NASHVILLE (BP) – Longtime pastor and SBC leader Morris H. Chapman will be remembered at a memorial service at 2 p.m. Oct. 24 at Triune Baptist Church near Nashville. Chapman pastored churches in Texas and New Mexico for 25 years before being called to lead the SBC Executive Committee from 1992 until 2010.
Triune Baptist Church is located at 8094 Horton Highway in Arrington, Tenn.
Chapman, 84, is survived by his wife Jodi; son and daughter-in-law Chris and Renee Chapman; daughter and son-in-law Stephanie and Scott Evans; eight grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; and brother Ron (Brenda) Chapman of Jackson, Miss.
He was remembered by colleagues this week as a man of passion and integrity.
“He was a champion for cooperation and our global mission,” said SBC EC President Jeff Iorg. “He was also a friend who encouraged me for many years – including after my election as president of the EC. We honor him and pray for his family in their loss.”
Chapman’s family said the love and respect was mutual between the leader and Southern Baptists.
“Dad loved Southern Baptists as a people, not just as a denomination, and he believed that the headquarters of the SBC is the local church,” Chapman’s son Chris told Baptist Press.
“That was foundational to him as he served in local Southern Baptist churches and in denominational service. He stood on that belief, God’s Word and an unwavering desire to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit as he led in churches and in the SBC,” he said.
Chris has served at the EC for nearly 25 years.
“Thank you, Southern Baptists, for all the prayers, encouragement, support and love you gave to my dad and our family. He loved you too,” Chris said.
The memorial service will be livestreamed at Triune Baptist Church’s Facebook page. Crawford Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements.
This week, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary announced a new award to help cover the expense of equipping students to learn about the Convention’s mission and impact. Chapman was a stalwart supporter of Southern Baptist cooperation and of evangelism, helping pioneer Crossover, an annual evangelistic outreach held just prior to the SBC annual meeting in the meeting’s host city.
“This endowed fund supports students preparing to serve the denomination by assisting with travel to the SBC annual meeting for a student enrolled in the SBC course through Southwestern Seminary and providing scholarships for advanced research in areas such as denominational effectiveness, the history of Crossover, the Cooperative Program, or the life and ministry of Dr. Morris H. Chapman,” said a statement on the SWBTS website.