referred to the Committee on Continuing Review for report on the final day of the annual meeting.
*The term “agency”, as used in this Plan, means any unit other than the Convention and its Executive Board.
10. That, upon review and approval by the Committee on Continuing Review, the MBC Bylaws and Business and Financial Plan are updated to reflect the change in name of Hannibal-LaGrange College to Hannibal-LaGrange University approved by the messengers of the 2010 MBC Annual Meeting, and to reflect the removal of Word & Way as an MBC Agency from all governing documents.
MBC Bylaws
VII. Boards and Agencies of the Convention
2. The agencies and the commissions of the Convention are:
a. Education Agencies: Hannibal-LaGrange College University, Hannibal; Missouri Baptist College, Creve Coeur in St. Louis County; and Southwest Baptist University, Bolivar.
b. Benevolent Agencies: The Baptist Home, Ironton; and Missouri Baptist Children’s Home, Bridgeton in St. Louis County.
c. Commissions: Christian Life Commission and Missouri Baptist Historical Commission.
d. Other: Missouri Baptist Foundation, Jefferson City; and Windermere Baptist Conference Center, Roach. ; and Word&Way, Jefferson City.
4. No one may serve simultaneously on two or more of the boards of agencies listed in Article VII, subparagraph 2, under the same classification, and membership on no agency board listed above, except the Missouri Baptist Foundation or Word&Way shall cause a person to be ineligible for simultaneous service on the Convention Executive Board. No person who serves on the board of an entity listed under Article VII, subparagraph 2 shall serve on the Inter-Agency Relations Committee of the Executive Board. Nothing contained herein shall prohibit the executive director or chairman of the Executive Board from serving on the Windermere Board of Trustees.
VIII. Representation on Convention Committees, Boards, and Commissions
5. The rules concerning terms of service shall not apply to persons who have served on the boards of the following entities during the time when those agencies were involved in litigation with the Convention: The Baptist Home; Missouri Baptist (College) University; Word&Way; Missouri Baptist Foundation; Windermere. Those trustees that have served the above-mentioned agencies during litigation will be allowed to serve new terms following a verdict in favor of the Convention.
Business and Financial Plan
3. Fiscal Years
The fiscal year of the Executive Board and the Convention shall be the calendar year. Each agency shall determine its own fiscal year, and any change shall be incorporated in this Plan. The fiscal years of the agencies of the Convention currently are as follows:
A. The Baptist Home – January 1-December 31
B. Missouri Baptist Children’s Home – January 1-December 31
C. Missouri Baptist Foundation – October 1-September 30
D. Hannibal-LaGrange College University – August 1-July 31
E. Missouri Baptist College – July 1-June 30
F. Southwest Baptist University – July 1-June 30
G. Windermere Baptist Conference Center – January 1-December 31
H. Word&Way – January 1-December 31
2011 Nominating Committee Report to the Missouri Baptist Convention
An (M) following a nominee’s name denotes a minister and an (L) denotes a layperson. Listings followed by an asterisk indicate proposed re-election to a second term.
Executive Board
Term Expiring 2012
Doug Schildknecht, FBC, Buckner (M) (WC) (Filling unexpired term of Kim Petty)
Term Expiring 2013
Alan Beard, Cornerstone, Centralia (L) (C) (Filling unexpired term of Phil Rector)
Term Expiring 2014
1. Christopher Allen, FBC, Lebanon (L) (SC)
2. Ronn Brooks, Florissant Valley (M) (EC)*
3. Clifford Case, FBC, Warsaw (L) (C)*
4. Don Clifford, FBC, St. Charles (L) (EC)
5. Robin Dale, Elm Spring (M) (WC)
6. Ty Harmon, Galloway, Springfield (M) (SW)*
7. Betty Kleinschmidt, FBC, Kearney (L) (WC)*
8. Larry Lewis, FBC, Centralia (M) (C)*
9. Paul Pope, Sonrise, Bonne Terre (M) (SE)*
10. Roy Reed, FBC, Bolivar (L) (SW)
11. Robert Stevens, Ballwin (L) (EC) *
12. Jim Tolliver, Plaza Heights, Kansas City (M) (WC) *
13. Stephen Ward, CrossPoint Fellowship, Republic (M) (SW)*
14. Rollie Warren, Second, Springfield (L) (SW)
Missouri Baptist
Christian Life Commission
Term Expiring 2012
Connie Urich, Southern Hills, Bolivar (L) (Filling unexpired term of Kevin Carter)
Term Expiring 2014
1. Carol Wessel Boyer, FBC, Troy (L)*
2. Ron Hardecke, FBC, Owensville (L)*
3. Larry Janis, Delesus (L)
4. Robert Lilly, FBC, Licking (M)
Missouri Baptist
Historical Commission
Term Expiring 2014
1. Allen Bartlett, East Sedalia (M)*
2. Donald Estes, Shawnee Hills, Jackson (M)
3. Daniel Hite, Christian Family Fellowship, Wentzville (M)*
Missouri Baptist Foundation
Term Expiring 2014
1. Tim Burdin, FBC, Alton (M)*
2. Fred Caldwell, FBC, Poplar Bluff (L)*
3. Rob Hawkins, FBC, West Plains (L)
4. VACANT
The Missouri Baptist
Children’s Home
Term Expiring 2012
Sarah Thornton, Ridgecrest, Springfield (L) (Filling the unexpired term of Ben Whitener)
Term Expiring 2014
1. Chuck Easter, Canaan, St. Louis (L)*
2. Christopher Ferkel, Eureka, Richland (L)
3. Jean Land, Spring Valley, Raytown (L)
4. Robert Lilly, FBC, Richland (M)
5. Elmer McCully, FBC, LaPlata (M)*
6. James Riffe, Abundant Life, Lee’s Summit (L)*
7. Ron Robinson, FBC, Van Buren (M)*
8. Bill Vail, FBC, Poplar Bluff (M)
9. John Wilkins, Sr., Oak Grove, Joplin (M)*
The Baptist Home
Term Expiring 2014
1. Jerry Arnold, Clarksdale (L)*
2. Donald Clark, FBC, Lebanon (L)*
3. Robert Hodson, FBC, Lamar (M)*
4. Tom Luthy, FBC, Lebanon (L)*
5. VACANT
6. VACANT
7. VACANT
Hannibal-LaGrange University
Term Expiring 2016
1. Anita Allee, Trinity Southern, Versailles (L)
2. Pat Benson, Second, Bowling Green (L)*
3. Charles Brazeale, FBC, Paris (L)*
4. Judy Harding, Prince Avenue, Hannibal (L)*
5. Robert Ingram, Second, Bowling Green (L)*
6. Jensen Petersen, Hallsville (M)*
Missouri Baptist University
Term Expiring 2012
Gerald Davidson, FBC, Arnold (M)*
Term Expiring 2014
1. Jesse Barnhart, FBC, Mayview (M)*
2. Nick Catrow, Harmony, St. Louis (L)*
3. Jim Cline, Mineola (M)*
4. Tom Keller, FBC, Union (L)
5. Ronald Peterson, Houston, TX (L)
6. James Plymale, FBC, St. Clair (M)*
7. Jim Rice, FBC, Lemay (M)*
8. Bob Winter, FBC, Festus-Crystal City (M)*
9. VACANT
Southwest Baptist University
Term Expiring 2016
1. Clyde Elder, McCarthy, St. Joseph (M)
2. Edward Hamilton, Ozark, Houston (M)*
3. Wayne Hutchins, Second, Springfield (L)
4. Rebecca Randles, Pleasant Valley, Liberty (L)
5. Jerry Williams, Prairie Hill, Washburn (M)*
Compiled by Allen Palmeri, Brian Koonce, Susie Miers and Vicki Stamps