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Lyons again wants to lead

The once-disgraced minister will seek the presidency of a state Baptist convention.

By SHERRI DAY
Published December 13, 2006

TAMPA - The Rev. Henry J. Lyons, the former president of the National Baptist Convention USA who was convicted of swindling the organization out of millions, has once again set his sights on a leadership role in the denomination.

This time, Lyons is seeking to be president of the Florida General Baptist Convention, a state arm of the NBC. The 64-year-old Lyons once held the presidency before ascending to the national office.

The Tampa Bay area preacher, who served nearly five years in prison and was released in 2003, has been campaigning in advance of an April election that pits him against two North Florida ministers, convention leaders said.

Lyons remains a controversial and divisive figure within the NBC, which says it is the nation's oldest and largest African-American religious convention, with an estimated 7.5-million members.

Lyons' candidacy has produced mixed reactions from Florida ministers.

"We're part of the church, and the church is based on forgiveness," said the Rev. George McRae, the Florida convention's president and pastor of the Mount Tabor Missionary Baptist Church in Miami. "If somebody's guilty of something and they rectify whatever they're guilty of and want to be forgiven, we have no choice. If you're going to put restrictions on it, it's not forgiveness."

Others expressed surprise Lyons would run again.

"I don't know whether I would term it good or bad," said the Rev. James C. Wise, 72, who leads Mount Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church in Miami.

Wise, who led the state convention from 1995 to 2002, said he remains neutral on Lyons' candidacy. "I'm being very reserved in that manner," he said. "I'll express my personal view at the polls."

Wise said historically, former leaders have stepped aside in favor of preachers who have not yet had a chance to lead on a state or national level.

Lyons announced last spring that he would seek the presidency. He did not return calls for comment Tuesday. Staff members at his new church, New Salem Missionary Baptist Church in Tampa, said he was out of town.

Officials at the NBC, which has its headquarters in Nashville, also did not return calls seeking comment.

Known as a charismatic preacher who was fond of an opulent lifestyle, Lyons' world began to unravel in 1997 when his then wife, Deborah, set fire to a $700,000 Tierra Verde home the minister owned with another woman. Investigations by authorities uncovered a series of financial improprieties surrounding Lyons and Bernice Edwards, his alleged mistress with whom he owned the Pinellas County house. At the time, Lyons was head of the NBC and pastor of Bethel Metropolitan Baptist Church in St. Petersburg.

In 1999, Lyons was convicted on grand theft and racketeering charges and found guilty of bilking the religious organization, its corporate partners and donor charities of millions. He also pleaded guilty to federal charges and was sentenced to five and half years in state prison.

He resigned as president of the NBC.

A federal judge sentenced Edwards to 21 months in prison for tax evasion. She died in federal custody in 2003.

Since getting out of prison three years ago, Lyons has remarried and worked in ministerial roles at several bay area churches.

He became interim pastor of New Salem in 2004. Lyons also has speaking engagements in the bay area and around the country where he routinely expresses contrition for his actions as head of the NBC.

The new post Lyons seeks would require him to travel to churches around the state, preside over convention business meetings and represent the Florida group at national gatherings. It pays about $10,000 a year, McRae said.

Lyons is no stranger to leadership posts in the state organization. He became its vice president in 1977 at the age of 35. Five years later, Lyons rose to the presidency.

At one point during his tenure, Lyons was accused of obtaining a fraudulent $85,000 loan for the state group.

McRae and other leaders within the state convention said there appears to be no front-runner in the contest, which pits Lyons against the Rev. James B. Sampson, pastor of First New Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Jacksonville, and the Rev. Michael J. Johnson of Pensacola's Sixth Avenue Baptist Church.

Vanessa Lloyd, who serves as secretary to the state group's president, welcomes Lyons' potential return to leadership.

"If people know the Bible, they know that most of the people the Lord used were all tainted, but the Lord turned them around," said Lloyd, who lives in Daytona Beach. "What the devil means for bad, the Lord can turn around and make anything good. That may just be the case with Dr. Lyons."

Times researcher John Martin contributed to this report. Sherri Day can be reached at (813) 226-3405.

[Last modified December 13, 2006, 06:13:46]