By james art 
BALTIMORE (RNS) — After an unusual election that gave voters the choice to put a name on the ballot or not, members of the National Baptist Convention, USA, lined up behind a new president, the Rev. Boyce Kimber, senior pastor of Calvary First Baptist Church in New Haven, Connecticut.
Kimber, who ran unopposed but needed the approval of historically black delegates from the denomination, received 1,774 yes votes, or 69% of the votes cast, on Thursday (Sept. 5), while 79 votes, or 31%, were cast as “no” votes.
“Oh, how wonderful God is,” Kimber said after outgoing NBCUSA President Jerry Young invited him to greet attendees at the final session of the annual meeting. “My brothers and sisters in Christ, I greet you in the name of Him who orders our steps. What God has made, no one can put asunder.
In the months leading up to NBCUSA’s annual session, which ended shortly after the election results were announced, officials determined that Kimber had received the necessary 100 endorsements from member churches and other NBCUSA entities to qualify to run for president.
Four other men who had hoped to be on the ballot were told they were ineligible: the Rev. Tellis Chapman, a Detroit pastor; the Reverend Claybon Lea, pastor of the San Francisco area; the Reverend Alvin Love, pastor of the Chicago area; and the Reverend James B. Sampson, a Florida pastor.
Pastor Thomas Morris Sr., chairman of NBCUSA’s election oversight committee, said in an earlier interview that many of the other candidates’ endorsements were voided because they came from churches that could not afford the required annual registration in the denomination due to lack of funds, consolidation or closure.
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In May, the disqualified contenders released a video urging supporters to help them “fight for the soul of our convention.” They hoped enough “no” votes would lead to a restart of the election process.
In August, Sampson wrote about his continued concerns in a Facebook post that said in part, “There is no way any candidate elected under these circumstances can legitimately run this authority.”
But shortly after the election results were announced, the latest post on Sampson’s Facebook account seemed to suggest a different tone: “God has spoken, let the National Baptist Convention of the USA, Inc., Constituency say Amen. God bless and keep ‘President Boyce Kimber.'”
The Rev. Dwight McKissick, a pastor from Texas whose church was dually affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, was a newly appointed NBCUSA employee along with Kimber in 2020. The day before the election, McKissick voiced his support for a “no” vote, saying in a Facebook post, which quotes a lyric from the hymn “Great Is Thy Faithfulness”: “The ‘no’ vote immediately fuses ‘strength for today’ and ‘bright hope for tomorrow’ into the fabric and fellowship of our great convention.”
McKissick, who declined further comment, told RNS after the election that he texted Kimber with his congratulations.
“You prayed and worked hard for this,” he told Kimber. “God gave it to you. May God crown your time in service with phenomenal success and success in the Kingdom. Blessings to you and the National Baptist Convention.”
On the day before the election, some rally attendees expressed support for Kimber as a generational changer.
Rev. Dwight and Derrick Jones, senior pastor and pastor, respectively, of First Baptist Church of South Richmond, Va., expressed concern about how NBCUSA would attract more members of the younger generations.
“We hope that this election will kind of dawn a new day for the congress in terms of being serious about meeting the needs of the church in 2024,” the younger pastor said.
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“The church, especially the post-pandemic church, is going through so much fluctuation and change that it needs leadership that is able to adapt and lead the convention,” added his father, who said he plans to vote for Kimber. “Many churches are dying, and if the church is dying, the convention cannot live.”
The Rev. Jerry Young speaks to attendees at the NBCUSA Annual Session, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024, in Baltimore. (RNS photo/Adele M. Banks)
Both Young, the denomination’s president, and the Rev. Breonus Mitchell Sr., chairman of the NBCUSA board, said the denomination’s election processes must be changed in the future. Mitchell said Wednesday that the current charter contains “so many ambiguities,” pointing to one church that joined and paid for its registration in 2023 but failed to have voting delegates at the session.
Young, in his final address on Wednesday, acknowledged the “unusual” choices but said their oddity did not mean anyone had made a mistake.
“There is absolutely no question that there are any problems with the process,” he said. “But hear me out: You can’t come in the middle of the process and then decide it needs to change.”
After Thomas announced the election results on behalf of the election commission, Young said the decision was final.
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“Their report here tonight clearly says the body has spoken,” he said to applause. “And when the body speaks, that settles the matter. In the context of Baptist polity, there is no appellate system.”
Shortly before the meeting ended, Young noted that he hoped to accomplish the transfer of power over the denomination in less than the 30-day maximum specified in the NBCUSA constitution.
He also contrasted his plans for a “smooth transition” with the recent US national election.
“I can promise you this: There will be no uprising on our side,” Young said, prompting some laughter and applause. “And you can bet on it: we won’t be storming headquarters.”
This story was first published by RNS. National Baptists elect Connecticut pastor Boyce Kimber as next president