November 21, 2010

VALLEY FORGE, PA – Dr. Jim Wallis, president and CEO of Sojourners, spoke about evangelism as he addressed the General Board during its final plenary session on Sunday, November 21. The General Board also adopted the 2011 budget and recognized retiring representatives, before adjourning until June 2011 when it will meet following the American Baptist Biennial in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Wallis emphasized the importance of evangelism and discipling of the churches. "If you want to evangelize the nonbelievers, the most important thing to do is to get the Christians to live like Christians. Get the Christians to live like Christians, and you will see evangelism rocket."

"There's a lot of bad stuff in religion in America. But there's a lot of good stuff," Wallis said. "It's time for our preaching and our leadership to challenge the bad stuff, and call out the best stuff. Amen? Amen."

During the fourth and final General Board plenary session, the ABCUSA General Board voted to adopt the 2011 budget presented by budget review officer James R. Ratliff. Included in the adoption process are the budgets for the Office of the General Secretary, the Representative Process, and Mission Resource Development.

The retiring representatives of the General Board were recognized for their engaged involvement with ABCUSA and their devotion to Christ and American Baptist Churches. The names of the retiring representatives (and years served) are as follows:

• Dolores Bradley 6 years of service

• Carolyn Clarke 4 years of service

• Patricia Lawrence 4 years of service

• James Peters, Jr. 6 years of service

• Scott Records 6 years of service

A. Roy Medley, general secretary of American Baptist Churches, USA, addressed the board before the meeting was adjourned.

"Our agenda is clear. God calls us to pave the way as national leaders," said Medley. "People are looking for a word from us, encouragement from us. We need to reclaim our life as coveted communities of radical disciples."

American Baptist News Service