A Staunton attorney is the Baptist General Association of Virginia's new president.
Boyce Brannock, a member of First Baptist Church in Waynesboro, was elected Nov. 10 without opposition during the BGAV's annual meeting in Virginia Beach.
Also elected were Joe Lewis, pastor of Second Baptist Church in Petersburg, as first vice president, and Steve Pollard, pastor of Abingdon Baptist Church, as second vice president. Fred Anderson, executive director of the Virginia Baptist Historical Society, was reelected to a 25th term as clerk.
Brannock, Lewis and Pollard were all endorsed by Virginia Baptists Committed, the state's powerful network of moderates, whose slate of nominees for BGAV offices has been unopposed for nearly a decade. This year, for the first time since 1997, a candidate not on VBC's slate was nominated—Ken Barnes, pastor of Woodland Heights Baptist Church in Chesapeake, who was nominated for first vice president. Barnes, who was nominated by director of missions Roy Smith of the Norfolk Baptist Association, lost to Lewis, 275-386 (41 percent to 58 percent).
Brannock's election continues a longtime practice of alternating the presidency between ministers and laypersons, and a more recent pattern of elevating first vice presidents to the top spot. BGAV presidents are restricted to one-year terms.
A graduate of the University of Richmond, Brannock is a partner in the law firm of Timberlake, Smith, Thomas and Moses. He has been active in First Baptist, Waynesboro, and is a former member and first vice president of the Baptist Joint Committee, whose executive director, Brent Walker, nominated him for the BGAV presidency last week. Brannock also has been chair of the BGAV religious liberty committee and former president of the board of the Center for Baptist Heritage and Studies.
Lewis, nominated by Darrell Foster, a Virginia Beach layman, has been pastor of Second Baptist, Petersburg, since 1996. He earlier served on the staff of Ginter Park Baptist Church in Richmond and pastor of Fountain Creek Baptist Church in Greenville County. He has served on a variety of boards and committees in Virginia Baptist life.
Pollard, nominated by Reggie Warren, a Norfolk pastor, has been pastor of Abingdon Baptist since 1998 and earlier held pastorates in Richmond and Scottsburg. He has been active in Virginia Baptist life, and has served a moderator of the Dan River Baptist Association.