Richard Harris, a retired vice president with the North American Mission Board, was elected interim executive director-treasurer of the South Carolina Baptist Convention by the convention’s Executive Board. The action occurred at the board’s fall meeting, Monday-Tuesday, Oct. 6-7, at White Oak Conference Center.
Harris’ work began immediately. He met with convention staff in Columbia on Wednesday, Oct. 8.
Harris follows retiring executive director-treasurer Jim Austin, who was honored by board members during Monday’s evening session of the two-day meeting. Austin’s passion for missions and the health of local church pastors was celebrated.
Meeting in executive session on Tuesday morning, the board unanimously elected Harris on a motion from board chairman Dwight Easler. The board also unanimously affirmed a joint decision of its Administrative and Budget, Finance & Audit committees to accept Austin’s retirement, providing salary and partial benefits for one year as a retirement agreement.
Harris began work with the Southern Baptist Convention’s Home Mission Board in 1981 in the area of mass evangelism. During his 29 years with the Home Mission Board and then NAMB, Harris also served as national chairman of four evangelism emphases, including “Good News America” and “Here’s Hope” as well as vice president of church planting from June 1997 to July 2007. From August 2009 to September 2010 he served as vice president of the Sending Missionaries Group and NAMB’s interim president. He retired from NAMB in 2011. He also served pastorates in Kentucky and Texas, and has served 26 Atlanta area churches as an interim pastor.
“I am going to work to challenge you,” Harris told the board as it returned to open session following his election. “A time of interim leadership is not a time to kick the engine in neutral. I am coming to lead, to ensure the staff knows it is important and valuable, and to encourage and empower staff members.
“I am a windshield leader,” he said. “I want to build on what’s been done by those before me and not tear down what’s been done. As Southern Baptists, we work best together when we cooperate, coordinate and collaborate. We cooperate through the Cooperative Program and missions funding, we coordinate through efforts like Disaster Relief, and we collaborate through our partnerships with institutions and efforts like My Hope through the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.”
For South Carolina Baptists, Harris said he would keep the focus on evangelism, missions mobilization, church planting and revitalization as outlined in the convention’s Great Commission Living emphasis.
Harris said he looked forward to getting out in the state and meeting with churches toward a goal of evaluating how the convention staff can better serve churches. Statewide listening sessions are being planned.
Harris said he will not be a candidate to fill the executive director-treasurer vacancy and will not be a part of the selection process, serving the search team only as requested.
Executive Board chairman Easler has named the search team to include current board committee chairman and others, including: Brian Fields, Will Browning, Alex Sands, Ty Childers, Rocky Purvis, Duane Greene, Larry Baldwin and Joe Willard. In making the appointment, Easler said, “I wanted to see to represent all of the board committees as well as our different types of churches, personalities and leadership in our state. I know this committee is going to do a great job.”
In other news, the board:
— Approved a 2015 convention budget of $28.6 million, which has been a fixed budget since 2012 and will remain fixed until annual budget receipts reach that amount. Budget, Finance & Audit Chairman Marshall Blalock said budget receipts, through September 2014, are ahead year to date compared to 2013.
Within the Executive Board Ministries section of the budget, there is a decrease of $89,144 to $8.8 million for 2015.
The convention’s approval of the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force report in 2012 fixed the budget amount for Anderson University, Charleston Southern University, North Greenville University, Connie Maxwell Children’s Home and South Carolina Baptist Ministries for the Aging. The Baptist Foundation of South Carolina is on a set schedule to reduce Cooperative Program support toward a goal of self-sufficiency. The Baptist Courier is on a three-year fixed amount followed by review. Blalock reported the Courier has agreed to a $50,000 reduction in its Cooperative Program support.
The budget sets aside direct funds for the Southern Baptist Convention’s International Mission Board. While these funds are not disbursed if the budget is not met, Blalock said the Budget, Finance & Audit Committee will consider funding the IMB budget amount from the convention’s Fund Balance if there is a budget shortfall.
Blalock also reported committee approval of $115,000 from the convention’s Fund Balance to replace boilers at White Oak Conference Center. This request came to the committee from the board’s Properties Committee.
Blalock also reported the Budget, Finance & Audit Committee, working with institutional partnership leadership, has selected the accounting firm of CapinCrouse LLP to provide all of the convention’s audits through 2019. CapinCrouse specializes in non-profit accounting and advisory services.
— Received information from the Properties Committee that office space at the convention building, in Columbia, has been leased to JusticeWorks BehavioralCare, a non-profit organization. The organization’s website reports it “has a mission to improve outcomes for troubled youth and their families.” Committee chairman Duane Greene said there are two to three additional vacancies for lease at the convention building.
— Received information from the Planning & Ministries Committee that Randy Creamer, director of the Disaster Relief Office, is now the convention staff’s “point person” with South Carolina Woman’s Missionary Union.
— Received information from the Scholarships Committee that in the past five years the Executive Board has increased undergraduate scholarship amounts from $659 to $1,180 per student; and increased scholarships for seminary students from $398 to $800 per student.
— Received information from the Administrative Committee that GuideStone Financial Resources representation in South Carolina has been assigned to the convention staff’s Pastoral Ministries Office under the direction of director Monty Hale.
The committee has also approved a performance agreement, or job description, for the convention staff position of executive director for camps and conference centers.
— Heard annual reports from the presidents of Anderson University, Charleston Southern University and North Greenville University.
— Heard from 2014 convention president D.J. Horton regarding plans for the 2014 annual meeting, which will be Tuesday-Wednesday, Nov. 11-12 at Shandon Baptist Church in Columbia.
— Honored White Oak Conference Center staff members who were celebrating service anniversaries.