LITTLE ROCK (ABP) — The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Arkansas has chosen Ray Higgins of Little Rock as its first full-time paid coordinator.
Higgins, pastor of Little Rock's Second Baptist Church for the last 10 years, will begin as coordinator Jan. 1 — a day after the retirement of Tom Logue, who was the group's founding coordinator.
Higgins, 48, was elected unanimously at a special meeting of the CBF of Arkansas coordinating council Aug. 31. He will be the group's first coordinator with a full-time salary, as Logue was paid part-time for his full-time commitment. Logue is retiring to spend more time with his family.
Higgins was selected by a four-person search committee chaired by the group's moderator-elect, Jim Maloch. “We felt like he would be the perfect one to follow in the footsteps of Tom Logue. He has a good relationship with pastors in the state, and we think his background in education and ethics make him an ideal choice for us,” Maloch said.
Currently serving his second term on the national CBF Coordinating Council, Higgins was the CBF of Arkansas moderator from 1999 to 2000. Higgins said he plans to build on Logue's work, citing specific involvement with the Fellowship's rural poverty initiative, Partners in Hope. “I want to create a sense of healthy pride in being Baptists and keeping our freedoms alive,” he said.
Higgins said Logue built a sold foundation for the group. “He has worked over a decade to create a CBF organization in Arkansas, to give Arkansas Baptists a home and a fellowship in CBF, and to connect Arkansas with the national CBF mission,” said Higgins, who first met his predecessor at CBF of Arkansas when Logue was the Baptist Student Union director at the University of Arkansas. Higgins earned his bachelor's degree there in 1977.
Originally from El Dorado, Ark., Higgins earned his master of divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. He earned a PhD in religion with emphasis in Christian ethics from Baylor University in 1990.
Higgins was assistant professor of Christian ethics at Southwestern from 1987-1994. He also served as pastor of Purmela Baptist Church in Purmela, Texas, and special projects coordinator for the Southern Baptist Convention's Christian Life Commission and Home Mission Board.
Higgins and his wife, Judy, have two teenage sons, Adam and Ryan.
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