North Carolina pastor chosen to be chair
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Cherilyn Crowe: 202-544-4226 / [email protected]
Jordan Edwards: 202-544-4226 / [email protected]
October 15, 2015
WASHINGTON – Daniel Glaze, a pastor from Ahoskie, N.C., was elected chair of the board of directors of the Washington, D.C.-based Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty during the organization’s board meeting Oct. 5-6.
The board, composed of representatives of 15 national, state and regional bodies in the United States, also passed an increased operating budget and discussed a new vision statement to guide the BJC.
Glaze, representing the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina, serves as pastor at First Baptist Church of Ahoskie, N.C. He said he was honored and humbled to serve in the role. “Like my Baptist foremothers and forefathers, I hold dear the God-given freedom of religious liberty, a treasure in earthen vessels, and will seek to do my part to protect and extend this gift for all people,” Glaze said. “The BJC’s ministry of religious liberty is second to none, and I’m proud to be a partner.”
CBF of North Carolina Executive Coordinator Larry Hovis commended Glaze’s election. “Daniel is a gifted, faithful pastor in our fellowship and has represented us effectively to the BJC. We celebrate his election as we give thanks for the BJC’s critical advocacy for religious liberty in these challenging times,” Hovis said.
The 2015-2017 BJC Board officers from left: Perry Hopper of MMBB and American Baptist Churches USA, treasurer; Tambi Swiney of the Religious Liberty Council, vice chair; Daniel Glaze of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina, chair; and Jim Hopkins of American Baptist Churches USA, secretary.
Tambi Swiney, representing the Religious Liberty Council, was elected vice chair. She is the associate pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in Nashville, Tennessee. Jim Hopkins, a representative of American Baptist Churches USA and pastor of Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church in Oakland, California, was elected secretary. The new treasurer is Perry Hopper of the Ministers and Missionaries Benefit Board who also represents American Baptist Churches USA.
BJC Executive Director J. Brent Walker applauded the new officers. “I am delighted that Daniel, along with Tambi, Jim and Perry, have agreed to serve during this important time in the life of the Baptist Joint Committee. They are all outstanding leaders committed to the cause of religious liberty.”
The meeting also included an announcement by Walker that he plans to retire at the end of 2016. After Glaze’s election, the board chose a search committee to recommend a candidate to be the next leader of the BJC. Glaze will serve on that committee in an ex-officio capacity.
Based in Washington, D.C., the BJC is an education and advocacy organization that fights to uphold the historic Baptist principle of religious freedom and the separation of church and state. While primarily supported by Baptists, the BJC fights for religious liberty for all, including Jewish, Muslim and a host of Christian groups, who count on the BJC for leadership.
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The Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty is a 79-year-old, Washington, D.C.-based religious liberty organization that works to defend and extend God-given religious liberty for all, bringing a uniquely Baptist witness to the principle that religion must be freely exercised, neither advanced nor inhibited by government.
