NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) — Affirming his commitment, compassion and vision, friends and colleagues gathered Jan. 13 to honor James T. Draper Jr., who will retire Feb. 1 as president of LifeWay Christian Resources.
Draper, elected president of the former Baptist Sunday School Board in 1991, has been a high-profile leader in the Southern Baptist Convention's conservative shift. Elected SBC president in 1982 and 1983, he was the third in a string of conservative presidents elected since 1979.
Describing Draper as giving, caring and selfless, SBC Executive Committee President Morris Chapman told banquet participants, “Jimmy literally has been the pastor of the Southern Baptist Convention. … Jimmy, thank you for being that model for all of us.”
Draper was elected Sunday School Board president after former president Lloyd Elder retired amid a dispute with conservative trustees about Elder's leadership.
Pledging during his 1991 inauguration to keep Southern Baptists “on track” with a commitment to biblical inerrancy, Draper later added that he would seek to meet the publishing needs of all Southern Baptists.
“I don't think the Sunday School Board is so firmly attached or identified with one element of the Southern Baptist Convention that we cannot serve everybody,” he said at the time. “I am not someone who feels that you have to agree with me to have fellowship.”
Echoing that perspective last week, Draper singled out his predecessor for recognition.
“I want to thank Lloyd Elder for being here. Lloyd and I have been friends for a long time,” he said. “My coming here was at a very troubled time and a difficult time, but I appreciate Lloyd's encouragement and friendship.”
Also recognizing his successor, Draper said LifeWay trustees “have done a great job in bringing Thom Rainer to be the next president of LifeWay.”
Rainer, former dean of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary's Billy Graham School of Missions, Evangelism and Church Growth, was elected by LifeWay trustees in September. He has served as president-elect since mid-October and will succeed Draper Feb. 1.
“As I survey the SBC landscape, … I can think of no other leader so uniquely qualified to lead LifeWay into the future,” Draper said. “I deeply believe that LifeWay's best days lie ahead.”
Several convention leaders shared video greetings during the retirement banquet, including SBC President Bobby Welch and former presidents Jim Henry, Bailey Smith and Jerry Vines as well as fellow SBC entity presidents Jerry Rankin of the International Mission Board and Robert Reccord of the North American Mission Board.
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