Tennessee pastor nominated for SBC vice president_61305

Posted: 6/03/05

Tennessee pastor nominated for SBC vice president

By Lonnie Wilkey

Tennessee Baptist & Reflector

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)—Knoxville pastor and past Tennessee Baptist Convention President Mike Boyd will be nominated as first vice president of the Southern Baptist Convention during the SBC’s June 21-22 annual meeting in Nashville.

Boyd, senior pastor of Knoxville’s Wallace Memorial Baptist Church since 1997, will be nominated by current TBC President Roger Freeman, pastor of First Baptist Church in Clarksville.

Freeman noted that since the convention is being held in Tennessee “it seemed appropriate that one of our Tennessee Baptist leaders be nominated for office in our convention.”

“Mike Boyd represents all that is good and holy and progressive in a Southern Baptist pastor,” Freeman said.

Boyd seemed to be a natural fit for the post also because of his experience as a trainer in the FAITH evangelistic outreach proram, as well as his relationship to FAITH originator Bobby Welch, the current SBC president, who is expected to be re-elected to another one-year term at the meeting in Nashville.

Wallace Memorial, named for famed Southern Baptist missionary Bill Wallace who died in a Chinese prison, was one of the first churches trained in the FAITH strategy.

In addition to serving as TBC president in 2003-04, Boyd’s denominational service includes membership on the TBC Executive Board. Boyd also is being nominated by the SBC Committee on Nominations to serve as a trustee of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, where he earned his master of divinity and doctor of ministry degrees. A native of Memphis, Boyd also is a graduate of Union University in Jackson.

Boyd was surprised and humbled that Freeman and others were interested in nominating him for the SBC office, he said.

His love for evangelism and his relationship to Welch convinced him to allow his name to be placed in nomination, Boyd said. “I would like to help him (Welch) with his emphasis on evangelism during the coming year.”

At the SBC annual meeting in June, Welch will introduce the yearlong “‘Everyone Can’ Kingdom Challenge! … Witness, Win, and Baptize One Million!” campaign, to be conducted during the 2005-06 church year.

If elected as first vice president, Boyd said, he would work to promote evangelism through Sunday school as well as the mission endeavors of Southern Baptists.

“I have a heart to see our mission enterprise solid and making an impact around the world,” he said.