RICHMOND — The next treasurer of the Baptist General Association of Virginia and the Virginia Baptist Mission Board will combine broad experience in financial management with an ability to communicate Virginia Baptists’ mission to congregations, BGAV partners and other denominational entities.
That’s the assessment of two top BGAV officials on a four-member nominating committee seeking a successor to Eddie Stratton, who will retire Dec. 31 after 11 years as the BGAV’s chief financial officer.
“The relational skills of this person have to be high,” said BGAV executive director John Upton. “The position is as much about relationships as it is about finances.”
Carl Johnson
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John Upton
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BGAV president Carl Johnson said the title “treasurer is almost too narrow a word to describe the responsibilities of this job.”
“It’s very important that this person have the capability to represent Virginia Baptists to churches, denominational entities and partners,” said Johnson. “But the person also must understand the finances and communicate them in a clear way. It’s an unusual combination.”
The treasurer of the BGAV and its Mission Board is required by bylaws of both organizations to be the same person but must be approved by each entity. In addition, he or she serves as treasurer of the Baptist Extension Board, which provides loans to BGAV churches unable to obtain commercial financing. The Extension Board also must approve the nominee.
Johnson said the nominating committee hopes to have a recommendation to present to the Mission Board’s executive committee Sept. 10, paving the way for action by the Mission Board itself at its Oct. 8-9 meeting and by the BGAV at its annual meeting, Nov. 12-13.
Joining Johnson and Upton on the nominating committee are the two BGAV vice presidents — Tommy McDearis, pastor of Blacksburg (Va.) Baptist Church, and Kevin Meadows, pastor of Grandin Court Baptist Church in Roanoke.
Johnson, a Richmond layperson and member of First Baptist Church there, brings his own financial experience to the search process. Until he retired in 2000, he was chief financial officer of the Southern Baptist Convention’s International Mission Board, where he worked for 22 years.
“We’re very fortunate to have Carl on the nominating committee,” said Upton. “He was treasurer of the IMB and has twice been president of the BGAV. He knows the inner workings of Virginia Baptist life.”
Multi-tasker
As the BGAV’s chief financial officer, the treasurer oversees a $12.1 million annual budget, receiving contributions from more than 1,400 congregations and distributing them through a variety of “giving tracks” to dozens of mission organizations, educational institutions, benevolent organizations and advocacy groups.
In the role of Mission Board treasurer, the person implements that organization’s $6.1 million annual budget, serves as leader of the board’s support services team, and manages the board’s properties, which include the Virginia Baptist Resource Center, two conference centers and nine Baptist collegiate ministry facilities.
The treasurer also coordinates the board’s human resources responsibilities, works closely with the executive director in setting organizational strategies, and speaks regularly in churches and other settings.
Rounding out the tasks is oversight of the Baptist Extension Board, which currently services more than $12 million in loans to congregations.
“When you look at the job description, the title says ‘treasurer,’ but it’s much bigger than what traditional treasurers do,” said Johnson.
Among the expectations included in a position description developed by the nominating committee are education and experience in business or finance, strong communications skills and “platform abilities,” and a “knowledge of and belief in the mission of the BGAV and the VBMB” with keen understanding of cooperative missions giving.
Transition
Both Johnson and Upton said the proposed timetable for filling the spot will give the new treasurer a period of transition with Stratton before he retires.
During his tenure, Stratton played a key role in restructuring the VBMB staff and in implementing the BGAV’s Kingdom Advance missional strategy. He guided a renovation and modernization of Virginia Baptist properties and facilities and produced the Church Administrator’s Toolbox, a primer on congregational life which has been reprinted several times.
He also initiated, in conjunction with the Virginia Baptist Foundation, an endowment for the VBMB which now stands at about $1.6 million.
“Eddie brought us to a good place,” said Upton. “We need someone who can build on that solid foundation.”
Nominations may be submitted to Marilee White in Upton's office at [email protected] or at 2828 Emerywood Parkway, Richmond, VA 23294.
Robert Dilday ([email protected]) is managing editor of the Religious Herald.