Baptist of the Year

Ethics Daily has named Baptist World Alliance president David Coffey as its "Baptist of the Year." Robert Parham's column explains why Coffey is worthy of this recognition. Last year's pick was Nobel Peace Prize winner Al Gore, preceded by Lebanese Baptists in 2006 and BWAid director Paul Montacute in 2005. I heard Coffey speak recently at the annual meeting of the Baptist General Association of Virginia and he did an excellent job. He will be one of the featured speakers at the Baptist Border Crossing in Kansas City next April. The Baptist Border Crossing is one of the regional events being held in 2009 that are modeled after the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant earlier this year. The Celebration should be considered by far the most important Baptist event of the year and will continue to influence Baptists for years to come. The Associated Baptist Press ranked the Celebration as the second biggest Baptist story of the year (probably one ranking too low), Blog from the Capital named it one of the "top ten religious liberty stories" of the year, and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram called it one of the top religious stories of local importance.