By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector
lwilkey@tnbaptist.org
During Summit, Chris Turner, the TBMB’s director of communications, and I were having a conversation with TBC president Bruce Chesser and vice president Chuck Groover. The issue of statesmen and statesmanship in the Southern Baptist Convention came up. The general consensus was we have few if any. What a shame.
When I think of Baptist statesmen in my era, the names Hershel Hobbs, James Sullivan, Adrian Rogers, Jimmy Draper, Arthur L. Walker and Keith Parks immediately come to mind, just to name a few.
Though used primarily to describe political leaders, the word basically means “wise, skilled and respected leader” and that can apply to the religious world as well.
As we talked about the SBC, no names immediately came to the forefront, at least for me. In Tennessee, however, it is a different story. We do have statesmen and I consider both Chesser and Groover to be in that category. Both have been strong, effective leaders in the TBC for many years. Chesser was incredible as he navigated the annual meeting with humor and wisdom. There was a great spirit of unity, even with some potentially divisive topics. I believe that was achieved primarily because of the leadership he provided. [Read more…]
For nearly all of my life, I have heard of the soap opera, “As the World Turns.” I can honestly say that I never recall watching a single episode. My grandmother, with whom I spent most of my daytime hours before going to school, was a “General Hospital” fan.
Messengers from across the Southern Baptist Convention will travel to Music City in June (COVID-permitting) for their annual meeting to be held at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center.
Over the years I/Baptist and Reflector have been “killed” countless times, not with bullets but with words.