Changes

==Leader in the ABA==

==Leader in the ABA==

   

   

In 1948, Powers became the secretary-treasurer of missions for the ABA in Texarkana, Texas, a position that he filled until 1952, when he accepted a call to become the pastor of the Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church in Henderson in Rusk County in east Texas. He remained in Henderson until 1956, when he became the dean of the [[Louisiana Missionary Baptist Institute and Seminary]] in Minden, Louisiana, where his service extended until 1961. While in Henderson, Powers had taught at the Texas Baptist Institute and Seminary, which opened in 1949.[12] LMBIS was founded in 1952 by Powers’s colleague, [[L. L. Clover]], a native of Clark County, Arkansas, who was pastor of the larger Calvary Missionary Baptist Church in Minden from 1948-1964. The faculty in these institutions is drawn from among area Missionary Baptist pastors. In 1957, Powers accepted the pastorate at Eastside Missionary Baptist Church in Minden after the death of the founding pastor, Charles Samuel. Powers worked closely with Clover during their five years together in Minden. In 1961, Powers returned to Texarkana to become the pastor of his last congregation, the West Lawn Missionary Baptist Church in Miller County, Arkansas, a position that he held until his retirement and Mrs. Powers’s diagnosis of Parkinson's disease.[13]

In 1948, Powers became the secretary-treasurer of missions for the ABA in Texarkana, Texas, a position that he filled until 1952, when he accepted a call to become the pastor of the Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church in Henderson in Rusk County in east Texas. He remained in Henderson until 1956, when he became the dean of the [[Louisiana Missionary Baptist Institute and Seminary]] in [[Minden, Louisiana|Minden]], [[Louisiana]], where his service extended until 1961. While in Henderson, Powers had taught at the Texas Baptist Institute and Seminary, which opened in 1949.[12] LMBIS was founded in 1952 by Powers’s colleague, [[L. L. Clover]], a native of [[Clark County, Arkansas|Clark County]], Arkansas, who was pastor of Calvary Missionary Baptist Church in Minden from 1948-1964. The faculty in these institutions is drawn from among area Missionary Baptist pastors. In 1957, Powers accepted the pastorate at Eastside Missionary Baptist Church in Minden after the death of the founding pastor, Charles Samuel. Powers worked closely with Clover during their five years together in Minden. In 1961, Powers returned to Texarkana to become the pastor of his last congregation, the West Lawn Missionary Baptist Church in Miller County, Arkansas, a position that he held until his retirement and Mrs. Powers’s diagnosis of Parkinson's disease.[13]

While with the ABA, Powers wrote Sunday school literature and co-authored with Conrad Glover, The American Baptist Association, 1924-1974, known as the Landmark Association.[14] The findings of Glover and Powers are cited in Samuel S. Hill’s Religion in the Southern States: An Historical Study and also in Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices by J. Gordon Melton and Martin Baumann, published in 2002.[15]

While with the ABA, Powers wrote Sunday school literature and co-authored with Conrad Glover, The American Baptist Association, 1924-1974, known as the Landmark Association.[14] The findings of Glover and Powers are cited in Samuel S. Hill’s Religion in the Southern States: An Historical Study and also in Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices by J. Gordon Melton and Martin Baumann, published in 2002.[15]

Elected unexpectedly as ABA president in Fresno in 1957, Powers gave his acceptance speech in shirtsleeves because of the heat in the convention hall. He vowed never again to appear in public except in coat and tie, for he did not know when he might be called upon to speak.[16]

Elected unexpectedly as ABA president in Fresno in 1957, Powers gave his acceptance speech in shirtsleeves because of the heat in the convention hall. He vowed never again to appear in public except in coat and tie, for he did not know when he might be called upon to speak.[16]

On June 24, 1958, Powers delivered a stirring address at the AMA convention in Fort Worth, Texas, where the delegates, called "messengers," elected him to a second term as president. In a speech entitled "The Freedom and Sovereignty of a New Testament Church," Powers decried

On June 24, 1958, Powers delivered a stirring address at the AMA convention in [[Fort Worth]], Texas, where the delegates, called "messengers," elected him to a second term as president. In a speech entitled "The Freedom and Sovereignty of a New Testament Church," Powers decried

"These days of religious pussyfooting, fence-straddling, complacency and inertia on the part of the religious world [and called on Missionary Baptists to be] more energetic and aggressive toward old-time, fundamental truths.

"These days of religious pussyfooting, fence-straddling, complacency and inertia on the part of the religious world [and called on Missionary Baptists to be] more energetic and aggressive toward old-time, fundamental truths.

"No truth is more precious to Bible-loving Baptists than [that] a New Testament church is free and sovereign. . . . in sending forth missionaries and in fulfilling the commands of the Lord to go 'into all the world.' . . . Baptists have been ostracized, persecuted, maligned, called narrow-minded bigots for preaching this, but they have steadfastly clung to this truth. Our churches believe this and shall preach it until Jesus comes." [17]

"No truth is more precious to Bible-loving Baptists than [that] a New Testament church is free and sovereign. . . . in sending forth missionaries and in fulfilling the commands of the Lord to go 'into all the world.' . . . Baptists have been ostracized, persecuted, maligned, called narrow-minded bigots for preaching this, but they have steadfastly clung to this truth. Our churches believe this and shall preach it until Jesus comes." [17]

On June 13, 1959, at the downtown Shreveport Municipal Memorial Auditorium, Powers delivered his second and last ABA presidential address. He rejected the label "Protestant" and declared that the history of Missionary Baptists begins, not with the Reformation, but on the Jordan River with "John, called the Baptist, and to our Lord, who started us on our way. In spite of our glorious history, we still face needs, supreme needs. We must realize these are to be found only in the mercies of God and faith in His Son. . . ."[18]

On June 13, 1959, at the downtown Shreveport Municipal Memorial Auditorium, Powers delivered his second and last ABA presidential address. He rejected the label "[[Protestant]]" and declared that the history of Missionary Baptists begins, not with the Reformation, but on the [[Jordan River]] with "John, called the Baptist, and to our Lord, who started us on our way. In spite of our glorious history, we still face needs, supreme needs. We must realize these are to be found only in the mercies of God and faith in His Son. . . ."[18]

==Family, death, and legacy==

==Family, death, and legacy==