Photo by James A. Smith Sr.

Bobby and Maudellen Welch

INDIANAPOLIS (FBW)—Invited to offer a prayer of blessing for newly elected SBC President Bobby Welch at a June 15 reception, J.D. Grant asked for the assistance of his wife, Judy, and their 12-year-old grandson, Dylan Haynes. Grant was the first to urge Welch to consider running for president in 2002 during the St. Louis annual meeting, having worked with Welch when they both served as trustees of LifeWay Christian Resources. Grant, pastor of Calvary Road Baptist Church in Waynesville, N.C., read the following prayer, written by Judy and Dylan, to the amusement of the audience, before offering a more serious, extemporaneous appeal on Welch’s behalf.

Oh Lord! Please take this man you have anointed over the SBC. Make him as sweet as honey. Spread him out over this world as thin as molasses. Give him a back-bone of steel and a heart as soft as butter. Give him a mind as sharp as cheddar cheese and a spirit as sweet as cherry cobbler. Help him to bring this convention together like peanut butter and jelly. Spread us out over this world like it was a piece of wheat bread. In Jesus’ name, Amen!