[1]AUSTIN, Texas (BP)–Ralph M. Smith, pastor emeritus of Hyde Park Baptist Church, Austin, Texas, will nominate Southern Baptist Convention President Tom Elliff for a second term during the SBC annual meeting in Dallas June 17-19.
Smith told Baptist Press June 3 that Elliff “personifies the heartbeat of Southern Baptists.”
Elliff is pastor of First Southern Baptist Church, Del City, Okla., and was elected SBC president last year at the annual meeting in New Orleans. Elliff has no announced opposition for the SBC’s highest elected post.
“(Elliff) is a third-generation Southern Baptist pastor,” Smith, the Austin congregation’s pastor of 35 years, said. “He was educated at a Baptist university and Baptist seminary, Ouachita and Southwestern. He served in Africa as a Southern Baptist missionary. He has pastored churches in Arkansas, Texas, Colorado and Oklahoma.
“Dr. Elliff is an excellent preacher, tireless soul-winner and prayer warrior. This past year he has led our convention in an emphasis on prayer, evangelism, fellowship, unity and starting new churches,” Smith said.
Earlier news reports had indicated Elliff would accept a second term, customary for SBC presidents who are limited to two consecutive one-year terms. The election for president is set for the Tuesday afternoon session, June 17 at the Dallas Convention Center.