Causey led the board from 1989 until his retirement in 1998. He earlier had served two terms as president of the Mississippi Baptist Convention.
Causey was pastor of Parkway Baptist Church in Jackson from 1963 until he became the state convention's executive director-treasurer.
In 1957, he was called as assistant pastor of Parkway, where he served until being called as pastor of Poplar Springs Baptist Church in Meridian, serving there until his return to Parkway.
"Instead of preaching on a topic, I always tried to reach people for the Lord. You just never know who is going to show up at a worship service in need of the Savior," Causey said in the last weeks of his life. He also said that he rededicated his life to the Lord each day.
MBCB Executive Director Jim Futral said, "It was my privilege to know Dr. Bill Causey as a fellow pastor, a denominational leader, an executive director-treasurer and as a friend. He was superb in every role.
"No one prepares to become the executive director of a state convention. There is no school to attend, no online courses to take and no repetitious training to fully prepare you for the decisions you will face, you need to take, or the reactions that often must be quick and controlled," Futral continued. "If a person is prepared to do the job, it is only because God prepared him. The Lord had prepared Bill Causey to lead and serve Mississippi Baptists.
"Though his journey here is complete, his life and legacy will cast a long shadow across our state for decades to come," Futral said.
Mississippi Baptist Convention President David Hamilton, pastor of West Heights Baptist Church in Pontotoc, said, "What a tremendous legacy Dr. Bill Causey leaves. Not only was he an effective pastor for many years, but for nine years he blessed Mississippi Baptists as our executive director-treasurer. He modeled servant-leadership for us all."
Causey surrendered his life to Christian ministry as a high school senior in Greenville, Miss., in August 1948 and was ordained by First Baptist Church there in February 1951.
He received a divinity degree from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., in 1955 and pastored Hopewell Church in Harrodsburg. He later was named a distinguished alumnus of the seminary and served as a trustee for 10 years.
Causey earned his undergraduate degree from Mississippi College in Clinton in 1952. While in college, he was president of the Baptist Student Union, served on the student government executive council and was vice president of his graduating class. He lettered in football, baseball and track and was inducted into the MC Sports Hall of Fame. He was voted among his classmates as Most Influential and Most Versatile. He later received distinguished alumnus awards from the college in sociology and in Bible.
Causey also served as a trustee of the Mississippi Baptist Medical Center in Jackson for 21 years, among numerous community activities.
Causey is survived by three children, Billy Causey, Carol Turner and Carley Causey, all of Clinton, and two grandsons.
A worship and memorial service was held at Parkway Baptist Church on Sept. 11 followed by burial at Lakewood Memorial Park Jackson.
Reported by the staff of The Baptist Record, newsjournal of the Mississippi Baptist Convention.
Copyright (c) 2012 Southern Baptist Convention, Baptist Press www.BPNews.net
Join the conversation as a VIP Member