2023-2024 SBC officers are (left to right) Recording Secretary Nathan Finn, Second Vice President Kason Branch, President Bart Barber, First Vice President Jay Adkins and Registration Secretary Don Currence. (Photo by Sonya Singh)
Editor’s note: The following article was written by Timothy Cockes, staff writer for the Baptist Press. More articles on the SBC Annual Meeting can be found at baptistpress.com.
NEW ORLEANS (BP) – Newly reelected SBC President Bart Barber leads a slate of officers elected during the 2023 SBC Annual Meeting in New Orleans, which includes two other reelected candidates.
Barber was elected to a second term after receiving just over 68 percent of messenger votes. Four other officer positions were elected, two by messenger ballot votes and two by acclamation as the candidates ran unopposed.
President
Barber, a Texas pastor, was reelected to a second term as president of the SBC on Tuesday, June 13, at the 2023 SBC Annual Meeting in New Orleans.
Out of 11,014 messenger votes, Barber received 7,531 votes (68.38 percent) while Georgia pastor Mike Stone received 3,458 (31.40) percent. There were 25 ballots disallowed.
Barber was nominated by Jarrett Stephens, senior pastor of Champion Forest Baptist Church in Houston. Stone was nominated by Willy Rice, pastor of Calvary Church in Clearwater, Fla.
First Vice President
Jay Adkins, pastor of First Baptist Westwego in New Orleans, was elected after receiving 63 percent of cast messenger ballots.
Adkins received 2,393 (63.27 percent) out of 3,782 votes cast. He was nominated by Fred Luter, former SBC president and pastor of Franklin Avenue Baptist in New Orleans.
Dusty Deevers, pastor of Grace Community Church of Elgin, Okla., received 784 votes (20.73 percent). Deevers was nominated by Allen Nelson, an elder at Perryville Second Baptist Church in Perryville, Ark.
Gevan Spinney, former president of the Louisiana Baptist Convention and pastor of First Baptist in Haughton, La., received 587 (15.52 percent) of the votes cast. He was nominated by Eric Thomas, pastor at First Baptist Norfolk, Va.
There were 18 ballots disallowed.
Second Vice President
Kason Branch, senior pastor at Creekstone Church in North Richland Hills, Texas, was elected after receiving 2,502 (54.11 percent) of messenger votes. Branch was nominated by Michael Criner, lead pastor of Rock Hill Baptist Church in East Brownsboro, Texas.
Shane Terrebonne, pastor of Gulf Coast Baptist Church in Golden Meadow S.C., received 2,098 votes (45.37 percent) of votes cast. Terrebonne was nominated by his son, Titus, who pastors Alamo Heights Baptist Church in Port Lavaca, Texas.
There were 24 ballots disallowed.
Recording Secretary
Nathan Finn, provost at North Greenville University in Tigerville, S,.C., was nominated by SBC Executive Committee member and Florida pastor Dean Inserra. There were no other candidates nominated, so SBC Registration Secretary Don Currence cast the ballot of the convention for Finn, electing him to the position.
Registration Secretary
Don Currence, administrative pastor at First Baptist Ozark and mayor of the town, was nominated by Missouri pastor Jon Nelson. There were no other candidates nominated, so SBC Recording Secretary Nathan Finn cast the ballot of the convention for Currence, electing him to the position.
Currence also served in the position for the 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022 SBC annual meetings.