IMB is the largest, oldest, and most important of our SBC entities and has a new CEO. Paul Chitwood was a good choice. My prayers for a stable and prosperous future. IMB has been around for a long time. Although the CEO is important, they don’t need any Savior other than Jesus to survive and thrive.
That leaves LifeWay, New Orleans and Southwestern Seminaries, and the Executive Committee still looking.
I’m somewhat ambivalent about the seminaries but a leader needs some marketing savvy to increase enrollment. The CP pool of funding is not likely to grow; hence, tuition will keep the doors open. LifeWay is a large business and needs some business acumen to keep the revenues flowing. The Executive Committee needs a solid, sagacious, and stellar hire or we are in for some difficulty.
I’m moderately inclined not to favor celebrity hires who want to serve out their careers with the high profile denominational jobs, although I can think of one or two that might be a positive agent for change. I don’t see much evidence that celebrity megapastors can, by personal magnetism, influence the great body of SBC churches. Maybe the seminaries could benefit from such, though. A generation (half-generation) change would be good, seems to me.
My colleagues here have strongly advocated for a minority hire in at least one of these. Not likely, I’d think but who knows?
It is unlikely that any opinions expressed here will influence any search committee but it’s good to know what rank-and-file SBCers are thinking along these lines. How about you?
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Extraneous addendum, ignore if necessary:
I know no one likes to think that we “hire” these people but if we hire them, we can fire them. Sometimes, that’s a better alternative than enthroning them and making them think they are anointed and thus untouchable.
And we haven’t hired a CEO who wasn’t “God’s man” in my lifetime and probably ever. I think it inappropriate to blame God for some of the leaders we’ve had. And, just once, I’d like to see someone use the phrase “God’s woman,” as if only men can be “God’s” while women may not.
Dave Miller usually does this type of article but I think he’s shovelling his driveway or something.
Cow pic because this is something to ruminate on…
