May 29, 2020
The Seventh Day Baptist General Council is pleased to announce that Rev. Kevin Butler has agreed to serve as SDB Conference President and Charlotte Chroniger as President-elect for the 2021 General Conference session. In light of the difficult decision to cancel the 2020 General Conference session, the willingness of Kevin and Charlotte to provide consistency going into the 2020-2021 ministry year is deeply appreciated—and a wonderful blessing. Over the coming days, you will also be hearing more about “Virtual” Conference Week 2020—ways in which we will be able to provide for a Conference Week “experience” although not meeting in person.
As we celebrate these opportunities in the midst of change and disruption, we also want to pause and take this opportunity to reintroduce President Butler. While he is a wonderfully familiar face and has been consistently engaged in the work of the Conference, there is always more we can get to know about Kevin. Hope that you enjoy his reintroduction bio that follows.
Hometown: Grew up in Vernon, NY, right next to Verona.
Favorite childhood memory: Besides all of the goodies I got being the only boy (two sisters), I really cherish having had loving, faithful, respected, church-going parents.
How you were introduced to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord: His Word opened my eyes. After a frightening spiritual confrontation in high school, I was driven to ask questions of my mom and pastor, then read the Bible and prayed. All those years of Sunday School classes and VBS and children’s sermons about Jesus came together and made absolute sense! The scales fell off!
First date with Janet: We went mini-golfing and got rained out halfway through the course. On the way to “plan B” (seeing the movie “Earthquake” at the mall) we saw a perfect double rainbow. Have taken that as a sign for us ever since—the rainbow, not the shaky movie theater.
What is Moxie?: Only the official drink for the state of Maine! If you enjoy a good carbonated soft drink, you probably won’t like Moxie. This character (who I met in Maine) captures it so well: https://youtu.be/D6heTaAxOEY.
Memorable Conference Week Memory: So many! Sharing belly laughs and tears with friends from all over, being lovingly prayed for… Our kids still call the drive across the northern U.S. to the 1996 Conference in Washington state “the best family trip ever.”
How has God been at work in and through you amidst the disruption and disappointment of Conference Week 2020 needing to be canceled?: Lessons learned during the complete calendar overhaul and times of isolation while battling cancer in 2018 have certainly prepared me to go with the flow of this year. I am disappointed for those who were looking forward to serving the Lord in Grand Rapids, and I thank them for their willing spirits. There is a greater purpose in all this.
What is something that you are looking forward to as Conference President across the months ahead?: Continuing to encourage SDBs to fix our eyes on Jesus and trusting His plans for what He has next for us.
Blessings,
Ralph Mackintosh, Chairman
Andrew Camenga, Vice-Chairman
Ericessen Cooper
Steve Osborn
Patti Wethington
sdbgeneralcouncil@seventhdaybaptist.org
