WEST MONROE, La. (ABP) — Messengers to the Louisiana Baptist Convention's annual meeting Nov. 14-15 surprised some observers by rejecting candidates and causes endorsed by the state's conservative political group.
Meeting at First Baptist Church in West Monroe, La., messengers voted 687-607 to amend a budget-cutting proposal that would have had a disproportionate impact on the Baptist Message, the convention's newspaper. The amendment effectively restores approximately $52,000 to next year's budget for the newspaper.
Messengers also defeated, on a show-of-hands vote, a proposal to dissolve the paper's independent board of directors and move it under the control of the convention's executive board.
The deal, which had been endorsed by the convention's new executive director, David Hankins, would have folded the paper into the convention's public-relations staff. It also would have made the new LBC communications director, John Yeats, editor, replacing retiring Baptist Message editor Lynn Clayton. Yeats, prior to joining the LBC staff Nov. 1, was editor of the Oklahoma Baptist Messenger.
Messengers also defeated two of the three candidates for convention officers endorsed by the Louisiana Inerrancy Fellowship (LIFe).
For convention president, Bill Robertson, pastor of Temple Baptist Church in Winnsboro, beat Jerry Chaddick, an evangelist from DeQuincy, 792-540.
For first vice president, Wayne Dubose, pastor of First Baptist Church in Minden, beat Alan Weishampel, pastor of Murray Street Baptist Church in Lake Charles 805-473.
For second vice president, LIFe-endorsed candidate Collin Wimberly, pastor of First Baptist Church in Swartz beat Paul Roney, pastor of Riverview Baptist Church in Alexandria, 347-286.