NASHVILLE (BP) – One nominee has been announced for Southern Baptist Convention first vice president, and two nominees have been announced for second vice president. Voting for SBC officers will take place at the 2021 SBC Annual Meeting, to be held here, June 15-16.
Lee Brand Jr., vice president and dean of Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary, will be nominated as first vice president of the Southern Baptist Convention at the SBC’s annual meeting June 15-16 in Nashville. Pastor James Lewis, pastor of DeSoto Hills Baptist Church in Southaven, Miss., where Brand attends, will bring the nomination.
Lewis described Brand as “a fellow pilgrim who walks beside his pastor encouraging me along the way. He has a deep and growing passion for God’s Word, God’s people, and God’s servants. He believes strongly in the inerrant and sufficient message of God’s Word and the mission of the local church.”
Dusty Durbin, pastor of Big Level Baptist Church in Wiggins, Miss., will be nominated for second vice president. Jonathan Jenkins, pastor of First Baptist Church in Kinston, Ala., will bring the nomination.
Jenkins characterized Durbin, 35, as having “a wise and cooperative spirit in the churches he’s led and the local and state cooperative works he has participated in. He not only participates but has led his church to give generously through the Cooperative Program and to the Annie Armstrong and Lottie Moon missions offerings.”
Also, Javier Chavez, church planter and pastor of Iglesia Bautista Amistad Cristiana International in Gainesville, will be nominated as second vice president, a group of college students announced.
Chavez, 44, is also a visiting professor of global missions at Truett-McConnell University in Cleveland, Ga., as well as a member of the steering council of the Conservative Baptist Network.
Rick Portillo, bilingual leader at Southside Church in Athens, Ga., is among those supporting Chavez’s nomination.
“Our generation has a voice in our denomination, and we are so excited to use it by nominating Pastor Javier Chavez,” Portillo said. “He is a man of faith and clear convictions. His Gospel-driven commitment to further God’s Kingdom has been inspiring to witness.”