SALT LAKE CITY (BP)–Southern Baptist Convention messengers elected veteran SBC registration secretary Lee Porter to his 22nd one-year term over Ken Barnett of Colorado. Porter received 1,676 votes (56.12 percent) to 1,310 (43.87 percent) for Barnett.
Porter, a retired denominational worker from Lawrenceville, Ga., was nominated by Dan Walker of First Baptist Church, West Valley City, Utah, during the June 10 session of the SBC annual meeting.
Walker noted Porter is “a man of integrity” who is “determined that we operate decently and in order.”
Barnett, pastor of Christ Baptist Church, Denver, and a former member of the SBC Executive Committee, was nominated by Jerry Spencer of Dothan, Ala. Spencer said it was “time to pass the torch” and noted Barnett is a man whose “heart beats in harmony with our president, Paige Patterson.”
In other business during the June 10 evening session, messengers chose Ralph Smith, pastor emeritus of Hyde Park Baptist Church, Austin, Texas, to preach the convention sermon at the 1999 SBC annual meeting in Atlanta. Charles Page, pastor of First Baptist Church, Charlotte, N.C., was elected as the alternate preacher.
Joel Allen, minister of music and worship at Riverside Baptist Church, Denver, was elected convention music director for the 1999 SBC meeting.
