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Easley to bring Jackson nomination


NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)–Jimmy Jackson, president of the Alabama Baptist State Convention, will be nominated for president of the Southern Baptist Convention at June’s annual meeting in Orlando, Fla., by Ernest Easley, senior pastor of Roswell Street Baptist Church in Marietta, Ga.

Jackson announced April 22 that he had agreed to be nominated. Easley talked with Baptist Press about the nomination June 3.

“Jimmy came to my home the other day and we sat on my back porch for over three hours, just talking about our convention, where we are, the issues we are facing,” Easley said. “I listened to his heart and my takeaway from that conversation was that Southern Baptists would be in good hands under the leadership of Jimmy Jackson as we move forward.

“We are about to move into some uncharted waters and I just believe that with Jimmy at the helm as our president, that his experience, his gentleness, his wisdom would serve Southern Baptists well,” Easley added. “Jimmy Jackson is a true statesman among us and, frankly, we don’t have many left. I think that, regardless of how the GCR report turns out, we need a statesman to move us forward. Somebody who, rather than talk about picking sides, can be the one to help bring our hands together and give us a sense of unity, which is necessary to fulfill the Great Commission.

“I see Jimmy as a unifier, not a divider,” Easley concluded. “I see him as a statesman that we desperately need. He has a deep well of experience and knowledge to draw from.”

Jackson is one of four nominees for SBC president, along with Georgia pastor Bryant Wright, Florida pastor Ted Traylor and Leo Endel, executive director of the Minnesota-Wisconsin Baptist Convention.

The vote for SBC president is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon, June 15, in the convention sessions at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando.
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Compiled by Mark Kelly, an assistant editor for Baptist Press.

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