After an unsuccessful last-minute legal effort to stop the election, disgraced Baptist preacher Rev. Henry Lyons 
has lost his bid to once again lead the 7.5 million member National Baptist Convention USA. Now the senior pastor of New Salem Baptist Church in Tampa, Florida, Lyons previously spent over our years in prison after being convicted on state charges of racketeering and grand theft as well as federal charges of fraud and tax evasion. Lyons used his position as President of the National Baptist Convention USA (1994-1999) to take nearly $4 million from corporations doing business with NBC USA. Lyons also stole nearly 250K that had been donated to rebuild burned Black churches.
Here’s the story from the St. Petersburg TImes:
MEMPHIS, TENN. — Delegates at the National Baptist Convention decided overwhelmingly Thursday not to give the Rev. Henry J. Lyons a second chance to lead the organization he was forced to leave in disgrace 10 years ago.
Lyons received just 924 votes out of 5,032 ballots cast — about 18 percent — at the group’s annual convention. The Rev. Julius R. Scruggs, the current vice president-at-large for the group, was elected president of what is said to be the largest African-American religious organization in the nation.
After the results were announced Thursday night, Scruggs thanked group members for having trust in him to lead.
“I do not take your trust lightly,” he said.
Lyons’ defeat came after a day of steady voting at the group’s meeting. As the voting lines thinned Thursday evening, Scruggs’ supporters gathered for prayer and hymns at a reception.
Throughout the day, officials and others said voting had gone smoothly, but many people seemed reluctant to talk about how they had voted. Several said they hoped the organization would not be splintered after the results were announced.
Thousands of members converged on a room at the Memphis Convention Center late Thursday night awaiting the results. Many men were dressed in Sunday best suits, many women in glittering dresses.
Two women wearing T-shirts that said “Yes we can re-elect Henry J. Lyons” drew stares from some in the room. The Rev. Dwight Montgomery, 59, who pastors a church in Memphis said he has been playing the role of mediator, especially since the city is where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a proponent of non-violence, lost his life. “I have been advocating unity and brotherhood,” he said.
But he gave a hint about the way he might have voted when he went on to praise the current president, the Rev. William J. Shaw, under whom Scruggs is vice president. He said Shaw had done a great job of establishing a convention of vision, integrity, structure and accountability
“And because of that, I certainly want the convention to continue in that vein,” Montgomery said.
Related posts:
- The Rise, Fall, and Return of Henry Lyons While I was reading my Google Alerts, I came across...
- Progressive National Baptist Convention Calls For Peace The Progressive National Baptist Convention recently concluded its annual meeting...
- Baptist leader Dr. S.C. Cureton Dies Dr. S.C. Cureton, longtime pastor of Reedy River Missionary Baptist Church in...
- Announcing A National Summit On Torture Press Release From Mercer University: ATLANTA — An impressive...
- Baptist Convention Endorses Employee Free Choice Act The National Baptist Convention of America, Inc. has joined a...
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
Lyons likes to run for office. This from Wikipedia:
In 1977 he became Vice President of the Florida Baptist Convention, and was then its President from 1981-1994. In 1994, Lyons became President of the National Baptist Convention USA Inc.
In 1999 Lyons was sentenced to a total of five and a half years in jail for misappropriating more than $4 million from the NBC while he was its President.
In April 2007 Lyons was defeated in an attempt to be re-elected President of the Florida Baptist Convention. Subsequently he and his supporters organized the General Baptist State Convention of Florida, of which he is the President. He will run for National Baptist Convention Presidency in 2009.