FOREIGN MISSION BOARD MINUTES
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December 14, 1976
The Foreign Mission Board met in regular monthly session Tuesday, December 14, 1976,
2:30 p.m. , in the Baker James Cauthen Chapel. The President, James G. Harris, pre¬
sided .
PRESENT: State Members: Alabama: J. R. White; Colorado: Glen E. Braswell; D. C. :
B. Ross Morrison; Georgia: Mrs, L. G. Hicks, Jr., William L. Self, Mrs. W. Jack Smith;
Illinois: A. F. Tuck; Indiana: Ronald P. Liesmann; Kansas : J. W. Pace, Kentucky;
Rollin S. Bur'nans; Louisiana: Miss Myra Gulledge; Maryland : Ralph D. Walls; North
Carolina: Ray W. Benfield; Ohio: W. Paul Payne; Oklahoma: Harvey Albright; Oregon:
William 0. Crews, Jr.; South Carolina: Ira Q. Craft; Tennessee: Jonas L. Stewart;
Texas : Harold T. Branch, Morris G. Cobb, James G. Harris, Joe E. Trull; Virginia:
W. Curtis English, Lonnie E. Quillen, Jr.
Local Members: V. Allen Gaines, Franklin D. Hall, Hiram L. Harrison, Scott C. Humphrey,
Neal T. Jones, Bruce H. Price, M. Hunter Riggins, Jr., Mrs. Ross S. Shearer, Mrs. E. S.
Stratton, Mrs. Thomas Whalen, Robert B. Bass, J. Roy Clifford, Paul E. Crandall, Gurney
W. Grant, J. Leonard Moore, John W. Patterson, Raymond L. Spence, Jr.
Staff: Baker J. Cauthen, J. Bryan Brasington, Charles W. Bryan, Louis R. Cobbs, Winston
Crawley, Edna Frances Dawkins, William K. Dawson, Everett L. Deane, James G. Edwards,
Franklin T. Fowler, Cornell Goerner, lone Gray, W. Eugene Grubbs, George H. Hays, Ward
S. Hildreth, Dwight A. Honeycutt, J. D. Hughey, Ralph A. Magee, William W. Marshall,
Frank K. Means, Stanley A. Nelson, Floyd H. North, William R. O'Brien, R. Keith Parks,
Samuel M. Pittman, G. Norman Price, Don A. Reavis, Sidney C. Reber, Davis L. Saunders,
Fon H. Scofield, Rogers M. Smith, W. L. Smith, Richard M. Styles, Wilbur N. Todd,
Melvin E. Torstrick, Joseph B. Underwood, William R. Wakefield, E. L. Wright, Elizabeth
Minshew.
Board Attorney; Paul D. Stotts.
The President called the meeting to order.
The audience joined in singing the Hymn: "Joy to the World," led by Sidney C. Reber.
Miss Myra Gulledge, Board member from Louisiana, read a passage of Scripture and led
in the Opening Prayer.
Minutes of the Board for November 4, 1976, were approved.
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Formal reports from Division Directors, Area Secretaries, and other were omitted, so
that the Board meeting might adjourn by 4:00 p.m. Buses were scheduled to depart from
Richmond by 4:15 p.m., for the Western Branch Baptist Church, Portsmouth, Virginia. The
Appointment Service was scheduled to be held in the Western Branch Church at 7:30 p.m.
The President recognized the Executive Director, Baker J. Cauthen.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR - Baker J. Cauthen
Dr. Cauthen extended a cordial welcome to all who were present, with special appreci¬
ation for several visitors.
Dr. Cauthen gave a brief overview of the funds for disaster relief, from 1972 - to date.
Report of the Executive Director
The ministry of relief is a very important responsibility of the Foreign
Mission Board. Relief funds have been administered by the Board for
Southern Baptists for many years. We recall with gratitude that in the
summer of 1964 more than $4,000,000 was given for world relief and
rehabilitation, all of which was administered by the Foreign Mission
Board. During the last two years, gifts for relief have increased
greatly. Whereas in 1972 gifts for relief totaled $56,459 and 1973 they
totaled $74,402, they increased in 1974 to the sum of $299,925. It was
in that year that the famine in West Africa brought the reality of world
hunger sharply to the minds of Christian people.
