ATLANTA (ABP) — Keith Herron, senior pastor of Holmeswood Baptist Church in Kansas City, Mo., has been nominated to be the next moderator-elect for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and Renée Bennett, chief operating officer with Morningstar Children and Family Services, has been submitted as the nominee for recorder.
Keith Herron
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Herron, who has served as senior pastor at Holmeswood for 10 years, was a member of the CBF Coordinating Council from 2006 to 2010. A graduate of Baylor University and Southwestern Theological Seminary, Herron holds a doctor of ministry degree from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. He was pastor of a church in San Antonio before moving to Kansas City.
"I consider it a sacred honor to be named a candidate for moderator-elect," Herron said. "I look at it as stewardship of something that I really love. I love the people that I know in places of leadership and the family it provides for me all over the United States. I've met people around the world that have CBF connections and they are dear people for me."
Herron said he recognizes that these are challenging times for the movement, with a $14.5 million operating budget for this fiscal year, 20 percent smaller than in 2009-2010, and an even smaller $12.3 million proposed budget for 2011-2012.
"I see the seriousness of our day," he said. "Any time an organization has to tighten its belt and it has to re-examine its priorities, while it may look like a big negative, it's also a great opportunity for the movement."
Herron serves with his wife, Wanda, who is pastor of worship and arts at Holmeswood. The couple has and a son, Ben, and a daughter, Alex, who are recent graduates of Kansas University. Herron has also served on coordinating councils for CBF of Missouri and CBF of Texas.
Bennett, who is a licensed marriage and family therapist, lives in Macon, Ga. She is a past moderator of CBF Georgia and currently serves on the CBF Coordinating Council. Bennett, who graduated from Mercer University and Southwestern Theological Seminary, is past president of Baptist Women in Ministry of Georgia and in 2004, she was selected as that organization's Church Woman of the Year.
Renee Bennett
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The election for these two posts will take place at the General Assembly in Tampa, Fla., on June 25. The moderator-elect's chief responsibility is to preside over the Assembly and the Coordinating Council in absence of the moderator. The moderator-elect automatically succeeds the moderator at the conclusion of a one-year term without a vote by the Assembly.
Colleen Burroughs, vice president of Passport, is the current moderator-elect. She will assume the office of moderator on June 25, at the conclusion of the General Assembly. South Carolina minister Christy McMillin-Goodwin, the Fellowship's current moderator, will assume the immediate past moderator position at the conclusion of this year's Assembly. The chief duty of the immediate past moderator is to chair the nominating committee.
The recorder’s chief responsibility is maintaining the minutes of the General Assembly and Coordinating Council meetings and may serve up to three one-year terms.
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Bob Perkins writes for CBF communications.