Louisiana Baptist Convention messengers elected a trio of state officers for
the upcoming year last week in Lafayette – all by acclamation.
Louisiana Baptist Convention messengers elected a trio of state officers for
the upcoming year last week in Lafayette – all by acclamation.
The new state leaders included Philip Robertson, who was chosen as convention
president. He is pastor at Philadelphia Baptist Church in Deville and a former
president of the LBC Executive Board.
Fred Luter nominated Robertson as a man of service. “He serves his church,
…” noted Luter, pastor at Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans.
“He also serves boldly and proudly this convention. … Lastly, hes
a man who serves our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ. … He preaches and teaches,
he walks and talks the Word of God. …
“When it comes to who will serve our convention as the next president,
I recommend only one – Philip Robertson.”
Messengers agreed, choosing not to nominate anyone to oppose Robertson.
Later, they did the same for George Bannister, pastor at First Baptist Church
of Scott. Bannister was elected first vice president of the state convention.
He was nominated by Tim Norris, pastor at First Baptist Church of Livingston.
Norris cited Bannisters education at Louisiana College and his record
of associational service. He noted Bannister also has served as a trustee at
Louisiana College and as a member of the LBC Executive Board.
He praised Bannister as “a faithful servant of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
In a third election, messengers elected Bendel Johnson as second vice president.
Johnson is a member at Summer Grove Baptist Church in Shreveport and also was
elected without opposition.
He was nominated as “a godly layman” by Tommy French, pastor at Jefferson
Baptist Church in Baton Rouge. “He (Johnson) bears a daily testimony for
our Lord, …” French said. “Hes committed to our Lord and the
inerrancy of the Scriptures.”
All three of the elected officers were endorsed by the Louisiana Inerrancy
Fellowship. The fellowship passed out newsletters urging election of the trio
during last weeks convention.
Meanwhile, the election of Robertson by acclamation broke with a longstanding
trend. Usually, once a president has completed the second of his one-year terms,
there is a contest to name a successor.
Since the mid-1980s, those “open-year” elections have been hotly
contested.
The closest came in 1989, when the election was decided by four votes.
The widest “open-year” margin since 1987 came two years ago, when
Steve James of Lake Charles was elected by 247.
The only exception to such votes came in 1997, when leaders on both sides of
the convention controversy agreed on a peace candidate. However, after Bob Anderson
of Baton Rouge served two terms, it was back to contested elections.
Still, this year could mark the start of another trend, much like has happened
in the Southern Baptist Convention. Once its controversy was settled squarely
in the favor of conservatives, election became a matter of routine, with announced
candidates rarely contested.
With Robertsons election this year, conservatives now have won four of
the last five “open-year” elections and have held the presidency for
seven of the last nine years. Only the consensus election of Anderson for two
years breaks the string.
By controlling the presidency, conservatives have been able to swing the state
convention solidly in their direction.
Thus, while it was certain conservatives would seek to continue their string
of victories this year, it was far from certain that they would face any opposition.
Robertson announced plans to be nominated early on and attended rallies across
the state. However, by the end of the summer, no other nominee had emerged.
And while there was some speculation about a last-minute run to oppose Robertson,
nothing materialized.
Instead, the convention saw a rare feat – LBC Executive Director Dean
Doster casting a unanimous ballot – not once but three times for state
officers.