RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia Baptists Committed, a moderate advocacy group which for almost 25 years has successfully nominated officers for the Baptist General Association of Virginia, announced its slate of candidates Oct. 2 — but this time with a twist.
Tim Madison
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David Plott
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In an expected move, VBC is endorsing Tim Madison of Mechanicsville as president. Madison, pastor of Mechanicsville Baptist Church in suburban Richmond, is currently serving as first vice president — a position whose incumbent for the past decade has been elected to the presidency.
The group also is endorsing David Plott, director of missions for both the East River and Highlands Baptist associations, as second vice president.
But in a departure from past practice, VBC is supporting the election of a first vice presidential candidate who was nominated outside its process. Travis Collins, pastor of Bon Air Baptist Church in Richmond, announced Sept. 30 he will nominate Richmond layman Bob Bass for the office at the annual BGAV meeting in Fredericksburg, Va., Nov. 16-17.
“The Religious Herald announced recently on its website that Mr. Bob Bass, a layman from Bon Air Baptist Church in Richmond, would be nominated for first vice president by his pastor,” said VBC co-chair Michael Clingenpeel in an e-mail Oct. 2. “Mr. Bass is a long-standing Virginia Baptist who has held leadership positions in his church and at every level of Baptist life. His commitment to missions through Baptist organizations is significant. When Virginia Baptists Committed learned that Mr. Bass would be nominated, we saw no need to field a different candidate for first vice president. Though his nomination will not come through the candidate-nomination process of Virginia Baptists Committed, we have had him on our short list of potential candidates and encourage his election next month.”
Clingenpeel, pastor of River Road Church, Baptist, in Richmond and a former editor of the Herald, said VBC’s only concern has always been encouraging qualified candidates for BGAV offices.
“For over two decades Virginia Baptists Committed has endorsed candidates for president and the two vice presidents of the Baptist General Association of Virginia,” he said. “Our goal has never been to gather power in the hands of a few Virginia Baptists. It has always been to ensure that one fully vetted roster of candidates committed to the BGAV is available for election at the BGAV annual meeting. We welcome the nomination of other candidates and respect the electoral process that leaves decisions in the hands of the elected messengers.”
If Bass is elected he will be the first BGAV officer since the 1980s whose nomination wasn’t initiated by VBC.
Clingenpeel said both Madison and Plott have “served Virginia Baptists in positions of responsibility, and we encourage their election.” No other candidates have been announced for any of the three offices.
Madison, who became pastor of Mechanicsville Baptist Church in Mechanicsville, Va., earlier this year, had been pastor of Madison Heights Baptist Church in Madison Heights, Va., since 1993. Prior to that he was pastor of Winn’s Creek Baptist Church in Halifax, Va. He has been a member of the Virginia Baptist Mission Board and its executive committee, and has chaired the BGAV’s budget committee. He also has been moderator of the Lynchburg Baptist Association.
Plott, a member of First Baptist Church in Radford, Va., has been director of missions for the two southwest Virginia associations since 1991. For two years prior to that he was director of missions for the Goshen Baptist Association in central Virginia. He is a former pastor of Memorial Baptist Church in Bluefield, Va., and of Belspring (Va.) Baptist Church. He also has served as chair of the Virginia Baptist Mission Board’s partnership missions committee.
The second vice presidency is currently vacant. The incumbent, Richard Childress, left the pastorate of Franklin Baptist Church in Franklin, Va., to become pastor of New Hope Baptist Church in Raleigh, N.C., in early September. BGAV officers must be members of churches affiliated with the BGAV.
Robert Dilday is managing editor of the Religious Herald.
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