ATLANTA (ABP) — The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship hired Constance McNeill of Kansas City, Kan., as coordinator of administration for the Fellowship's Atlanta Resource Center.
The CBF Coordinating Council on Feb. 17 approved a search committee's unanimous recommendation of McNeill, 51, who was vice president for development and chief operating officer of Central Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City.
Coupled with the election of Barbara Baldridge as coordinator of global missions on the same day, the Fellowship now has two women in executive leadership positions. Baldridge, 54, was co-coordinator of CBF global missions with her husband, Gary, from 1999 until Gary's retirement Dec. 31. She has been serving as acting coordinator since Jan. 1. Her election as sole coordinator is retroactive to Jan. 1.
Following the Council's approval of McNeill as administrator, the search committee gathered around her for a prayer of consecration and commissioning.
“She has exceeded our expectations of what an ideal candidate would bring to CBF,” search committee chair Elizabeth Barnes of Raleigh, N.C., told the council. “Her very capable leadership at Central Seminary has well prepared her to assume the responsibilities of this position.”
McNeill said she felt called to the Fellowship after having conversations with the search committee, national CBF Coordinator Daniel Vestal and close friends. She said the administrative post fits her gifts and calling. “It has been a calling and sense of vocation in ministry,” she said. “For me, call happens to be lived out in administration.”
In her position, effective March 1, McNeill will oversee the daily operations of CBF's finances, human resources, information technology, facilities and resource distribution. She also will serve as chief of staff under Vestal but will not supervise the other ministry coordinators.
McNeill replaces Reba Cobb, who resigned in 2003 to take another position. The search committee spent 16 months looking for a candidate for the restructured position. The committee interviewed McNeill last June but delayed her hiring at McNeill's request.
“It wasn't that I couldn't say 'yes' to the Fellowship,” she explained to the council. “I needed a sense of release from my [current] ministry.”
Vestal said administration is the backbone to realizing the Fellowship's vision. “If administration is not being done well, then the mission cannot be fulfilled,” he said. “Connie brings experience, maturity and commitment to this position. She is a wonderful example of what a servant leader is and will make a great contribution to our leadership team.”
After graduating with a bachelor's degree from Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Mo., McNeill was a public school teacher in Missouri. She later earned a master of religious education.
She worked in collegiate ministries with the Missouri Baptist Convention beginning in 1982. In 1997, she graduated with a master's degree in administration from Central Michigan University. She went to work for Central Seminary in 2001.
Prior to coming to CBF, Barbara Baldridge and her husband served for 17 years with the Southern Baptist Convention's International Mission Board in Africa, an island in the Indian Ocean, and in Europe. She received a bachelor's degree from Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas.
“Barbara brings the experience of a field missionary, an administrator and a thoughtful missiologist,” Vestal said. “Possessing wisdom and sensitivity, Barbara is a person with impeccable Christian commitment and compassion. She has proven herself as a team builder and a team leader.”
“I hope to continue to be a servant leader, a listener, a learner, with greater opportunity to interface with CBF leadership, global Baptist leaders and international missions leadership,” Baldridge said.