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Kentucky Baptists Elect Ashland Pastor President
11/16/2010
LEXINGTON – At the afternoon session of the 173rd annual meeting of the Kentucky Baptist Convention, messengers elected Floyd Paris, pastor of Unity Baptist Church in Ashland, as its next president.
Nominated by Paul Badgett, pastor of First Baptist Church of Pikeville, Paris garnered 61 percent of the nearly 700 votes cast, winning 427-266. Paris will serve a one-year term.
Also running for the office was Butch Tanner, pastor of Red House Baptist Church in Richmond. Tanner was nominated by Butch Pennington, pastor of Kirksville Baptist Church in Richmond.
Later in the session, Dan Summerlin, senior pastor of Lone Oak First Baptist Church in Paducah, was elected first vice president by acclamation. The only candidate, Summerlin was nominated by Tom James, pastor of Eastwood Baptist Church in Bowling Green.
Summerlin also preached the annual meeting message. Speaking from Acts 1, he recalled Jesus’ instructions to the disciples to "be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the ends of the earth." After issuing the command, Christ ascended leaving the disciples looking into the sky even after they no longer could see Him.
The disciples then were joined by two angels who chided them, asking "Why do you stand looking into heaven?”
"Jesus tells them what to do, but it takes two angels to come to tell them to do it," Summerlin observed. The disciples "were gazing instead of going.”
Summerlin said the disciples’ reaction is not surprising "because of what they had just witnessed" and "the impossible task they received.”
"God loves to give us impossible assignments,"Summerlin said. "If all we’re going to do is what we can do in our own power, we don’t need God.”
Physical and financial impossibilities make it imperative that Christians act in faith and not their own strength.
"If you try to work this out on paper, it will never work. We don’t have a money problem, we have an obedience problem.”
Summerlin encouraged Kentucky Baptists: "Anytime God gives you an impossible assignment, He has a plan and He will give you the power.”
Also during the afternoon session:
Alan Dodson, pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Lexington, made a motion for messengers to dedicate the 2010 Kentucky Baptist Convention Annual to retiring KBC Executive Director Bill Mackey and his wife, Kay. Messengers approved the motion by acclamation.
Bill Dodson, pastor of Bell City Baptist Church in Graves County, expressed his appreciation for the presentation during the morning session by the Kentucky Great Commission Task Force.
Impressed with a new urgency for world missions, Dodson said he plans to recommend to his congregation that they "increase our gifts to the Cooperative Program not less than 1 percent a year for these next 10 years.
"Some of us ought to be willing to stand up and say, ‘We’ll get it done’," Dodson said.
Todd Linn, pastor of First Baptist Church of Henderson, presented the Cooperative Program report.
He said fiscal year 2009-10 "was a challenging year as gifts were below budget.”
Kentucky Baptists gave nearly $23 million in CP gifts in the last fiscal year. Linn said it was discouraging that CP contributions are declining when, according to the Annual Church Profile, undesignated gifts among Kentucky Baptists continue to grow.
He said the attention that the national Great Commission Resurgence Task Force and the Kentucky Great Commission Task Force have placed on the Cooperative Program "is very good news.”
Messengers and guests applauded 22 Kentucky Baptist congregations as top givers to the Cooperative Program in 2009-10. Former Kentucky Baptist Convention Stewardship Promotion Director Jesse Stricker was presented the 2010 Distinguished CP Leadership Award.
Kentucky Baptists also heard reports from Chip Hutcheson, chairman of the Kentucky Baptist Committee on Public Affairs, and Don Cole, executive director of the Kentucky Ethics League.
Hutcheson said he has heard "rumblings that there will be another push for expanded gaming" in the Kentucky General Assembly next year.
Cole encouraged Kentucky Baptists to remain vigilant in defeating expanded gaming and alcohol sales "before they get on the ballot.”
The Kentucky Baptist Convention is a cooperative missions and ministry organization made up of nearly 2.400 autonomous Baptist churches in Kentucky. A variety of state and worldwide ministries are coordinated through its administrative offices in Louisville, Ky., including: missions work, disaster relief, ministry training and support, church development, evangelism and more.
Release prepared by Dannah Prather, Marketing & Media Relations Associate
The Kentucky Baptist Convention is a cooperative missions and ministry organization made up of nearly 2.400 autonomous Baptist churches in Kentucky. A variety of state and worldwide ministries are coordinated through its administrative offices in Louisville, including: missions work, disaster relief, ministry training and support, church development, evangelism and more. For more, find us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
