FOREIGN MISSION BOARD MINUTES
September 13, 1977
The Foreign Mission Board met in regular monthly session Tuesday, September 13, 1977,
2:00 p.m., in the Baker James Cauthen Chapel. The President, William L. Self, presided.
PRESENT-: State Members: Alabama: L. Earl Tew; California: Mrs. Cherry Y. K. Chang;
D . C . : B. Ross Morrison; Florida: Mrs. James A. Ponder; Georgia: William L. Self, Mrs.
W. Jack Smith; Illinois : A. F. Tuck; Kansas : J. W. Pace; Kentucky; Mrs. Ray Mullendore;
Michigan: Mrs. Fern Dannelley; Mississippi : Joe Neil McKeever, Gene Triggs ; New Mexico:
J. D. Ratliff; North Carolina: William Henry Crouch; Oklahoma: Harvey Albright, Jerry
Fielder; Oregon: William 0. Crews, Jr.; South Carolina: Ira Q. Craft; Tennessee: Trevis
Otev; Texas : Travis S. Berry; Virginia: W. Curtis English, Lonnie E. Quillen, Jr., Mrs.
R. L. Rhodes, 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, Robert B. Bass, J. Roy Clifford, Paul E. Crandall, Gurney W. Grant, J. Leonard
Moore, John W. Patterson, Raymond L. Spence, Jr., H. I. Willett.
Staff :
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J. Cauthen, J. Bryan Brasington, Charles W. Bryan, Louis R. Cobbs, Winston
Crawley, William K. Dawson, Everett L. Deane, James G. Edwards, lone Gray, W. Eugene
Grubbs, Ervin Hastey, George H. Hays, Ward S. Hildreth, Thomas W. Hill, Dwight A. Honeycutt,
Harold E. Hurst, William W. Marshall, Frank K. Means, John E. Mills, Lewis I. Myers, Jr.,
Floyd H. North, William R. O'Brien, R. Keith Parks, G. Norman Price, Don A. Reavis, Sidney
C. Reber, Harold D. Richardson, Davis L. Saunders, Rogers M. Smith, W. L. Smith, Robert L.
Stanley, Richard M. Styles, Wilbur N. Todd, Melvin E. Torstrick, William R. Wakefield,
Elizabeth Minshew.
Board Attorney: Paul D. Stotts.
The President called the meeting to order.
The audience joined in singing the opening Hymn: "Oh God, Our Help in Ages Past," led by
Sidney C. Reber.
William Crews, Board member from Oregon, read a passage of Scripture and led in prayer.
Minutes of the Board for August 11, 1977 were approved.
The President recognized the Executive Director, Baker J. Cauthen.
Dr. Cauthen extended a welcome to all state members who were present, especially at a
monthly meeting immediately following the convention-wide meeting in Glorieta and the
forthcoming annual meeting in October.
He made reference to several highlights from his formal report.
Expressions of thanksgiving were made with reference to the improvement of Mrs. Harold
Hurst; for the only slight injuries sustained by Dr. Eugene Grubbs from a recent minor
accident; and for the return of Miss Alma Hunt from a recent trip overseas.
REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
BAKER J. CAUTHEN
September 13. 1977
(Transcript of Report as given in Board Meeting)
Let me say how glad we are today to have so many of you state members here. You
have come at a monthly meeting when we are not appointing missionaries in a night
service. We will have two special project ladies this afternoon. But the fact
that you are here is a great encouragement to us all. Now there are two things
particularly that I want to mention to you this afternoon, and both of them may
be commented upon again. One is we have just come back some days ago from Nash¬
ville for the work session having to do with the Missions Service Corps. It
seems to be very encouraging. As far as I can see, the matters are fitting to¬
gether in a very fine way, and there is a very excellent spirit abroad in the
whole denomination about it. Some of us will be going down next week again to
the meeting of the Executive Committee where this will be further discussed, and
I hope that by the time we come to the October meeting of the Board we shall be
able to give a report somewhat in depth to the Board concerning the steps which
have been taken and the points of view which have emerged about the Missions
Service Corps in all of this period of development.
The second thing is that there has come about sizable and significant development
in the shaping up of what we call our Missionary Education Council. You may
remember at the convention in Kansas City, there was brought to the convention a
