[1]TOPEKA, Kan. (BP)–For more than 25 years Peck and Sue Lindsay have dedicated their lives to serving Southern Baptists in Kansas and Nebraska.
With the 57th annual meeting of the Kansas-Nebraska Convention of Southern Baptists, Peck marks a significant milestone. He has served as executive director/treasurer of the convention for 25 years.
Sue, meanwhile, has tirelessly led the convention’s media library ministry. Through many transitions by national entities, Sue has created a media library ministry program among the best of any across the Southern Baptist Convention. We honor her for the self-less dedication, in a long overdue recognition for her faithful efforts.
Sue and Peck’s labors in the Nebraska and Kansas mission enterprise, which, overall, extend beyond 25 years, are marked by loyalty, longevity, leadership and legacy.
Loyalty.
Mark Twain once said, “The holy passion of friendship is so sweet and steady and loyal and enduring a nature that it will last through a whole lifetime.”
[2]Anyone who has worked with or around Peck will quickly discover that one of his codes is be loyal. He will stand by a church, pastor, layperson or colleague in good times and the most difficult of times. That is a mark of true friendship. Peck and Sue have been devoted friends of Southern Baptists all across Nebraska and Kansas.
They have modeled what Jesus said in John 15:13, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”
His remarks upon being recognized during the recent annual meeting in Hutchinson, Kan., reflect such loyalty: “When we have a problem we talk it out.” Opportunities for such problem-solving come only through trust that is built by being a loyal friend of those around you. Peck and Sue have been just that to Southern Baptists in Kansas and Nebraska.
Longevity.
Twenty-five years — that is two and a half decades, 300 months! It’s a long time to spend in one place. In our world today, many ministers of the gospel don’t tarry long in one place. They stay just long enough to see how much greener the grass appears to be somewhere else.
For Peck and Sue, the wheatlands and prairie of Nebraska and Kansas are the perfect shade of green.
Peck, although a native of Oklahoma, is truly a product of Kansas and Nebraska. He attended college at Fort Hays State College. He holds seminary degrees from Midwestern and Fuller. He pastored in Russell, Kan. Prior to his service at KNCSB, he served as the director of missions for the entire state of Nebraska.
In Southern Baptist life, he might be called the dean of executive directors of state Baptist conventions. While other conventions have had transition due to conflicts, Peck has stayed the course and committed his life to missions in our two states. Thanks for sticking around, Peck.
Leadership.
The sign of an excellent leader is knowing you can’t do everything yourself. It means sharing the load while providing the necessary direction, resources and vision to accomplish the task.
Peck has been ahead of the times when it comes to leadership. He has placed emphasis on the need for leadership development among church leaders long before it was the thing to do.
Some call the organization of KNCSB flat-lined, without all the bells and whistles of a hierarchy chart. But in reality, it’s truly relation-based leadership. Informal and laid-back as it may seem, it works because of the trust and strong relationships Peck has built among a strong, capable staff that surround him. In a sense, Peck was into teams even when teams weren’t cool.
Most of all he has led by example. He should get frequent flyer miles for all of the back roads, highways and interstates he has traveled across the two states. Name a church in Nebraska or Kansas and Peck knows something about its ministry or has been there at one time or another.
Why? Because he cares about the churches and their leadership enough to hit the road, week in and week out, sharing his support and resources to help them.
Legacy.
Peck and Sue, we thank you for being who you are — faithful followers and servants of Jesus Christ. You have provided a legacy of devoted service and commitment that has shaped the lives of Southern Baptists in Kansas and Nebraska, and for our convention in the years to come.
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Cowling is editor of The Baptist Digest, newsjournal of the Kansas-Nebraska Convention of Southern Baptists. (BP) photo posted in the BP Photo Library at http://www.bpnews.net. Photo title: LINDSAYS’ LEGACY.