HONOLULU – Virginia Baptists’ executive director was elected to the presidency of the Baptist World Alliance July 31 in unanimous vote during the 20th Baptist World Congress.
Upton will continue as executive director of the Baptist General Association of Virginia, a post he has held since 2001. Previously, he was a missionary to Taiwan and pastor of Urbanna Baptist Church in Urbanna, Va.
The BWA General Council nominated Upton for the presidency when it met in Ede, the Netherlands, a year ago. Delegates to the World Congress confirmed that nomination July 31 in Honolulu. His term will last until the summer of 2015.
John Upton was elected the BWA's 20th president in Honolulu. (Photo by Peter Traynham)
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Upton will be the 20th president of the global organization, which counts more than 37 million members in 214 national and regional unions and conventions with almost 160,000 congregations. The president works closely with General Secretary Neville Callam, the BWA’s top employed official.
Upton will be the eighth American to serve as president and the third with Virginia Baptist ties. Theodore F. Adams, then pastor of Richmond’s First Baptist Church, held the office from 1955-1960, and V. Carney Hargroves, at one time pastor of Weatherford Memorial Baptist Church in Richmond, was president 1970-1975.
Also elected in Honolulu was Daniel Carro, an Argentine with Virginia Baptist ties who will serve as the BWA’s first vice president. Carro, who serves as a vice president from Latin America, is a Latino consultant for the Virginia Baptist Mission Board and teaches at the Leland Center for Theological Studies in Falls Church, Va.
“I believe in the Baptist World Alliance,” Upton told BWA delegates moments after his election.
“I believe in the way we elevate the name of Christ, serve in the name of Christ, listen to the Spirit of God, and build up the body of Christ in all its many languages, cultures and customs. I believe in who we are.”
The best symbol for the BWA is “the way we praise God together,” Upton said. “It’s what captures who we are.”
That symbol may seem too ordinary and too benign, but it is powerful, he contended. He cited a litany of other ministries, activities and projects BWA members undertake together, but the symbol of praise rises above the rest.
“We spend so much time in praise when we’re together,” he observed. “Why do we do this? Does God need it? It’s in our DNA. When we praise God, we touch the heart of God.”
Praise symbolizes the BWA because it is subversive, he maintained. “It is a cry for radical freedom under God. To live in praise is to say those (worldly) powers are limited” in their control over God’s work among God’s people all over the world. That’s why Baptists stand for justice and redemption—because they believe it will only come through the power of God.
“Gathering to praise God is not just a nice thing to do. It’s the only thing to do,” Upton said.
The new president pledged to the delegates: “I will commit to serve you with dignity, respect, inclusiveness and, yes, praise these next five years as we are in step with the Spirit.”
In a news conference after the election, BWA General Secretary Neville Callam endorsed Upton’s election “without any doubt.”
“He’s eminently suited to be the president of BWA,” Callam said of Upton, noting the BWA staff in Falls Church is joyful because of the election.
Upton has led Virginia Baptists to the “cutting edge of mission and witness,” and Upton likewise succeeded as a missionary and pastor, Callam said. He praised Upton’s involvement in BWA across many years. Upton has served on the BWA’s Executive Committee and General Council and Program Committee this year, as well as on other BWA groups and the Executive Committee of the North American Baptist Fellowship, BWA’s regional affiliate in Canada and the United States.
Upton is an excellent cross-cultural communicator, Callam added, noting he will represent the BWA well before governments and other religious bodies, will provide clear vision and will help unite the worldwide Baptist organization.
“The search committee found its ideal candidate” in Upton, he said.
Upton succeeded David Coffey of the United Kingdom, who served as BWA president since the 19th Baptist World Congress in Birmingham, England, in 2005.
In addition to Carro, BWA delegates also elected 11 other vice presidents from across the world— Joel Sierra, Mexico; Regina Claas, Germany; Nabil Costa, Lebanon; Harry Gardner, Canada; William Epps, United States; Olu Menjay, Liberia; Paul Msiza, South Africa; Victor Samuel Gonzalez, Cuba; Burchell Taylor, Jamaica; John Kok, Malaysia; Ross Clifford, Australia.
The newly elected BWA treasurer is Caroline Fossen of the United States.