Ryan Blackwell, 42, has been named 11th president of Lifeway Christian Resources, the publishing house of the Southern Baptist Convention. He currently serves as executive pastor and teaching pastor at Cross Church in Springdale, Ark., an SBC megachurch previously led…
Do Lifeway’s trustees even have a pulse?
Just imagine you are an elected trustee of a $300 million denominational entity whose outgoing president lobs verbal grenades toward the trustees and corporate culture on his way out the door. And then you show up a week later for…
On way out the door, Mandrell airs grievances with Lifeway trustees
In January 2025, then Lifeway CEO Ben Mandrell called his trustees into an executive session to address ongoing conflicts he faced while seeking to lead the $300-million-a-year publishing enterprise. Those particular conflicts, which have not been previously reported, centered not…
With two leadership roles open, will SBC embrace a younger generation?
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. With not-unexpected news of the resignation of Brent Leatherwood as president of the…
Mandrell’s early departure from Lifeway is not the norm
Ben Mandrell is not the first president of Lifeway Christian Resources to leave the post for a pastorate, but the 48-year-old’s call to Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis is a rarity in the publisher’s 134-year-history. Earlier today, Mandrell accepted the…
Mandrell to leave Lifeway for Memphis pastorate
Six years after taking leadership of Lifeway Christian Resources, Ben Mandrell is leaving for a prominent Tennessee pastorate. The pastor search committee at Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis has unanimously recommended Mandrell as the church’s next senior pastor, succeeding Steve…
Ben Mandrell should take humility lessons from Bart Barber
I thought I had seen arrogance in Southern Baptist Convention agency heads in my 62 years of living, but I had not heard from Ben Mandrell until today. His cold-hearted arrogance speaking before the SBC annual meeting today is in…
Breaking news: SBC will vote on three explosive motions Wednesday morning
Three new and potentially explosive issues will come up for a vote by messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting Wednesday, June 12. That will happen before the convention considers another highly controversial matter carried over from last year…
Where are the trustees?
I still remember sitting in the wooden chairs in Sunday school as faithful men and women taught me the word of God, from curriculum that came from the Baptist Sunday School Board, now known as Lifeway Christian Resources. I would…
Lifeway’s new headquarters is much smaller, designed for collaboration, not offices
In the span of six years, Lifeway Christian Resources has downsized its headquarters twice, moving from a 15-acre campus with nine buildings to its newest intended location that will be 46,000 square feet — about the size of an average…
Lifeway sells its three-year-old office building to downsize again
Lifeway Christian Resources announced the sale of its three-year-old office building in downtown Nashville for $95 million and its plans to move to a downsized space reflective of its transition to a nimble and remote workforce. A combination of declining…
Lifeway will sell its new headquarters and downsize again
Lifeway Christian Resources has entered into contract to sell the $100 million corporate headquarters it built and occupied in 2017. The Nashville, Tenn.-based publisher of curriculum, books, Bibles and other Christian educational resources began to study the viability of the…