Press Release

The Executive Committee
of the
Southern Baptist Convention

SBC Executive Committee President
Morris H. Chapman
Statement on the resignation of
NAMB President
Robert (Bob) Reccord

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NASHVILLE, Tenn., April, 17, 2006—Dr. Morris H. Chapman, president and chief executive officer of  the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee, made the following comment on the news of Dr. Robert (Bob) Reccord’s resignation:

Bob Reccord is a friend, colleague and brother in Christ.  I will miss working with him as president of the North American Mission Board.  He is both a visionary leader and gifted communicator, and I’m convinced he will have a significant and fulfilling ministry in the Lord’s service for many years to come.  

Bob has been faithful to follow the Lord’s leadership through his life and, no doubt, will continue to do so.  I have every confidence that God will open doors of opportunity for Bob to maximize his tremendous talents for the sake of God’s Kingdom. 

Fortunately, the work of the Southern Baptist Convention in general and the North American Mission Board in particular will go forward because it is greater than one man.  That work of showing and sharing the love of Christ will advance through NAMB missionaries and faithful Southern Baptists.  I never cease to be amazed how God continues to bless Southern Baptists in reaching people with His Gospel.

In some respects, I have also been encouraged by the whole process.   Questions were asked by Southern Baptists.  Inquiries were made by the trustees of NAMB.  Accountability was required of the leadership.  Action was taken by the leadership that was ultimately in the best interests of NAMB and of the Southern Baptist Convention.  This experience, as painful as it may have been, demonstrates once again that we can be confident in the ministries made possible through the Cooperative Program, Southern Baptists’ lifeline of support for cooperative missions.  I commend Dr. Reccord and the trustees for honoring Christ in the way they worked through this process.

Again, we pray for Bob and his wife, Cheryl, as they seek God’s guidance for the future.  We also prayerfully anticipate that God will raise up His man for this particular time in the life of the North American Mission Board.  I ask all Southern Baptists to begin praying that God’s choice will be so clear and definitive to the trustee search committee that His perfect will shall be unmistakable.  The very soul of America is at stake.

The Southern Baptist Convention is America’s largest evangelical denomination of churches with more than 16.2 million members in over 43,500 churches nationwide. The Executive Committee is the administrative entity responsible for facilitating the ongoing work of the Convention between annual meetings with offices in Nashville, Tennessee.

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