DATE: Wednesday, November 12, 1997          TAG: 9711120473

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B5   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY LIZ SZABO, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE                        LENGTH:   63 lines

CHESAPEAKE ATTORNEY GETS POST WITH SOUTHERN BAPTIST BOARD

Attorney Randy Singer of Chesapeake has been chosen as executive vice president for the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, a new board whose purpose is to start and assist new churches.

Singer, who will begin work in Atlanta on Jan. 1, is the latest of several members of First Baptist Church of Norfolk to leave for positions with the convention in Atlanta.

First Baptist's senior pastor, the Rev. Robert Reccord, left Norfolk in June to become the mission board's president.

Reccord's departure has left the 6,000-member church without a senior pastor. First Baptist, which is planning to relocate to Chesapeake, is now looking for a replacement.

Another First Baptist pastor, the Rev. Ken Hemphill, left Norfolk in 1992 for another high-level position with the Southern Baptist Convention. He became president of Southwestern Seminary in Texas, the largest evangelical seminary in the world, Singer said.

Some at First Baptist said they're not surprised the church produces so many Southern Baptist leaders.

``I hope we don't run out'' of members, Senior Associate Pastor Danny Roberts joked. ``Our church has a very large pool of leadership to draw from - lay leaders and spiritual leaders.''

Singer will continue to practice law at Norfolk firm Willcox & Savage, where he has been employed since 1986, until he begins work in Atlanta. Singer also has worked as an attorney for The Virginian-Pilot since 1987. He will continue to be associated with the law firm in an ``of counsel'' position, offering legal advice from time to time.

In Atlanta, Singer will provide legal counsel for the 400-employee mission board, as well as the 40,000 Southern Baptist churches across North America, he said. He'll also assist in daily operation and strategic planning and serve as a spokesman.

Singer has been an active lay leader at First Baptist, Roberts said. ``He's been very active,'' Robert said. ``He's a Sunday school teacher. He's a leader in our men's ministry. He has assisted us from time to time giving legal opinions. . . . We're just thankful God is going to use him (Singer) in a great way. We're happy for him and rejoice for him and pray he'll do a good job.''

The Southern Baptist Convention created the mission board last summer. The board has an annual budget of $100 million.

The mission board supports 4,000 chaplains and missionaries and leads several ministries, including disaster relief and a college student group called World Changers, in which students spend summer vacations building houses for the poor, Singer said.

With 15 million members, Southern Baptists are the largest Protestant denomination in the United States.

The mission board also hopes to bring former Baptists back to the church, as well as introduce others to church for the first time, Singer said. ``We really have a heart for people who are unchurched,'' he said. ``Maybe in the past they had a bad experience, or religion hasn't been relevant to their lives.'' MEMO: For more information on the North American Mission Board see its

Web site at http://www.namb.net ILLUSTRATION: Randy Singer is one of several First Baptist of

Norfolk parishioners tapped for positions with the convention.

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