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| SBC President Challenges Ky. Baptists, Castlen Elected KBC Vice President |
| Release Date: 11/13/2007 |
 ELIZABETHTOWN – Kentucky Baptists must be careful not to become useless for the kingdom of God, said Southern Baptist Convention president Frank Page during the 170th annual meeting of the Kentucky Baptist Convention.
Page was the featured speaker during the Tuesday evening session of the annual meeting at Severns Valley Baptist Church.
“There is a sin that will destroy us all and that is the sin of uselessness,” said Page. “God has planted you where you are for a reason, and for a purpose.”
Warning against an attitude of skeptical complacency, Page encouraged Kentucky Baptists to believe that God can still bring revival and to live lives that will bring glory to God.
Drawing from the parable of the fig tree in Luke 13, Page emphasized the reality of judgment and the reality of grace, noting that “Jesus has a ministry of encouragement to us, a ministry to say “I want you to have another opportunity.”
“I will not believe that our best days are behind us,” said Page. “I believe God wants to give us a new day, to experience revival and renewal. Join me in becoming beggars before God, begging God to give us revival.”
Earlier in the day, messengers affirmed Jim Castlen, director of missions for Three Forks Baptist Association, as first vice president of the KBC during the afternoon session of the 170th annual meeting of the Kentucky Baptist Convention. The annual meeting convened today and will continue through Wednesday morning.
Castlen was elected by the vote of acclamation cast by Wilma Simmons, convention secretary, after no other nominees were named. Alan Dodson, pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Lexington, nominated Castlen for the office.
Castlen is a member of Big Creek Baptist Church in Hazard. He has served churches in Kentucky, Alabama, Louisiana, Tennessee and Texas in music, youth and education. Some of those churches include Harlan Baptist Church and First Baptist Church of Mount Washington. Castlen was also a professor of music at Clear Creek Baptist Bible College in Pineville from 1990 to 2002.
Rick Reeder, director of missions for the Caldwell-Lyon Association, was elected as second vice president of the KBC. Like Castlen, Reeder was the lone nominee for the office. Delton Beall, pastor of Southside Baptist Church in Princeton, nominated Reeder for the office.
Wilma Simmons, a member of Big Spring Baptist Church in Ekron, was re-elected to the post of secretary, and Mike Melloan, a member of Yellow Creek Baptist Church in Owensboro, was re-elected as assistant secretary. Both were unopposed.
In other business, messengers approved a resolution on abuse and the protection of children. The resolution calls for pastors and church leaders to lead in teaching and example in integrity, and to implement appropriate measures to enhance to safety and security of children, teenagers, and other vulnerable persons.
A resolution opposing expanded gambling was also approved. The resolution encourages churches to teach about the dangers of gambling and calls on Kentucky’s governor and members of the Kentucky General Assembly to join with citizens in finding ways to strengthen the state’s economy without the expansion of gambling.
Messengers also approved a resolution commending Bill Whittaker for his service as former president of Clear Creek Baptist Bible College from 1988-2007, and congratulating Donnie Fox on his selection as the fifth president of Clear Creek Baptist Bible College.
Resolutions calling for the appreciation of Severns Valley Baptist Church as annual meeting host was passed, as was a resolution on the Great Commission, which called for churches to partner together in reaching Kentucky and the nations through prayer, evangelism and giving through the Cooperative Program.
A special session entitled “Empowering Believers in Missions” was dedicated to celebrating missions. Personal testimonies were shared by those impacted directly by Kentucky Baptists’ commitment to church planting, Hispanic outreach ministry, literacy missions and prison ministry.
At the close of the missions segment, Paul Chitwood, pastor of Mount Washington and former KBC president in 2006, challenged Kentucky Baptists to participate in missions as a lifestyle by reaching out to the poor and the lost around them.
“Opportunities are all around us,” said Chitwood. “There are two million lost people in Kentucky. How many do you know?”
At the open of the Tuesday evening session, 906 messengers were registered, along with 232 church members and 11 visitors.
Release prepared by Kristie Randolph, KBC Communications |
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