Presidential search committee chair Neal Hughes shares an update with the SBC Executive Committee in Nashville, Feb. 19.
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NASHVILLE — The search team for the next president of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee has announced that an “excellent” candidate appears to have emerged. The committee shared an update on the process during the EC’s meeting in Nashville on Feb. 19.

“We were able to hit the ground running after the last candidate removed his name. This was mainly due to credible opportunities available to us from the invitation phase that was done in August and September of 2023,” said search committee chair Neal Hughes. “I’m proud tonight to say that by God’s sovereign hand, your prayers for this wonderful team behind me, and all of their hard work, a candidate is emerging that we believe is an excellent choice for the SBC Executive Committee president.”

If the process continues, Hughes told the EC,  they can expect an email on or before Feb. 29 introducing the candidate. He noted this email will be for trustees only, and he asked them to save the date for March 21 for a special called meeting in Dallas, Texas, to vote on that candidate. [Read more…]

Jonathan Howe — Photo by Morris Abernathy / The Baptist Paper

In introducing interim president and CEO Jonathan Howe to deliver his report to the SBC Executive Committee Feb. 19, chairman Philip Robertson of Louisiana praised Howe for his leadership over the past six months.

“Through all of the turns and the events over the last six months, he has continued to show up and to lead us through a number of very unexpected situations and I’m so thankful for him,” Robertson said of Howe.

Referring to the story of Gideon in the book of Judges and his victory over a much larger army, Howe said the past six months have not been filled with battles with large armies and possible annihilation. [Read more…]

IMB trustees Tracie Griggs from Alabama, Jenna Cobb from Florida, and Marci Hare from Ohio, enjoy fellowship before the final plenary session of the board meetings held Feb. 14-15 in Phoenix. — IMB photo

PHOENIX, Ariz. —  International Mission Board trustees approved the appointment of 62 new full-time, fully funded missionaries during their Feb. 14-15 meeting in Phoenix. Trustees met in conjunction with a Sending Celebration for new appointees hosted by North Phoenix Baptist Church on Feb. 14.

Keith Evans, trustee chairman from Washington state, presided over the meetings. Trudy Crittendon, trustee recording secretary from South Carolina, called Thursday’s plenary session to order and opened the meeting in prayer.

Thursday’s meeting included reports from standing committees: administration, mobilization, global engagement, human resources, LFTT (logistics, finance, travel, technology), marketing and communications and training.

President’s remarks

IMB president Paul Chitwood thanked trustees for their ongoing service and commented on the significant partnerships among Southern Baptists. Chitwood spent time earlier Thursday morning with state convention executive directors.

“All of IMB’s Cooperative Program dollars and the overwhelming majority of our Lottie [Moon offering] gifts come from churches through their state conventions,” Chitwood said. “As such, those state conventions are not only essential partners, they are among IMB’s strongest advocates.”

IMB president Paul Chitwood speaks at the missionary Sending Celebration on Feb. 14, at North Phoenix Baptist Church. The church hosted new missionaries for training and IMB trustees who met Feb. 14-15. — IMB photo

Celebrating the appointment of 62 new missionaries by the board on Feb. 14, Chitwood told trustees that the missionary candidate pipeline is currently 1,355. He emphasized the importance of encouraging those who have served with the IMB before to return to career service. The missionaries appointed on Wednesday participated in a Sending Celebration at North Phoenix Baptist Church that evening.

Chitwood shared a report from Daren Davis, the leader of IMB’s Sub-Saharan African Affinity. Davis shared earlier in the week about the launch of the Africans on Mission sending body, a partnership of 14 African Baptist entities that will now work together to send cross-cultural missionaries to all of Africa and from Africa to all nations.

“IMB’s role in the formation of Africans on Mission could not be overstated,” Chitwood remarked, “but that is only one example among many of how our investment in the globalization of the missionary task is inspiring sending among our Baptist brothers and sisters the world over. An important part of this investment is our objective to add 500 global missionary partners to IMB teams. Since the pandemic released its grip on the world, we have added 134 global missionary partners to IMB overseas teams and have 136 more GMP candidates currently in the pipeline.”

Global missionary partners are overseas partners, called to cross-cultural missions, sent by their local church or sending entity and affirmed by IMB field personnel. They receive training and ministry resources through their cooperative work with IMB missionary teams.

Chitwood reported that the IMB audited financials for 2023 have been reviewed by the LFTT (logistics, finance, travel, technology) and the audit committees of the board of trustees. “We are happy to report that we’ve received an unmodified opinion by the auditors, which is the highest level of assurance available,” Chitwood said.

New IMB trustee Nathan Rostampour, from North Carolina, talks with Zane Pratt, vice president of global training, at the trustee meeting held in Phoenix Feb. 14-15. Rostampour attends Summit Church. — IMB photo

“No property sales were used for operations,” he continued. “Reserves were funded at appropriate levels, including commitments to retiring missionaries being fully funded. And as always, 100 percent of the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering proceeds were spent on the field. We’re thankful for the generosity of Southern Baptists and their faithful giving through the Cooperative Program and the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions. Simply put, the IMB would not exist without them.

“We are also thankful for the IMB Finance Team, both abroad and in Richmond. We are blessed to work with many men and women of integrity who love the Lord and desire to see the Gospel proclaimed to the ends of the earth. The auditor’s opinion confirms, yet again, what we already knew, and indeed we are grateful.”

Audited financials are available to the public at imb.org/impact.

Chitwood closed his remarks reflecting on his six years as president. He told trustees that though there is much work to do, “I retire every evening confident of this — the work of the IMB is the Lord’s work. We give ourselves to it as a privilege and a calling but never under the illusion that the Revelation 7:9 vision we long to see fulfilled will in any way be accomplished in our power or according to our plans.

“But the vision will come to pass. Every nation, all tribes, peoples and languages will someday be a part of that great multitude standing before the throne and before the Lamb. Might God find us faithful striving to do our part. But might God also find us full of faith that He will do what He has said in His Word, with us or without us. As much as it depends on you and me, let it be with us, not without us.”

New leadership

Jeff Ginn / IMB photo

Two new vice presidents were elected by trustees in previous virtual meetings: Jeff Ginn as vice president of Mobilization; and Brian Trapnell as vice president of Human Resources.

Ginn previously served as affinity group leader for IMB’s American Peoples affinity. For more than 20 years prior to that, Ginn served as pastor of local churches of varying sizes in Mississippi, Virginia and Louisiana. He served for three years as executive director of the SBC of Virginia. He also served as a trustee of the IMB for four years. A native of Arkansas, Ginn is a 1983 graduate of Blue Mountain Christian University and earned the Master of Divinity and Ph.D. from Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary. He has served as a faculty member and adjunct faculty member of various seminaries. He and his wife Nell have three children and five grandchildren.

Brian Trapnell / IMB photo

Prior to joining the IMB, Trapnell led human resources, corporate compliance and risk management in a variety of healthcare settings including long-term care, hospice, home health and most recently practice management. His early career work was in community development, supporting business retention and expansion for domestic and international firms in various industries. Trapnell holds a B.S. in Political Science with a minor in Speech Communication and a Master of Business Administration, both from Georgia Southern University. Active professional certifications include SHRM-SCP, managing workplace conflict and providing end-of-life care; he has also been certified in healthcare compliance. He and his wife Kelly have two sons.

During the chairman’s remarks, Evans shared encouragement from his personal journey with the Lord and the ways God has taught him to abide in Him. “I’ve learned to enjoy the Lord, and not just serve Him,” he said.

Carol Pfeiffer of Texas, second vice chair, closed the meeting in prayer. The next IMB trustee meeting will be May 15-16, 2024, in Richmond, Va. B&R

COLLIERVILLE — Baptist collegiate ministry leaders from across the country will gather May 1-3 for the 2024 Collegiate Summit held near Memphis. The event is held every three years and features valuable resources, well-known guest speakers and networking opportunities for campus ministers and church college leaders looking to enhance their ministries to students. More than 700 participants are expected at the event, organized by the Baptist Collegiate Network.

Planning Team Leader Ryan Scantling said participants can expect the interactive event to “help college ministry leaders capture God’s vision for their life and ministry, while forming layers of encouragement and accountability for it.”

The summit will be held at Collierville First Baptist Church beginning at 1 p.m. Wednesday, May 1, and conclude with a morning session on Friday, May 3. Guest speakers include Bill Elliff, Shane Pruitt, Tom Richter, Zane Pratt and Paul Worcester. [Read more…]

Henry Blackaby — Photo courtesy of Richard Blackaby

Henry Blackaby, author of Experiencing God, has died following a decade of declining health.

Blackaby — pastor, author and founder of Blackaby Ministries International — died Feb. 10 at the age of 88. He is widely known for his bestselling and influential discipleship workbook, “Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God,” which was first released in 1990. It has sold more than 7 million copies and was revised with a new look in 2022.

Blackaby’s son, Richard, announced Henry’s passing in a social media post: “Early this morning, our dad went to be with his Lord. He helped countless people experience God. Now he is experiencing God in ways that surely surpass even his most cherished dreams. We were privileged to have a spiritual giant for a father. Funeral arrangements forthcoming.” [Read more…]

America’s preteens are following in the “unfortunate spiritual footsteps of the generations that have preceded them,” says researcher George Barna citing a recent study. The consequence of this trend, he noted, is that 8- to-12-year-olds are “on track to abandon biblical Christianity in record numbers.”

Five key areas were targeted in the study:

Bible — Barna states bluntly, “America’s children are receiving an inadequate introduction to the Bible.” Only 60 percent of pre-teens have read part of the Bible, and only 21 percent view the Bible as the source for determining right and wrong. [Read more…]

ALPHARETTA, Ga. — A former Presbyterian minister has been chosen to serve as director of urban church planting for the North American Mission Board’s Send Network.

Send Network trains church-planting missionaries to engage cities, make disciples and plant churches, according to Vance Pitman, president of Send Network.

Doug Logan joined Send Network’s team as director of urban church planting in December 2023. He has been pastor of church planting at Remnant Church in Richmond, Va., a Southern Baptist church, since 2018.

Logan was raised in “the hood” and came to faith in a National Baptist church.  [Read more…]

SBC president Bart Barber (left) discusses a broad range of SBC issues with Heath Lambert, pastor of First Baptist Church of Jacksonville, Fla., at an event at the church Sunday, Jan. 28. — Screen capture / BP

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — In a conversation spanning nearly 90 minutes and covering many much-discussed topics in Southern Baptist Convention life, SBC president Bart Barber answered questions from pastor Heath Lambert at First Baptist Church of Jacksonville. Lambert had solicited questions from church members, and they were submitted in advance.

The early questions dealt with Barber’s salvation testimony, personal background and how he came to be SBC president. He also talked about what the SBC president is and does.

“Baptists have always been very suspicious of concentrated power,” Barber said. “… We’ve put together an organization that deliberately has a weak presidency. The major job that I have is to moderate the business meeting that we have once a year – the SBC annual meeting, which is the world’s largest open democracy.” [Read more…]