“Pushing Back the Darkness!”

by  T. C. Pinckney                                                                                                                                   Vol. XX, No. 9, Nov/Dec 2007

Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia met Monday and Tuesday, 12-13 November, at Liberty Baptist Church, Hampton, focussed on the theme “Pushing Back the Darkness”. There were 722 messengers from 244 churches plus 265 guests. In addition there were at least 200 non-registered guests. All enjoyed the Christ-centered presentations, worship, fellowship with old friends, meeting other Bible-believers from around the state, learning a lot more about what the SBCV is doing, and hearing truly great sermons.

If you have never been to an SBCV meeting, please do not think they are times of dry, drab business. Far from it! These are times of blessing, times of glorifying Jesus, times of being motivated to reach our neighbors and the world for Christ.

The Theme

The theme this year was “Pushing Back the Darkness”. How appropriate! At a time in our country when sexy and sloppy characterize popular fashion, when it’s virtually impossible to pass a magazine rack without being assaulted by pornography, when filthy language is common in the media, when we murder almost two million unborn babies every year, when California law now requires government school teachers to teach children from preschool upward that homosexuality is just another normal lifestyle and other states are moving in that direction, when all government schools teach the evolution lie as truth and forbid even considering creation, when the Southern Baptist divorce rate exceeds the overall national divorce rate ... at such a time Satan’s darkness seeks to overwhelm us and true Christians must follow God’s commands to Push Back the Darkness.

Before the first session even began on Monday, a free lunch was prepared and served by SBCV Disaster Relief, the same kind of lunch SBC Disaster Relief teams provided in New Orleans after Katrina, this year in California during the wildfires, and at Virginia Tech. Not fancy but good: meat loaf, string beans, Irish potatoes, roll, two large cookies, and ice tea or water. (The SBC has the third largest disaster relief organization in America. Is the Lord calling you to participate?)

Music

Each session started with song, so I will briefly list the various vocal groups in order of appearance. Calling Levi, four vocalists, lively and moving. Paul Randlett: six vocalists plus instrumentalists offered quite a variety of songs. Damaris Carbaugh, a lady singer with an unusually strong, deep voice. The Liberty Baptist choir blessed us Monday evening, and we enjoyed hearing a “regional choir” Tuesday evening. At longer sessions there were seven five-or-ten minute musical periods, five at shorter sessions.

Executive Director’s Report

The first business item Monday afternoon was Executive Director/Treasurer Doyle Chauncey’s report. Doyle noted that the SBCV now counts 511 churches, including 28 that started as church plants and eight more church plants in development. Of the 511 churches, 460 are uniquely aligned with the SBCV, 51 dually with both the SBCV and BGAV.

Twenty-one churches were approved for affiliation (19 unique, 2 dual), and two others moved from dual to unique. See the list at the end of this article.

Good news on the budget front. Cooperative Program receipts for the first nine months of 2007 were $6,695,003 ... 8.6% ahead of last year. Also, most of our churches have adopted the 50/50 giving plan rather than specifying how their gifts should be divided between the SBCV and the SBC. (Of course, each church has the prerogative to so specify if they wish.) In the same nine-month period, the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering was almost $10,000 above last year, and the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering rose above $1,000,000 for the first time.

(An interesting budgetary sidelight is that the SBC Executive Committee’s financial statement for the twelve months ending 9/30/2007 reports that the SBCV with approximately 25% of SBC churches in Virginia sent 68.5% of all undesignated Cooperative Program gifts to the SBC, whereas the BGAV with approximately 75% of the churches sent only 31.5%.)

Doyle also noted that currently the SBCV is providing $40,000 annually in seminary scholarships and some $90,000 for supplemental retirement benefits for pastors and staff of SBCV churches.

Messengers approved a 2008 Ministry Investment Plan (i.e., budget) of $9,300,000 ... 6.9% above 2007. (With approximately three times as many churches, the 2008 BGAV budget is $14,360,000 or 1.54 times as much and just 1.1% above 2007. TCP) Of the $9,300,000 half is sent on to the SBC, half ($4,650,000) stays in the SBCV. In addition, NAMB will return $625,000, and LifeWay Christian Resources will send us $75,000 so the total available for our ministry in Virginia will be $5,350,000.

Of that total amount, $655,929 is budgeted for strengthening existing churches; $608,129 for supporting pastors, staff, and their families; $405,388 for sending volunteers; and $1,784,179 for starting new churches. These four direct ministry areas add up to $3,453,625. Naturally these ministries don’t just happen out of the blue. There has to be support, support such as staff to do the planning, make the contacts, be available for advice, communications equipment, a building to house staff, computers, legal advice, etc., etc. The 2008 budget for those indirect ministry costs is $1,896,375.

A dramatic event this year was the call from the SBC North American Mission Board to Geoff Hammond, SBCV Senior Associate Director, to become NAMB President. Later in the year Geoff called Steve Reid, team leader of our Area Church Planting Strategists to become a Senior Assistant to the (NAMB) President; Brandon Pickett, team leader of SBCV Media and Communications, to become Special Assistant to the President; and Dennis Culbreth, senior pastor of River Oak Church in Chesapeake and also current SBCV president, as a Special Assistant to the NAMB President. We in Virginia will miss each of these capable men. Pray for them in their new responsibilities.

At the May 2007 Executive Board meeting Doyle recommended formation of an Executive Director-Treasurer Search Committee, and the Board did so. Randy Hahn, pastor, Colonial Heights Baptist Church, is chairman. According to the SBCV constitution, the Search Committee will seek a successor and make a recommendation to the SBCV Executive Board. The Board then decides whether to employ the nominee as the new Executive Director. The intent is to select someone who will work alongside Doyle for a period of time and assume the position of Executive Director-Treasurer at a date yet to be determined. Please pray for the search committee. Their responsibility is critically important to the SBCV.

New Officers

Jeff Ginn, pastor of Colonial Heights B. C., nominated Tim Hight, senior pastor of Main Street B. C., Christiansburg, for president. Ken Nienke, pastor of Fellowship Community Church, Salem, nominated Mike Palmer, pastor, Green Ridge B. C., Roanoke, for First Vice President. Andy Risk, pastor, Oak Grove B. C., Richmond, nominated Rick Caldwell, pastor of Concord B. C., for second Vice President. And Don Paxton, pastor, Rosedale B. C., Abingdon, nominated Alan McCullough, Rileyville Baptist Church, Rileyville, for Secretary. All were elected by acclamation.

Addresses

We were blessed by four outstanding messages from Drs. O. S. Hawkins, Ergun Caner, Mac Brunson, and Tom Elliff. You can listen to these sermons on the SBC website: www.sbcv.org. On the left side of the home page, click on Free Media. On the next page scroll down to the message you want and click either MP3 or Quick Time. An alternative is that the SBCV has the sermons available on DVD. .....

Churches Newly Affiliating

          Unique:

Harvest BC, Petersburg                                                Valley Fellowship BC, Salem

Mount Calvary BC, Matoaca                                         Chester Gap BC, Chester Gap

Corner Stone BC, Monroe                                            Zion BC, Orange

Fork BC, Scottsburg                                                      Geneva Park BC, Chesapeake

Samuel Harris Memorial BC, Chatham                         Hampton Roads BC, Hampton

Jefferson Park BC, Charlottesville                                Calvary BC, Stonega

Riverview BC, Woodbridge                                           East Galax BC, Cana

Community Church, Salem                                           Grace BC, Stuart

Grace BC, New Castle                                                  New Life BC, Montvale

The Community Fellowship, Collinsville

          Dual:

North Star BC, Bristol

Riverdale BC, Roanoke

     Moving from Dual to Unique:

Staples Mill Road BC, Glen Allen

Boones Mill BC, Boones Mill