Zachery Tims Death: Pastor Will Not Be Formally Recognized by National Baptist Convention
There are no plans to formally recognize late megachurch pastor Zachery Tims at the National Baptist Convention 131st Annual Session being held in Orlando at the Convention Center, Sept. 5-9.
More than 30,000 delegates are set to gather for the event, and despite recently deceased pastor Zachery Tims being at the forefront of many minds, the Rev. Morris Tipton, director of media relations for the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc., told the Daytona Times, “While we pray for both his (Tims) family and his congregation, there are no plans to formally recognize him.”
The National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. boasts that it is the nation’s largest black religious organization, made up of 7.5 million members worldwide.
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Tims, founder, senior pastor and CEO of the 7,000-member New Destiny Christian Center (NDCC) in Apopka, Fla., was found dead in his room at the W Hotel in New York City, Aug. 12.
An autopsy failed to reveal the cause of 42-year-old Tims' death. Officials are looking to toxicology tests to explain what may have led to Tims' tragic demise.
Tipton said, “We, as a convention, pray for God's comfort through this difficult time. We also fully believe our place as brothers and sisters in Christ is to pray for those that find themselves outside of the will of God and for God's love to pull any and every individual that strays from His path.”
“We also fully believe what the Bible says in 1 John 1:9; ‘If we confess our sins (to Him), He is faithful and just to forgive our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness’,” he continued.
The events have instead scheduled a full list of other activities, with NAACP President and CEO Ben Jealous holding the task as the keynote speaker at the Annual Home Mission Board “Mission Train” Awards Luncheon.
The central theme of the Assembly will be “Solidarity With the Savior.”
Tipton said, “Our goal as a Convention and as individual Christians should always be in harmony with the will of God in the person of Jesus Christ. Therefore, every ministry and program that we involve ourselves in as a body of believers is to be in solidarity with the Savior.”
