My original post said “Platt resigned.” The IMB released claims he has not resigned but simply asked the IMB to begin a search for a new president. I think that is a distinction without a difference. But there are people who get hyper-picky and easily offended about stuff like this, so I am changing this. It’s silly. It’s a de facto resignation.
In one of the most poorly kept secrets in SBC history, David Platt’s intent to leave the International Mission Board has been announced today in a conference call with Trustees. Last fall he took the role of preaching pastor at McLean Bible Church, a recently affiliated SBC church. While it was not part of the announcement, it is believed he will take that church’s pastoral role full-time.
Platt will continue to serve until a new IMB President is selected. The full statement is available on the IMB website.
David Platt has served honorably and passionately at the IMB, but it has also been a tumultuous time. When he began his work, he realized that the IMB had overspent its income by 210 million dollars in 5 years. He addressed that problem head-on and courageously, bringing fiscal sanity back to the IMB. He was a passionate promoter of worldwide missions.
It is also true that his term as president has been a challenging one. He brought massive change to an institution that is not used to it and there was sometimes a disconnect between those in Richmond and those on the field. Platt sought to implement his vision of a new IMB, but his short tenure means we will never know if that vision was going to succeed. My conversations with missionaries led me to the impression that they generally respected Dr. Platt but were sometimes confused by the administrative changes coming their way.
No one ought to question Platt’s passion for world missions or the sincerity of his desire to take the gospel to the world. In the days ahead I am sure that there will be many who are more qualified than I am to analyze how effective his tenure was.
The IMB needs a new leader now, one who has both a passion for world missions and an understanding of Southern Baptist cooperative missions. I do not envy the trustees of the IMB in their difficult task of finding the next leader for our world mission effort.
I’m thankful for the tough but needed steps @plattdavid took in the past few years for the future, long-term health of the IMB. Wish him the best as he returns to pastoring. Really hope for strong leadership in next IMB President.
https://www.imb.org/2018/02/12/platt_announcement/
It would be very hard for him to continue after making the hard decisions to get back on track financially. People can say what they want, but the IMB will have a balanced budget when he leaves, and that is more than can be said for others. I’m glad he took the hard steps to get to that place.
It is often true that the hardest decisions are made by those whose tenure is short by necessity. You just can’t get that deep in the weeds and come out with nothing lasting on your clothes. But like Luke, I am thankful Platt committed to do the right things. We may not all agree with some of the approaches he took to get there, but he did have the courage to navigate the hard financial calls. I’m grateful for his service.
He started off great. I was a HUGE fan early on. I was not sure about some of the more recent stuff – mostly because I don’t understand missiology and I don’t really know whether his strategy was a working one.
But since he didn’t stick it out we are likely to never know. I suspect the new guy is likely to be a little more conventional.
Dave, that is a good insight. I remember your early support for him, which I think was justified. I did not share that support, because of his entanglement with the Sinner’s Prayer issue. I will say, he just doesn’t seem to fit denominational life. That is the gut feeling of a long-time Southern Baptist. I don’t say that as a criticism. As you said, we will never know. I grew up in the SBC under two great, long-time giants at the IMB. We have not had a “giant” in that seat for a while. Good men perhaps, but not the… Read more »
Whatever else one says about him or his work, the fact that he leaves the IMB with a balanced budget and on sound financial footing is something we should all be grateful for.
Possibly just a question of semantics (since it will have the same effect), but the IMB chose not to use the word “resigned”. In fact the Q&A says this:
“Q: Did David Platt resign as IMB President?
“A: No. David Platt asked IMB trustees to begin searching for his successor as IMB President. Platt has no timeline for his departure, but he asked that the search begin immediately.”
Grateful that God used Platt to restore the tongues/baptism policies of the IMB similar to the pre-2005 policies that were more in sync with Scriptural teaching. Much appreciation & respect for Dr. Platt. Whereas, we all want God’s perfect will & His Sovereign choice to manifest in the selection of Platt’s successor, the search committee needs to seek out qualified minority candidates, & minority candidates need encouragement from all of us to apply. The SBC is way overdue in appointing a minority entity head. This could be the time. I yield ultimately to God’s Sovereignty in this matter, though. I… Read more »
My guess (not my recommendation, but my guess) is that the entity head thing is likely to happen in the future, but it may be more of a marathon than a sprint. What we need to (and can) see now is a much greater increase in minority leaders in highly responsible positions at entities. VPs, Deans, etc. Generally, the entity leaders are drawn from that pool of established second level leaders. In different conversations today, people (mutual friends) have mentioned viable minority candidates for entity leadership positions – in 5 to 10 years. The next sign of progress we need… Read more »
Dave, it is curious that we’ve had a black SBC President, but we still don’t seem to have many black leaders at the top. I’m not well-voiced in SBC life so I don’t know why things didn’t move much under Luter–or, did they and I just am so far on the fringes I did not see it? Also, we normally talk about diversity in “black versus white” contexts. A new thing seems to be happening in California. My town (140,000) has an almost negligible black population. We have become increasingly “Asian.” Our preschool regularly gets Chinese parents coming who do… Read more »
I think the SBC needs to be actively and aggressively pursuing minority leadership. I’m also a realist. I think Dwight knows my heart on this. I committed to him years ago that I would be an ally to him in this and I have tried to be. But I am also a lifelong Southern Baptist and I know that this will be a long campaign. My point is not what SHOULD be but what likely WILL be. We have been frustrated by not seeing the progress in follow up to Fred Luter’s election. I suppose that HB Charles’ succession at… Read more »
Fred Luter, James Dixon, Tony Matthews are 3 SBC Pastors that are qualified to assume the IMB presidency Now. Waiting 5-10 yrs serves no purpose. Hadn’t talked to none of the three, ‘bout this. But, It’s high time the SBC does more than pay lip service to the matter of inclusion.
I know Fred Luter and Tony Matthews but not James Dixon.
I do not know a lot about James Dixon. You may well be right.
I am not talking about paying lip service, but about trying to formulate an effective strategy that works over the long term.
I have met David Platt and heard him preach several times. I respect his gifting and calling. His gift is preaching not administering a missions sending organization. I think he realized this and that is why he is leaving. He did good things in his short tenure. Some of the mistakes that were made were by those he brought in to lead who had no missions experience and were not willing to listen to those who did. Correcting the financial problems was necessary. I was on the field when the VRI was announced and I have said before on this… Read more »
I appreciate a number of things about Platt’s short tenure, not the least was to address head-on the huge deficits. He is in the odd position of being praised for having fixed the problem but condemned for not fixing it painlessly.
I’m guessing that we will be in for a rough ride in the short term.
Those who condemn him often have an agenda that drives the criticism. They aren’t so much criticizing him as promoting their agenda.
Did anyone NOT see the handwriting on the wall when Dr. Platt became the preaching pastor at his church? I’m thankful for his leadership — especially getting the IMB back on a solid financial footing.
I have a wild idea for choosing the new IMB President… Pray and ask for wisdom, then choose the candidate God lays on your heart and is qualified for the position, regardless of anything related to race. If that person happens to be black, hispanic, asian, white, latino, or any other, so be it.
I know, it’s a dumb idea.
Daryl: That has always been the excuse given for having no diversity in our SBC Presidents and calling him God’s man. I have nothing against prayer etc. and I think we should ask for guidance, but we also have been given a brain by God and we need to use it.
The obvious flaw is that sincere Christians in 2016 sought God and after 2 ballots we still couldn’t make a choice.
The idea that the search committee could just pray and just find someone sounds really spiritual but it has not always worked in practice.
Of the three Dwight mentioned, I only know Pastor Luter. He is a great pastor, leader, husband, and father. He is loved not only by his growing congregation (they are in the process of moving their worship center to a new location due to growth, so I know they appreciate prayers during this transition), but all pastors here in NOLA, and by the community at large.
James Dixon & Tony Matthews have consistently led their churches, & other Pastors & churches to take International Missions Trips, over the past 10-20 yrs. They have discipled other church leaders regarding missions. They have a deep passion & burden for missions. Quite simply, either of the 3 have the capacity & experience to lead the IMB to higher heights.
Is there any possibility of a woman IMB president? That’s a ceiling that needs to be broken as well.
Adam, I agree. Because she would be answerable to the IMB Trustee Board, a woman President wouldn’t violate Scripture. However, given the mindset of the SBC generally regarding women, that simply will not happen. As a matter of fact, several years ago, the IMB removed a highly qualified, effective woman from serving as a “Vice President” @ IMB, yet retained her employ. Culture trumps truth & testosterone trumps biblical doctrine on this issue in the SBC. Junia, Phillip four daughters , Lydia, Hulda, Euodia , Phoebe & Syntyche, would highly unlikely be able to serve in the SBC, similar roles… Read more »
I am at a point where I just want to see us have diversity in our entity heads and other significant positions. I get tired of all the excuses.
“I get tired of all the excuses.” Adam, the excuses are beginning to ring hollow. Minorities are really in a pickle. Currently, to give 5-10% of ur annual church’s budget to the CP, is to practice a version of taxation without representation. There are zero minorities who have been trusted with managing a sizable budget, overseeing a large staff, and responsible for implementing a vision that impacts the entirety of our Convention. And the SBC has been integrated & has educated multiple hundreds if not thousands of minorities since then, & claim 20% of SBC churches are minority. Yet, we… Read more »
It is frustrating to attempt to make a realistic and positive point in a conversation such as this and be accused of excuse making and supporting the system.
I will point out that when I ran the PC I had 1/2 the speakers as minorities.
I think what i said was true and helpful. However, it is clear to me that you don’t want discussion, but only agreement.
So I will bow out.
I would like to see another IMB president with extensive experience as a full-time missionary. There are some things I’m just not sure you can understand unless you’ve lived on the mission field.
I understand that – but it was “experienced feild missionary” president(s) who may have “understood the mission field” as it were – but it’s also true that they led tge IMB into an horrible fiscal situation that perhaps impeded the mission more significantly but in different ways.
There’s lots to consider. Feild experience is but one of them. I think I’d be against either requiring or excluding that as a requirement.
IMO, This opening article well addresses much of what needs to be considered.
I’m sorry in my last paragraph above I was actually referring to another opening article here on voices as being one that I find particularly helpful in considering the new head of the international mission board …the one written by the esteemed Bart Barber…
https://sbcvoices.com/the-perfect-imb-president/
That’s the key Dwight, hiring minorities now and getting them included from the bottom up. I have been on the field for over 20 years now and I know ONE black IMB M. I would like to see our next president have field experience so that makes the chances of having a minority president very slim indeed. So, the question: How can minorities become included in our convention life so that they naturally end up as leaders? It is clear that they don’t feel welcome to get involved now. This is what needs to change.
He’s a nice guy and would make a great pastor, but the IMB presidency role was way beyond his gifting and ability. Similarly, he has a family with small kids. The IMB presidency is demanding. He needs to focus upon the needs of his family. Maybe at a later time when he gets more experience, he can step back in to such a role.
The IMB has tried hard to recruit missionaries from minority groups. In fact, the IMB set up an office dedicated to that very thing. The response from Hispanics and Asian-Americans was good, but not so much from African-Americans. You should not think this situation only holds true for Southern Baptists and the IMB. I read a doctoral dissertation several years ago, written by an evangelical who was not SBC, that presented research on why evangelical mission agencies had so few minority missionaries. In the past African-American churches tended to focus on local missions rather than foreign missions. I’m glad to… Read more »
We need an IMB president who has an IMB missionary background, and who has been a big supporter of the Cooperative Program and Lottie Moon Mission Offering.
David R. Brumbelow
I would tend to agree.
Of course, the question is whether you would say that those who bypass state convention giving out of conviction and yet give large amounts to SBC causes are qualified.
That was the Platt controversy. His church was a HUGE supporter of SBC causes but bypassed their state convention for various reasons.
Whether that qualifies or not is a huge question.
I thought the selection of Platt was a bold move. Platt’s open handling of the financial issue was great. But Ron West’s comments are spot on. I cannot improve upon them. Trustees select leaders. There are many of them. They answer to 16 Million Southern Baptists. They have to make a consensus selection that the entire convention will buy in to. I believe the most important qualifications are administrative ability, experience on the mission field etc. If the candidate ends up being a minority, great. But if the goal is to search for a minority, that would look like a… Read more »
Here’s a prediction. You heard it here first.
Maybe not this year or next, T4G will elevate David Platt to the number 4 spot. They will find a spot for Mahaney, but he will not be as prominent.
Platt will move into his place.
Nah. That’s a fundamental misunderstanding of what T4G is and how it was started. Mohler, Dever, Duncan, and Mahaney were all good friends. They would have yearly get-togethers. At one point they decided to make these public and turn it into a conference and that’s what T4G became. So I don’t foresee anyone becoming part of that Big 4.
I shut down the other thread because this discussion had reached a point of being past usefulness. Haven’t we beat that one into submission?
It was just a random thought not calling for further criticism.
Platt’s young. A great speaker and would be a good draw. He lives in the DC area.
My main point is that now he is in that area, at McLean, he is likely to be tapped. May even rebrand the event to bring him in.