Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, September 17, 1994                   TAG: 9410240007
SECTION: RELIGION                    PAGE: B-9   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: DAVID BRIGGS ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: NEW ORLEANS                                LENGTH: Medium

BAPTIST PRESIDENT HEEDS `DIVINE MANDATE' TO LEAD BLACK CHURCH

In 1966, during his seminary training at Morehouse School of Religion in Atlanta, ``God quite emphatically gave me my marching orders.''

Before he was married 23 years ago, he asked his wife if she could live with the rigors of being married to the head of the nation's largest black church. And prior to assuming the pulpit at Bethel Metropolitan Baptist Church in St. Petersburg, Fla., he gave his congregation the same warning about his intentions.

So in a sense it was a prophecy fulfilled when Lyons narrowly defeated the Rev. W. Franklyn Richardson, convention general secretary, and three other candidates last week to become the convention's third president in the last 42 years.

Now comes the hard part.

Lyons takes over the convention presidency at a time when many black colleges are in trouble, black youths are turning to Islam in significant numbers and drugs, crime and violence have reached a crisis stage in many communities where the convention's 33,000 churches are located.

``I come to this moment with a lot of humility. I really do have a sense of service,'' said the 52-year-old Lyons, president of the Florida General Baptist Convention.

Having received just over a third of the total vote, the first thing Lyons did after his victory was announced was to pray for unity.

``I don't have a minute for reprisal,'' Lyons said in a later interview. ``We've got to hit the ground running.''

In restructuring the convention, the Florida pastor has said he wants to expand the Home Mission Board to address issues such as AIDS, economic discrimination and other issues of importance to black Americans.

On the political front, Lyons said the 8 million-member convention will be a more active force in Washington, working closely with the president and groups such as the Congressional Black Caucus.

``We've got to let it be known we will not be taken for granted,'' Lyons said.

In particular, one project Lyons said he would like to see the convention take the lead on is to help develop mentoring programs pairing adult church members with youths in the community.

``I don't mean some football player. I mean some John Doe who gets up to go to work every morning,'' Lyons said. ``We have to get to our children. That's our first priority.''

Another priority promised by Lyons is to increase financial aid to struggling black schools.

``Our black colleges are closing at an alarming rate,'' Lyons said. ``We've got to get in and bail those schools out.''

But to finance his proposals and to make the church a major player on the American religious scene, Lyons also realizes the convention is going to have to reach a lot deeper into the tills of its 33,000 churches.

To replace the current system in which churches pay a set fee ranging from $100 for smaller churches to $1,200 for the largest churches to register with the convention, Lyons is proposing a system more like the Southern Baptist Convention, where churches give a percentage of income to a national cooperative program.

The money will come, Lyons said, as the convention also offers its members regular, audited financial reports that show how the funds are being spent.

``Financial responsiblity and integrity will be a hallmark of the Lyons' administration,'' said the Rev. Roscoe D. Cooper Jr. of Richmond, Va., the new general secretary of the convention.

The times may be uncertain, but Lyons has a clear sense of purpose. Becoming president of the Baptist convention is a role he has been preparing for most of his adult life.

``I feel a divine mandate to do something here,'' Lyons said. ``Since 1966, I've dedicated my life to nothing more than this.''