EDITOR’S NOTE — The Baptist Paper reached out to each of the six individuals who have announced intentions to be nominated for president of the Southern Baptist Convention at the 2024 SBC Annual Meeting in Indianapolis, June 11–12. To read the responses of the other five other candidates, click here.
Mike Keahbone
Current position and title: Senior pastor of First Baptist Church Lawton, Oklahoma
What led you to allow your name to be placed in nomination for SBC president?
In August of last year, I was approached by a dear friend and leader in our convention about my thoughts on ever running for SBC president. The question caught me off guard because I had never thought about it. I had not had time to! Over the last three years I have been focused on my roles as a husband, daddy, pastor, Executive Committee member and Abuse Reform Implementation Task Force member. However; the question led me to pray and consider the possibility.
As I was walking through a season of prayer with my family, staff and church, the Lord led me to a conversation with Victor Chayasirisobhon. This conversation led to him becoming my nominator. I have seen the Lord lead in so many ways to affirm being nominated. To not allow my nomination would have been disobedience.
If elected, what are your goals as president?
My goals for the SBC are simple:
- Getting back to the gospel
- Reviving the Cooperative Program
- Unifying our convention by celebrating the work of our local churches and the impact of our missionaries at home and abroad.
- Finishing what we started in abuse reform.
- Making the SBC Annual Meeting more accessible to the vast majority of our churches that simply cannot afford to send their pastor, staff and lay messengers.
- Making sure that our ethnic churches have a fair and equal voice across the leadership of our convention.
What are some things that can be done to strengthen the SBC’s current relationship with our churches?
As I stated in the prior answer, it is important to celebrate the impact of our local churches in the communities God has placed them in. It is also important for SBC entities and leadership to be transparent in how we work, spend and minister. We should not have anything to hide and should have plenty to rejoice in.
Finally, we have to love better. Jesus said that the world would know that we are His disciples if we love one another. From SBC leaders to SBC pastors and influencers, we have struggled to love well. When we get that right, our convention and churches will be strengthened.
What do you perceive as the strengths of the SBC?
The strength of our convention has always been the local churches and our cooperation in taking the gospel to the world! Nobody sends more missionaries across America and abroad than the SBC. We also have strong seminaries that are preparing the next generation of ministry leaders. Our future is bright.
What do you perceive as the weaknesses of the SBC?
With nearly half of our SBC churches not giving a dime to the Cooperative Program, that is a glaring weakness that we need to diagnose and fix.
What is your take on the Law Amendment issue and what Southern Baptists should consider going into this next meeting?
The Scriptures and our confession of faith make it clear what we believe regarding the role of women in our churches. Last year we disfellowshipped the largest church in our convention because of the clarity of our conviction. Our issue is not clarity. This is an unnecessary amendment.
I would encourage Southern Baptists to make their way to Indy for the meeting! Your voices and your vote matter. The few thousand that make it to Indy will determine the direction and focus for 50,000 SBC churches and their 14 million members. You matter.
