EDMOND, Okla. (ABP) — A prominent Southern Baptist pastor in Oklahoma died Feb. 16 from injuries sustained in a motorcycle wreck.
Alan Day
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Alan Day, 62, pastor of First Baptist Church in Edmond, Okla., for more than 25 years, reportedly lost control when his motorcycle hit some sand on a city street. The motorcycle tipped on its side and skidded more than 100 feet. Day died at a hospital from head injuries. Police said he was wearing a helmet.
According to media reports, Day had left to pick up his wife for the church's weekly Wednesday night supper. Church members learned of the accident as they gathered for prayer meeting.
Associate Pastor Keith Haygood told the Oklahoman newspaper that Day took up motorcycle riding about five years ago, and that he was a safe driver who always wore a helmet.
Day, a pastor for 42 years, received both the M.Div. and Th.D. degrees from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He held numerous leadership positions in the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma, including multiple terms on the Oklahoma Baptist University board of trustees. He was currently serving as the board's vice chairman and expected to take over as chair in 2011-2012. Day was scheduled to deliver the school's 2011 Founders' Day address Feb. 9, but it was postponed due to inclement weather.
"Alan Day was a consummate Baptist statesman," said university President David W. Whitlock. "He had a pastor's heart and a servant's spirit, which was demonstrated in his love for his church family and his leadership role in the Edmond community. His warmth and caring were so strong that they sometimes overshadowed his keen theological mind. He was a student of God's Word and an innovative communicator of biblical truth."
Day was a former trustee on the Southern Baptist Convention International Mission Board and served as vice chairman from 1998 until 2000. He preached at the SBC Pastors Conference in Indianapolis in 2008.
Day wrote a doctrinal column for the Baptist Messenger, the Oklahoma convention's newspaper, and was an advocate for the position of biblical inerrancy championed by conservative leaders in the SBC. He spoke on benefits of the so-called "conservative resurgence" of the 1980s on campuses of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1998 and New Orleans Seminary in 2001. He was one of a number of theologians invited to vet the doctrine of songs in the 2008 Baptist Hymnal.
As pastor of First Baptist Church, a historic congregation founded in 1890, Day emphasized support for missions. He led the church to increase financial support for missions and traveled on mission trips to Brazil, Mexico, China, Malawi and Russia.
In 1993 he led the dedication of a $6.7 million building project conducted over three years while the church remained in the top 10 in the state in giving to the Cooperative Program unified budget.
Day is survived by his widow, Alice, whom he married in 1969, four children and six grandchildren.
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Bob Allen is senior writer for Associated Baptist Press.