ST. LOUIS (BP)–Appointments to two key committees to serve during the June 11-12 annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention in St. Louis have been announced by SBC President James Merritt.
Merritt, pastor of First Baptist Church, Snellville, Ga., announced the appointment of the Committee on Committees and the Committee on Resolutions April 26. The SBC bylaws require the president to announce the appointments “at least 45 days in advance of the meeting.”
The credentials and tellers committees must be made public 30 days before the annual meeting, according to the SBC bylaws.
COMMITTEE ON COMMITTEES
The committee has 70 members, two from each of the 35 state or regional conventions qualified for representation on SBC entities.
SBC Bylaw 19 says the Committee on Committees “shall nominate all special committees authorized during the sessions of the convention not otherwise provided for.” The usual responsibility of the committee is to nominate members of the Committee on Nominations, which, in turn, nominates trustees to serve on the various national entities of the SBC.
Merritt named Edward Johnson, pastor of First Baptist, Ocala, Fla., as committee chairman.
ALABAMA–Andy Hepburn, Tillman’s Corner First Baptist, Mobile; Max Roden, Gilliam Springs Baptist, Arab
ALASKA–Paul Foster, Anchor Baptist, Craig; David George, First Baptist Eagle River, Eagle River
ARIZONA–Jay George, West Ajo Baptist, Tucson; Jack Marslender, First Southern Baptist, Avondale
ARKANSAS–John A. Nauman, Charity Baptist Church, Rogers; Robert E. Vaughn, First Baptist Church, Fort Smith
CALIFORNIA–Rodney Harrison, First Southern Baptist, Porterville; Beth Thompson, First Baptist Clairemont, San Diego
COLORADO–Robert Finif, Fairplay Southern Baptist, Fairplay; Tobey Williams, Vista Grande Baptist, Colorado Springs
DISTRICT of COLUMBIA–Joe Cody, First Baptist Church Upper Marlboro, Upper Marlboro; Brad Wheeler, Capitol Hill Baptist, Washington
FLORIDA–Mark Coats, Grace Of God Baptist, Miami; Edward Johnson (Chairman), First Baptist, Ocala
GEORGIA–Harry Kennedy, Riverbend Baptist, Gainesville; Robert Wilson, Sandtown Baptist, Atlanta
HAWAII–Shirley Iwahiro, Nuuanu Baptist, Honolulu; Gary Yafuso, First Baptist Church, Waimanalo
ILLINOIS–Darlene Westbrook, First Baptist Church, Fairview Heights; Fred H. Winters, First Baptist Church, Maryville
INDIANA–Dan Eby, Maple City Baptist, Goshen; Damon Jones, Old Town Hill, Muncie
KANSAS-NEBRASKA–Dennis Burns, Cedar Pointe Baptist Church, Wichita; Tammie Carpenter, First Baptist Church, Burden
KENTUCKY–Chris Butler, First Baptist, Leitchfield; Lisa Merithew, Carlisle Avenue Baptist, Louisville
LOUISIANA–Thomas Simmons, Faith Baptist, Baker; Carlton Vance, Philadelphia Baptist, Libuse
MARYLAND-DELAWARE–Erik Garthe, Edgemere Baptist, Baltimore; Ken Stalls, South End Baptist, Frederick
MICHIGAN–Ron Libey, First Baptist of Gwinn; Roy Southerland, Monroe Missionary Baptist, Monroe
MISSISSIPPI–Randy Bostick, Oakland Baptist, Corinth; Shannon Marshall, Steep Hollow Baptist, Poplarville
MISSOURI–Ralph Sawyer, First Baptist Wentzville, Wentzville; Charles Zehnder, First Baptist, Branson
NEVADA–Marjorie Nantz, Spring Valley Baptist, Las Vegas; Vance Pitman, Hope Baptist, Henderson
NEW ENGLAND–Brad Graves, Providence Baptist, Raymond; Robert Wellner, Friendship Baptist, Brimfield
NEW MEXICO–Fred MacDonald, Bethel Baptist, Alamogordo; Betty Sue Mathis, Taylor Memorial, Hobbs
NEW YORK–Gary Digby, Westchester Baptist, Chappaqua; Edward Hart, Living Water Baptist, Omego
NORTH CAROLINA–Nancy Byrd, Cornerstone Southern Baptist, Greensboro; Eric Peacock, Westchester Baptist, High Point
OHIO–Betty Gray, First Baptist Garrettsville, Garrettsville; John Kirby, Maize Road Baptist, Columbus
OKLAHOMA–David Clippard, First Southern Baptist, Del City; Bob Maxey, First Baptist Altus, Altus
PENNSYLVANIA-SOUTH JERSEY–Pat Cademartori, Mason Dixon Baptist Church, New Freedom; Kevin Giddings, Venango Woods Church, Cranberry
SOUTH CAROLINA–Harry Scarborough, New Life Baptist Church, Goose Creek; Don Whitt, Brushy Creek Baptist Church, Liberty
TENNESSEE–Tim Hill, Long Hollow Baptist, Hendersonville; Terry Holden, First Baptist, Alcoa
TEXAS–Gary W. Garrison, Second Baptist Church, Huntsville; Chris Osborne, Central Baptist Church, Bryan
UTAH-IDAHO–Jo Markham, Mountain View Baptist Church, Layton; Roger Russell, Hollady Baptist Church, Salt Lake City
VIRGINIA–Jeffrey Ginn, Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church, Colonial Heights; Archie (Tim) Hight, Main Street Baptist Church, Christiansburg
NORTHWEST–James Dunn, First Baptist Enumclaw, Enumclaw, Wash.; Jerry Stokes, Chehalem Valley Baptist, Newberg, Ore.
WEST VIRGINIA–John Jicka, North Charleston Baptist, Charleston; Allen Stewart, Trinity Baptist, St. Albans
WYOMING–Dale Bascue, United Baptist Church, Riverton; Bill Sluder, First Southern Baptist, Douglas
RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE
The Resolutions Committee is composed of 10 members, three of whom must be members of the SBC Executive Committee. The committee, according to Bylaw 20, has the duty “to prepare and submit to the convention resolutions which the committee deems appropriate for adoption and to report on all matters submitted to it by the convention, with or without recommendations or amendments.”
The bylaw also asks that proposed resolutions be sent to the committee 30 days before the annual meeting.
Merritt named Frank Harber, pastor of First Baptist Church, Colleyville, Texas, as committee chairman.
Executive Committee members are Melissa Gay, layperson, First Baptist Church, Hendersonville, Tenn.; Michael Hamlet, pastor, First Baptist Church North Spartanburg, S.C.; and Marty Odom, layperson, Quail Springs Baptist Church, Oklahoma City.
Other members of the committee are Maynard Green, layperson, First Baptist Church, Hewitt, Texas; David Kitchens, pastor, Carolyn Baptist Church, Dalton, Ga.; Russell Moore, professor, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Ninth & O Baptist Church, Louisville, Ky.; Roberto Santos, pastor, Philippine International Baptist Church, Dearborn, Mich.; Steven Smith, pastor, Salem Baptist Church, Richmond, Va.; Sam Williams, professor, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, North Wake Baptist Church, Wake Forest, N.C.
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