By Bob Allen
Scott Stevens, former student director at LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention, has been named publisher of BaptistWay Press, publishing arm of the Baptist General Convention of Texas.
Stevens, who has both a master’s degree and doctorate from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, succeeds Ross West, publisher of the curriculum provider launched in 2000, who retired earlier this year.
“BaptistWay Press has been serving Texas Baptists and the world for 12 years,” Chris Liebrum, head of the Baptist General Convention of Texas Education/Discipleship Center, said in a press release. “We look forward to Scott coming and building on the excellent foundation that Ross West built.”
Liebrum said Stevens brings many skills to the position, including experience in publishing, a strong academic background and a lifelong knowledge of Texas Baptists.
BaptistWay Press, which develops undated, quarterly-based studies for preschool, children, youth, college students and adults, is produced primarily by and for Texas Baptists, but it has customers across the country who use it as one alternative to curriculum published by LifeWay, publishing arm of the Southern Baptist Convention.
Many former users found LifeWay curriculum growing too conservative for their tastes in the late 1980s and 1990s, and even more so after the Southern Baptist Convention amended its official confession of faith in 2000 to prescribe traditional roles for women in the church and home.
BaptistWay introduced its adult curriculum in March 2000, followed by preschool and children’s literature added in 2003 and for youth in 2004-05. It now offers materials in seven languages and last year started offering Bible studies in a format that is downloadable to an e-reader, smart phone, computer or tablet.
Stevens worked six years at LifeWay before leaving in December 2011. Before that he taught youth ministry at Howard Payne University in Brownwood, Texas, and served on church staffs in Texas and Tennessee.