By Carol Pipes
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. — Lifeway Christian Resources’ presidential search committee announced today they are accepting nominations for the next president and CEO of Lifeway.
The committee, which is accepting nominations at [email protected], will work with the executive search firm CarterBaldwin to identify potential candidates.
After a season of prayer and information gathering, the committee has built a comprehensive candidate profile and is now ready to accept nominations, applications and expressions of interest, according to search committee chairman Billy Stewart.
“We’re seeking a Christ-centered, visionary leader who will provide strategic and spiritual leadership to the team at Lifeway, while strengthening innovation and service to churches,” Stewart said.
Qualifications include:
- Spiritually mature: The candidate must be a humble servant of Christ who demonstrates the fruit of the Spirit in both their personal and professional lives and is committed to the authority, inerrancy and sufficiency of Scripture.
- Personally authentic: The candidate must be approachable, relational, courageous and wise.
- Organizationally skilled: The candidate must be a visionary who is strategic and experienced in executive leadership.
- Culture shaping: The candidate must be a leader who cultivates an environment of trust, collaboration and innovation while safeguarding biblical values.
- Mission-driven: The candidate must be passionate about equipping churches and advancing the gospel.
- Convictional Southern Baptist: The candidate must demonstrate an understanding of and a commitment to the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) and the “Baptist Faith & Message 2000,” as well as exhibiting a heart for partnering with local churches, state conventions and SBC entities for the advancement of the gospel.
A full description of the presidential profile is available at carterbaldwin.com/opportunities/liw-pceo/.
“Our committee has devoted significant time to prayer in all our meetings,” Stewart said. “We have earnestly prayed for the unity of the Holy Spirit among the committee and sought the Spirit’s leadership in every step of this process. We have also prayed for the employees and leadership of Lifeway during this time of transition.”
Stewart did not release a specific timeline to present a candidate to the full Board of Trustees.
“We are united in our desire to simply identify and recommend the 11th president and CEO of Lifeway to the Board of Trustees in God’s timing, not our own,” Stewart said. “We look forward to seeing how He leads during the next phases of this search.”
In July, Lifeway President and CEO Ben Mandrell announced plans to transition back to the local church after six years leading the organization. He assumed the post of senior pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church Aug. 10. An eight-person search committee was named to find Lifeway’s next leader during a special-called trustee meeting on July 15.
Other members of the search committee are Beth Greene, Madeline Harris, Caleb Iorg, Michael Schmidt, Rob Sumrall and Matt Surber. James Carroll is an ex officio member in his role as Lifeway chair.
Stewart asked Southern Baptists to continue to pray for the committee as they seek God’s guidance on choosing Lifeway’s next leader.
“We do ask that all Southern Baptists join us in praying for the next leader of Lifeway Christian Resources,” Stewart said. “Lifeway has a rich heritage of designing trustworthy experiences that fuel the ministries of local churches. We are committed to identifying a president who will honor that heritage and lead Lifeway strategically into the future. We’re confident that God is already preparing the heart of the person who will be called to serve as Lifeway’s 11th president and CEO.”
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Carol Pipes is director of corporate communications for Lifeway Christian Resources.
In operation since 1891, Lifeway Christian Resources is one of the leading providers of Christian resources, including Bibles, books, Bible studies, group curriculum, Christian music and movies, Vacation Bible School and church supplies, as well as camps and events for all ages. Lifeway is the world’s largest provider of Spanish Bibles. Based in Brentwood, Tennessee, Lifeway operates as a self-supporting nonprofit. For more information, visit Lifeway.com.
CarterBaldwin Executive Search serves organizations that are serious about mission and performance. Originally founded with a focus on corporate clients spanning private, public and private-equity-backed companies, CarterBaldwin has built a complementary higher education and nonprofit practice leveraging best practices learned and developed in their corporate work.
