Wednesday, November 14, 2012
7:00 to 8:00 AM

Roanoke Civic Center, Mezzanine Level
710 Williamson Road Roanoke, VA

Speaker: Dr. John Upton
Executive Director of the BGAV and President of the BWA

Limited seating! Purchase your ticket today!

All-American Breakfast Menu

Homemade biscuits with gravy
Scrambled eggs
Crispy bacon and sausage patties
Home fried potatoes
Assorted breads with butter, jams and preserves
Assorted fruit
Coffee, bottled juice, canned soda and water

Cost: $15.00 / person

Tickets may be purchased by mailing a check to

“Virginia Baptists Committed”
P.O. Box 3446
Petersburg, VA 23805

or via PayPal by going to VBC’s website:
http://virginiabaptistscommitted.org/breakfast/

Virginia Baptists Committed
Open Board Meeting

April 26, 2012
11:00 a.m. to Noon

Mechanicsville Baptist Church
8016 Atlee Road
Mechanicsville, VA 23111
(804) 746-72531

All members are invited to attend. Attendees are encouraged to have lunch together at a nearby restaurant afterwards.

Virginia Baptists Committed
Open Board Meeting

September 15, 2011
11:00 a.m. to Noon

Sandston Baptist Church
100 W. Williamsburg Road
Sandston, VA
(804) 737-2171

All members are invited to attend. Attendees are encouraged to have lunch together at a nearby restaurant afterwards.

The decision, which VBC co-chair Timothy K. Norman said was made during the group’s semi-annual gathering in Richmond on April 14, marks the first time in almost three decades that VBC will not present a candidate for each statewide office.

Norman, pastor of Glen Allen Church in the Dover Association, recalled the success achieved by VBC.  “Every year for over 25 years we nominated the president, and most of the other officers, Virginia Baptists elected.  I do not say this to boast about our political prowess, but to celebrate the outstanding leadership we helped put in place for a generation of Virginia Baptist life.

Our purpose has been to guarantee that every November there would be at least one prepared, committed, fully-vetted candidate for every elective office. The BGAV is in a better place now than before when it comes to this process.  Others have done this in recent years and we don’t need to do it this year.”

VBC was formed in 1983 in response to growing attempts by ultra-conservative Baptists to take over the Southern Baptist Convention and the BGAV.   “We did not want to have happen in Virginia what was happening to the national body and to other state conventions,” said Norman.  “And we believed that we represented the authentic Baptist witness in Virginia when it comes to Baptist traditions and principles.”

The group worked on two fronts.  They recruited clergy and laity in each of the BGAV’s 43 district associations to encourage churches to elect messengers to attend the annual meeting of the SBC in June.  This practice ended after the 1990 SBC in New Orleans.  Next, they nominated candidates at each BGAV annual meeting for over 25 years.

Recently, however, VBC saw its membership having a diminished interest in making nominations each year.  Mike Clingenpeel, Pastor of Richmond’s River Road Church and VBC’s other co-chair said the role of VBC is not what it once was:   “We are pleased that the threat of ultra-conservatives to the BGAV is no longer significant, because people with that ideology can support Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia.  We also are pleased to see a renewed interest in BGAV work by others, as evidenced by multiple candidates at several recent annual meetings.  This participation is a good thing in Virginia, and we do not believe it is necessary for VBC to take the lead in this effort any longer.  If this changes, we reserve the right to step back in to the process.”

Clingenpeel added that VBC would not disband, and that its members would continue to be involved in the work of Virginia Baptists.   “We believe in the BGAV.  Always have.  Don’t look for our voices to go silent on the mission and ministries of Virginia Baptists. “

Also at the April 14 meeting Norman and Clingenpeel, the two pastors who have led Virginia Baptists Committed for the past 6 years, announced they are stepping down from their work with the moderate Baptist group later this year.

“I enjoy attending the meetings of VBC,” said Clingenpeel.  “These are my friends.  They care about things that matter.  They are kingdom people, not just Baptist people.  But every organization needs fresh leadership from time to time and I need to have one or two fewer things on my plate. So it’s time for me to bow out.”

Norman agreed.  “I will continue to stay involved in the BGAV, but I agree with the decision of VBC to discontinue presenting candidates for office for the time being.  My service with VBC is one of the many enjoyable ways I have served Virginia Baptists.  I will continue to do that without being co-chair of this fine group.”

Both agreed to serve until the fall meeting of VBC in October.

April 14, 2011
11:00 a.m. to Noon

Glen Allen Baptist Church
3028 Mountain Road
Glen Allen, Virginia 23060
(804) 672-6648

All members are invited to attend. Attendees are encouraged to have lunch together at a nearby restaurant afterwards.

First, the members of Virginia Baptists Committed voted unanimously to endorse the nomination of Bob Bass, the current First Vice-President, to serve as the President of the BGAV.

Second, the body voted unanimously to endorse the nomination of Rev. Mark Croston, pastor of East End Baptist Church in Suffolk, VA, for BGAV First Vice-President.

Finally, Rev. Larry Coleman of Chesapeake, VA will be presented as a nominee for Second Vice-President.  A graduate of Furman University (B.A., 1974), Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (M.Div., 1977), Princeton Theological Seminary (Th.M., 1980), and having done D.Min. studies at Colgate Rochester Divinity School and Southern Seminary, Rev. Coleman is currently the Senior Minister of Churchland Baptist Church of Chesapeake, VA since July, 2000.  Prior to that, he served as the Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church of Laurinburg, NC, the Pastor of Bellewood Baptist Church in N. Syracuse, NY, and the Minister of Education of Memorial Baptist Church of Arlington, VA.

Rev. Coleman served on the BGAV Committee on Nominations from 2003-2005, chairing the committee in 2004 and 2005.  He was a delegate to the Baptist World Alliance Congresses in 2005 and 2010.  He has served in the Portsmouth Baptist Association as Parliamentarian from 2004-2006, and as a co-chair of the Portsmouth Baptist Association Fellowship Committee in 2003.  He was elected as Recording Secretary in both North Carolina and New York Baptist state conventions, and has served on the General Board of those conventions. He has been actively engaged with public education throughout his ministry, and is currently the PTA President at the 2300-student Western Branch High School. Rev. Coleman is a contributing author for EthicsDaily.com since its founding.  He has also written for the “Biblical Recorder,” “Baptists Today,” and other publications.

For over two decades Virginia Baptists Committed has endorsed candidates for president and the two vice-presidents of the Baptist General Association of Virginia. Our goal has never been to gather power in the hands of a few Virginia Baptists. It has always been to ensure that one fully vetted roster of candidates committed to the BGAV is available for election at the BGAV Annual Meeting. We welcome the nomination of other candidates and respect the electoral process that leaves decisions in the hands of the elected messengers.

Life Together Conference
February 21-22, 2011
Roslyn Retreat Center
8727 River Road, Richmond, Virginia 23229

For more information about the schedule, cost, conference leaders, advance readings and registration, please visit the Virginia Baptist Ministers Discussion Group website.

September 16, 2010
11:00 a.m. to Noon

Patterson Ave. Baptist Church
4301 Patterson Avenue
Richmond, Virginia 23221
(804) 355-6890

All members are invited to attend.  Attendees are encouraged to have lunch together at a nearby restaurant afterwards.

In preparation for this meeting, the Board is seeking nominations for candidates for Baptist General Association officers at the Annual Meeting, November 9-10, 2010, in Hampton, VA.

Please submit nominations of persons you know who are willing to serve via our VBC Nominations Page before June 29.  This will give the VBC Board time to begin vetting the candidates for 1st and 2nd Vice-President.