James E. White, a Virginia Baptist Mission Board department head and former Virginia Baptist pastor, will become editor of the Religious Herald on June 1.
White, who has been team leader of the Mission Board's empowering leaders team since 2003, was elected May 3 by trustees of the Herald, newsjournal of the Baptist General Association of Virginia.
He will succeed Michael Clingenpeel, who resigned as editor in August 2004 to become pastor of River Road Church, Baptist, in Richmond.
As leader of the empowering leaders team, White has helped provide resources to church leaders and overseen the Mission Board's church, minister and family health minitry. He also has coordinated theboard's process of bringing ministry candidates and churches together.
Earlier, from 1987 to 2002, White was pastor of First Baptist Church in Newport News.
For four years prior to that he edited The Deacon magazine, a publication of the Baptist Sunday School Board (now LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention) and served as a specialist in deacon ministry.
He also has served on the staff of Baptist churches in Missouri.
White, 54, is a graduate of Wiliam Jewell College in Liberty, Mo., and holds master of divinity and doctor of ministry degrees from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Mo.
White and his wife, Connie, have two children and two grandchildren.