A Great Convention Annual Meeting

Randy Spurgeon and I returned Saturday evening from the State Convention meeting in Martinsburg, WV - physically spent but spiritually revived. If you take out the business sessions, the 37th Annual Meeting of the West Virginia Convention of Southern Baptists was like being in a revival meeting. There was great fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ from around the state, excellent preaching and anointed singing and congregational worship. There was, or course, the necessary business sessions that also went nicely. All around, it was a great convention.

Pastor Johnny Kelly and the people of the Westview Baptist Church were wonderful hosts. They were hospitable and helpful in every way. The total number of messengers this year was under two hundred. I think there are probably two reasons for this. The first is possibly because Martinsburg's location is in the farthest corner of West Virginia's eastern panhandle (about an hour's drive from Washington, DC). For those of us in the Western part of the state and those down in the Beckley, Bluefield, and Princeton area it was a long drive (six hours for us). But turnabout is fair play for the good folks there in the Tri County Association that have to drive so far to come to the meetings in other parts of the state. The second reason could have something to do with the "Broken Before the Throne" Prayer Conference that began there at Westview on Saturday evening and will run for eight days. Some folks who couldn't plan on staying in Martinsburg for 10 days probably opted for coming later to the Prayer Conference.

It was good to see and have lunch with Dan Jividen. Dan is pastor of the great and growing Immanuel Baptist Church in Princeton and a product of Westmoreland Baptist Church. Danny's mom and dad, Herman and Louise, are still faithful members at WBC. The brother who was there to represent the North American Mission Board also had ties to WBC. He married a Wellman girl there at our church back when Gary Jordan was Pastor.

Will Hall, who is a native of Mingo County, was also there again this year representing the SBC Executive Committee and Baptist Press. He is a great guy and always happy to come "back home". Even though the Greater Huntington Association is at "the other end of the world" from Martinsburg, we were well represented at the convention. The following folks were there as messengers from churches in the Greater Huntington Association:

• Association Missionary Doug Virgin and wife, Judy
• Eddie and Mary Henson, representing Highlawn Baptist Church
• Cledith Campbell, pastor of Altizer Baptist Church
• Rodney Hale, pastor of First Baptist Church of Ceredo
• Randall Robertson, pastor of Locust Grove Baptist Church in Huntington
• Calvary Baptist Church pastor John Freeman and Pam from Chapmanville
• Darrell Clark, church planter in Wayne
• Randy Spurgeon and I represented Westmoreland Baptist.

The Pastor's Conference which preceded the convention on Thursday was excellent. Speakers included Seth Polk (Pastor of Cross Lanes Baptist Church), Steven Rummage (Preaching Pastor at Hickory Baptist Church in Charlotte, NC and a former professor at Southeastern Seminary), Kenneth Stidham (Pastor of Good Shepherd Baptist in Teays Valley), and Dan Biser (who pastors two churches in the Allegheny Association and the organizer of the "Broken Before The Throne" prayer conference).

Speakers at the convention itself were State Executive Director Terry Harper, myself, author and teacher T.W. Hunt, Dan Howard (Pastor of Oldfields Baptist Church), and Frank Page (President of the Southern Baptist Convention). Each message was straight from the Word of God and well received by those in attendance. It was almost like being in a Revival service.

The music was outstanding. Westview's instrumentalists played beautifully and their Music Minister Albert Epps led in congregational worship. Marvin Matthews provided anointed special music. Albert and Marvin are both African Americans, and it was probably the first time in our convention history that two black men led the music sessions. Let me tell you - those guys could sing. As Chuck Kelley would say, "To coin an ancient Hebrew expression - WOW!")

There were also several special seasons of prayer interspersed througought the Pastor's Conference and the convention proper. In short, it was an unusually spiritual convention meeting!

Officers elected for the coming year are as follows:

• President Tim Kearney (a layman from Good Shepherd church)
• 1st Vice President Seth Polk
• 2nd Vice President Todd Hill of Parkersburg
• Recording Secretary - Helen Mellquist (who replaced long time secretary Fred Morgan)

As usual, there were a number of interesting exhibits, and the LifeWay Christian Bookstore was there with great materials available at discounted prices.

One of the other special moments of the convention came at the close of the Friday evening session. We honored retiring State Music and Family Minister Director, Tom Young, with a plaque, monetary gift, and a reception in his honor. Tom will be retiring January 1 after 28 1/2 years of faithful service to our state convention. Tom will be devoting full time to caring for his wife, Veda, who is coming to the end of a courageous five year battle with cancer. Veda couldn't be at the convention, but we sent her a large bouquet of pink carnations (her favorite flower) to honor her for her faithful service along with Tom in ministering to the churches of West Virginia for nearly three decades.

It was a great convention and I thank God I had opportunity to attend. It was nice, also, to welcome someone else into the President's position. In talking with former state convention President, Johnny Kelly, I found myself in full agreement with what he had to say about his two year term. "I wouldn't trade a minute of it", he said with a smile. "But I sure wouldn't want to do it again!"

Amen, brother/ Well said...