By Bob Allen
Gene Wilkes, a former longtime pastor hired in June as vice president for advancement at the B.H. Carroll Theological Institute, has been elected president of the graduate level “community of faith and learning” based in Arlington, Texas.
Wilkes, for 26 years senior pastor at Legacy Church in Plano, Texas, succeeds Bruce Corley, who served as president since the institute’s opening in 2004. Corley announced plans to step down earlier this year as part of a two-year strategic plan toward a smooth transition.
Wilkes has been a long-time supporter of Carroll, serving as a resident fellow and on the board of governors, the group that elected him president Oct. 22. Corley will continue his role as a senior fellow, overseeing students and programs in one of four “learning clusters” that combine instruction and practical experience through a network of fellows, teaching churches and learning centers.
Formed by four longtime professors at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, as an alternative to traditional brick-and-mortar theological education, the B.H. Carroll Institute is named after Southwestern’s founding president. Russell Dilday, fired in March 1994 as Southwestern president during the Southern Baptist Convention’s inerrancy controversy, is the founding chancellor.
The institute now reaches 26 states and 12 foreign nations and last year received accreditation by the Association of Biblical Higher Education