Wanted: Creative leaders who have a spine but are flexible enough to accommodate diverse opinions and changing political tides. Must be Southern Baptist. Only males need apply.
Brent Leatherwood
With not-unexpected news of the resignation of Brent Leatherwood as president of the Southern Baptist Convention Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, two of the most high-profile jobs in the denomination are now open.
Just two weeks ago, Ben Mandrell was called as pastor of a Tennessee church, an apparent escape from the pressure of leading Lifeway Christian Resources, the SBC’s publishing house.
There are only 12 head honcho jobs in SBC entities, and six of those are seminary presidencies. So two out of 12 — or two out of six — is a significant ratio. Especially when you consider the ages of the current leaders of the other SBC entities:
- David Dockery, president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, 72
- Danny Akin, president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, 68
- Jeff Iorg, president of SBC Executive Committee, 66
- Al Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 65
- Kevin Ezell, president of the North American Mission Board, 63
- Hance Dilbeck, president of Guidestone Financial Resources, 60
- Paul Chitwood, president of the International Mission Board, 55
- Jason Allen, president of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, 50
- Jamie Dew, president of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, 49
- Adam Groza, president of Gateway Seminary, 49
That’s not exactly a young crowd.
Consider that Mandrell, 48, and Leatherwood, 44, were the two youngest entity heads in the SBC universe. And as I’ve previously written, these are jobs that historically leaders retire from. But not anymore.
“Mandrell, 48, and Leatherwood, 44, were the two youngest entity heads in the SBC universe.”
As conservative as the SBC has become, leading any of its entities has become an often-impossible job. Seminary presidents are a bit more insulated, but the other agency heads live in a very public pressure cookers.
Paul Chitwood
At the IMB, Paul Chitwood is a long termer by today’s standards, having lasted seven years and counting. His two predecessors each were in the role less than four years. At NAMB, give Kevin Ezell credit for 15 years of leadership — also following two short-term presidents. Some of us think he’s survived by threatening everyone who would challenge him.
Here’s the problem: You can’t serve 15 or 20 years if you’re elected to a post when you’re 60. Well, you might be able to but it’s not a great idea.
What the SBC is lacking today is agency leaders from younger generations. Every person leading an SBC entity today was alive when the “conservative resurgence” started in 1979. And most of them were put in place by that same mechanism of good ol’ boys.
Today’s SBC is at least two generations beyond the “conservative resurgence,” and the perspectives of these younger leaders are not present in leadership of the SBC’s institutions.
“No one that young has been elected to lead any SBC entity since.”
Al Mohler has lasted 32 years as president of Southern Seminary because he was 33 when elected. No one that young has been elected to lead any SBC entity since.
There are questions about whether the ERLC ought to exist and in what form it should exist. So trustees need to figure out their mission before they hire a new president. Lifeway, on the other hand, will continue to exist even as the publishing market shifts. These presidencies are two very different yet highly visible roles.
It would be great if either or both agency would consider a woman for president, but this being the SBC, that’s not likely to happen. But it is possible for the SBC to invest in the future and let the rest of us know it has moved on from the group of insiders that have run things for so long — not because they were bad people (well, mostly) but because it’s time for younger generations to get a chance to shine.
Just by natural attrition, assuming everyone honors a relatively normal retirement age, at least half the entity head roles in the SBC will turn over within the next five to seven years. That’s a lot of change for a denomination that can’t seem to figure out what time it is.
Mark Wingfield serves as executive director and publisher of Baptist News Global.