Baptist Press PHOENIX (BP) — Tennessee pastor Steve Gaines was reelected by acclamation to a second term as president of the Southern Baptist Convention during the June 13-14 SBC annual meeting in Phoenix. He will lead a diverse slate of officers including Walter Strickland, an African American leader of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary’s Kingdom Diversity Initiative, first vice president; Jose Abella, a bilingual church planter from Miami, second vice president;

Baptist Press NASHVILLE — Tennessee native Carol Pipes, director of communications at LifeWay Christian Resources, is the new president-elect of the Evangelical Press Association, a professional organization of Christian publications and websites. Pipes, who was serving as secretary of the board, was elected president-elect during EPA’s annual business meeting at its Chicago convention on April 11. Pipes is a member of Friendship Community Church in Mount Juliet, where her husband

Baptist Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. — As fans across the nation celebrate the NBA and NHL finals this week, LifeWay Christian Resources is adding to the sports enthusiasm by announcing “Game On!” as its 2018 Vacation Bible School theme. The theme is designed to help kids gear up for life’s big game by teaching them Jesus has provided all they need for the journey to which God calls them, LifeWay VBS

By Diana Chandler Baptist Press PHOENIX (BP) — Messengers and speakers attending the Southern Baptist Convention 2017 Annual Meeting in Phoenix are encouraged to dress appropriately for daily temperatures surpassing 100 degrees. “Because of the severe heat in Phoenix during the summer months, I encourage all messengers to the 2017 Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting to dress casually,” SBC President Steve Gaines told Baptist Press. “Men should feel free not

Baptist and Reflector ABERDEEN, Miss. — The North American Mission Board has filed an official response to a lawsuit by former Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware executive director Will McRaney, who alleges NAMB wrongly interfered with his separation from the BCMD in 2015, engaged in “slander and/or libel” and attempted to interfere with his speaking engagements. NAMB’s May 18 filing with a U.S. district court in Aberdeen, Miss., acknowledged notifying the

Baptist Press PHOENIX — Tennessee pastor Steve Gaines will be nominated for a second term as president of the Southern Baptist Convention, his son Grant announced May 17. Gaines “has led the convention faithfully” over the past year and been “marked by … godly traits,” Grant Gaines, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Jackson, wrote in a statement to Baptist Press announcing his intent to nominate his father at the