ERLC Presidential Search Update

On today’s episode of The ERLC Podcast, we talk with the chairman of the ERLC Presidential Search Committee, Mitch Kimbrell. He shares where the search committee process currently stands and how prayer has shaped and sustained the committee’s work. He also shares the search committee’s hope that the next leader will continue to advance the ERLC’s mission by equipping Southern Baptist churches, pastors, and ministry leaders with resources that are both biblically faithful and culturally relevant. In addition to being an ERLC trustee, Mitch serves as the senior pastor at Christ Memorial Church in Williston, Vermont. 

Episode Transcript: ERLC Presidential Search Update

Narration:

Welcome to the ERLC podcast, where our goal is to help you think biblically about today’s cultural issues. I’m Lindsay Nicolet, and today we’re talking about the presidential search at the ERLC.

Narration:

On today’s episode, we talk with the chairman of the ERLC Presidential Search Committee, Mitch Kimbrell. He shares where the search committee process currently stands and how prayer has shaped and sustained the committee’s work. He also shares the search committee’s hope that the next leader will continue to advance the ERLC’s mission by equipping Southern Baptist churches, pastors, and ministry leaders with resources that are both biblically faithful and culturally relevant. In addition to being an ERLC trustee, Mitch serves as the senior pastor at Christ Memorial Church in Williston, Vermont. He earned his M.Div. and Ph.D. from Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary. Mitch and his wife Sarah have five children. 

Now let’s listen to my conversation with Mitch.

Lindsay Nicolet:

Mitch, I’m so thankful that you’ve joined us on today’s podcast and just in general for all of the work that you put into helping to steward the ERLC as a trustee. And we are just so looking forward to our conversation with you today.

Mitch Kimbrell:

Well, thanks Lindsay. Happy to be here. Good to talk to you.

Lindsay Nicolet:

As we get started, I would love for you to tell us a little bit about yourself, how you became a Southern Baptist, your pastoral ministry experience, and what you’ve learned as a trustee of the ERLC.

Mitch Kimbrell:

Well, to start my journey as a Southern Baptist was both something that was chosen for me and then something I chose for myself, by which, I mean my parents were going to a Southern Baptist church when I was still in the womb, and so I grew up going to a Southern Baptist church. But then in third grade, my parents went from our Baptist church to a Methodist church, and out of that Methodist church was born a non-denominational church. So we started going there. But when I graduated from high school and went to college at the University of Georgia–I’m a Georgia native, my wife and I met at UGA. Every member of both of our families still live in the Peach State. But it was while I was in college that I began visiting different churches and really decided for myself that the Southern Baptist Convention was where I wanted to be.

Mitch Kimbrell:

I became a Baptist convictionally and not just sort of by convenience. I was going to Prince Avenue Baptist Church in Athens, Georgia, which was pastored then by Bill Ricketts, who pastored that church for 43 years faithfully. So he had an enormous impact on my life. That church is where I met my wife, our college pastor, Sky Pratt, officiated our wedding. That church ordained me to the ministry, and it was while I was a college student pursuing a career in broadcast journalism actually, that the Lord called me to ministry. So it was in the context of a Southern Baptist church in college where the Lord really did work that’s impacted the rest of my life. And it was not long after I began attending that church, and as I say sort of becoming a Baptist by conviction, that I came across the radio show Richard Land Live. And that’s how I learned about the ERLC. And I’ve just been following it ever since, but not knowing a ton about it, but as Dr. Land gave way to Dr. Moore and then Dr. Moore gave way to Brent Leatherwood, I came on as a trustee in the fall of 2022, having known about the ERLC, but not knowing it terribly well. But since I’ve come on board as a trustee, I’ve learned really two things more than any other, first that the ERLC has a very sharp staff and that the ERLC produces tremendously helpful resources for both Southern Baptist pastors and those in the pew.

Lindsay Nicolet:

Well, a few things in response, Mitch. Number one, go Gators. I have to say. Oh, Lindsey.

Lindsay Nicolet:

Someone who graduated from the University of Florida, I couldn’t resist it. 

Mitch Kimbrell:

I pastor up here in Vermont, so I have more Southeastern conference sympathies than I did when I lived in Georgia, so I appreciate that.

Lindsay Nicolet:

I don’t necessarily say it as our football team currently stands, but you know, you just have to be loyal. Also, thank you so much for the ways that you serve. I’d love to hear your story of how the Lord worked in your life at a Southern Baptist church. And we know that that’s true of so many people, and that’s yet to be the story of people who will come into our Southern Baptist churches. And I’m so encouraged that when you peer behind the curtain as a trustee of the ERLC, that those are the things that you see. That’s just a grace of the Lord, and I pray it will continue to be one that he extends to us. 

So you are in, one of your important many roles that you’re in right now is as the newly minted chairman of the Presidential Search Committee, as our listeners know that we are in the midst of a search for a permanent president at the ERLC, that we have an interim president right now, Dr. Gary Hollingsworth, and we have just loved our time with him. But we want to hear from you a few updates about how it’s going in the midst of that monumental task. So in recent weeks, y’all have established guidelines, a presidential profile, and procedures for how the recommendations can be submitted. As a committee, how did you determine these elements and where does the process stand at this point?

Mitch Kimbrell:

Well, thankfully we didn’t have to start from scratch. So the chairman of the most recent ERLC Presidential search Committee was a pastor from Arkansas named Todd Howard, and he’s a man I sat beside at trustee meetings, last name starting with H, and my last name starting with K. So we would be beside each other, and we just got to know each other a little bit during trustee meetings. And he chaired, as I say, the most recent presidential search committee that called Brent Leatherwood to the job. And so I thought the presidential profile they put together had really good bones, so to speak. And so we started there as a committee and we talked with Southern Baptist leaders, both those in denominational life and those who are leaders as pastors, leaders as non pastors, sort of folks in the pew. And thankfully, the Lord has also provided trustees that are on our presidential search committee who have experience in their own ministry fields or in their own professional fields who have some knowledge about hiring best practices.

Mitch Kimbrell:

So you put all that together, and that helped to inform our presidential profile and our process, all of which people can see if they go to the ERLC website. Right now we are in the process of gathering CVs, gathering cover letters, gathering recommendations, and so the window is still open. As you and I talk, folks can email [email protected]. And so that’s where they can send a CV, a cover letter, or they can send a recommendation for a candidate. And as all of us on the trustee board of Southern Baptist, we stand ready to hear with our ears open from Southern Baptists about who they might recommend for this important position.

Lindsay Nicolet:

And that information is on our website, including that email, and we’ll be sure to link that in the show notes so people have easy access to that. So you mentioned listening to Southern Baptists. How are you going about listening to Southern Baptists and at the same time as a steward of the search committee? How are you seeking to discern this cultural moment in the midst of this search process as well, and how the two kind of meld together?

Mitch Kimbrell:

Yeah. Well, thankfully we’ve got trustees from all over the country by the conventions design. And so trustees are hearing from people where they live. And as a presidential search committee, we are listening to trustees. But it’s not just me and it’s not even just the trustees on the presidential search committee. This is state convention season for Southern Baptists. And so as staff and as trustees we’re just spreading out all over the place and going to these state conventions. For example, in a few weeks, the Baptist Churches of New England, which is the state convention, where I pastor here in Vermont, is going to have its annual meeting. And Dr. Hollingsworth, the interim president, is going to be here. He’s going to address the Baptist churches of New England. I’ll also be there, and I know that Bobby Reed was recently in Alaska meeting with Southern Baptist there. So we are doing our best to hear from as many Southern Baptists as we can. But again, we want to say, Southern Baptists, feel free, feel welcome to reach out to us. You guys are the ones who show up to the convention who support our entity with CP Giving. And so we have all ears open to listen to Southern Baptists

Lindsay Nicolet:

At your request. Mitch, we recently released, developed and released a prayer guide to help Southern Baptists know how to pray for this process and for you as a search committee. So how has prayer shaped and sustained the committee’s work so far, and how can Southern Baptists continue to pray for the search committee in the weeks ahead?

Mitch Kimbrell:

Well, we are just relying on the Lord’s promise that if somebody–James chapter one, if a man lacks wisdom, or if a man comes to know, a man or a woman obviously, comes to know that they need wisdom from the Lord. And man, if the presidential search committee knows anything, it’s that we need wisdom from the Lord. So James 1 has this promise, “If anyone lacks wisdom, let Him ask of the Lord, and the Lord will give it generously and won’t upgrade him”–one translation says– “for asking.” And so we’re relying on that promise. We need the wisdom from above as we go through applications and CVs and all of this as we do our interviews. And so we’ve put together, as you say, a prayer guide. Erlc.com/resources is a place where Southern Baptists can go. And we are very, very desirous that Southern Baptists would pray that the Lord would bless the work of our hands as a presidential search committee. You see from the scriptures that you know, when the Lord promises to do something, prayer is the way that God activates, if you please, the promise that he’s made to his people. It’s the language of faith, prayer is. And so we want Southern Baptists to be praying for us. And feel free to pray however you like for the Presidential Search Committee. But if it’d be helpful to have some prompts, you can go to erc.com/resources and find what the staff and I put together as a prayer guide.

Lindsay Nicolet:

What are your hopes for the ERLC as you look to the future?

Mitch Kimbrell:

Well, I think first stability. It’s been, let’s face it, a tumultuous season in the life of this entity, Dr. Land. His tenure was quite long. And then after that we’ve had two shorter tenures, at least relative to Dr. Land’s time. And so I think Southern Baptists want stability from all of our entities. But you know, obviously, they want stability from the ERLC. And so that’s one thing that we’re asking the Lord for, that he might connect us to a leader of this entity who might help to accomplish stability. But I’m also hoping in the years to come, as I mentioned to you earlier, one of the things I learned about the ERLC once I became a trustee is just how tremendous and how scripturally sound and how baptistic these resources that the ERLC produces are. And I just confess as a pastor, and before that, just as a sort of rank and file Southern Baptist, when I was on the search for help, I didn’t always think of the ERLC as near the top of the list, but it ought to have been then.

Mitch Kimbrell:

It ought to be now. And I’m hoping that the Lord might be pleased to use the next permanent president of the ERLC to just put on Southern Baptist radars that the ERLC is a fantastic resource for the work that we do involving life and involving religious liberty, involving human dignity, involving gender and sexuality. These are resources that I’ve been excited to put into hands. We’re gonna put resources into the hands of those who come to the Baptist Churches of New England annual meeting in a few weeks. So I think, Lindsay, when I’m asking the Lord for help in our presidential search, among the other things I’m asking for is a leader that might help provide stability, certainly would help rebuild trust among the Southern Baptist Convention, and particularly the messengers to the convention. And then someone who the Lord might use to let Southern Baptist know we’ve got an entity that’s producing really helpful, really faithful resources.

Lindsay Nicolet:

I love you mentioning those resources, because that’s really been a labor of love for many of our staff members lately. Specifically the church guides that we’ve put out. And we have those going to, I think at least 30 state conventions, don’t quote me. And we have representation at many of the state conventions as well. I’ll be in Florida, again go Gators. But I think that’s one of the things we want to be known for and have a heart for to resource churches and pastors and ministry leaders. Because let’s face it, there are demands pulling at you from every which way, and you don’t necessarily have the time to dive in and to create these yourself. So I’m thankful that you have found them beneficial. I hope many other Southern Baptists will as well. So as we wrap up, are there any other updates or encouragements you’d like to share with Southern Baptists about where the search process stands today, how you’re feeling about it?

Mitch Kimbrell:

Well, as I mentioned, it’s been an extended tumultuous season for the entity. And so as we began our work and as we first opened the portal, the [email protected] portal, we didn’t know what we’d get. We didn’t know in some ways whether we’d get, are there folks who are desiring to lead this important entity? And we’ve all been encouraged as a search committee, as we’ve met, not only at the number of applications we’ve received, but the quality of the applications we’ve received. We just, as I say, didn’t quite know what to expect, but the Lord has been very gracious and merciful to us in that way. And I think data points that should encourage Southern Baptist as a whole too. You asked earlier how we’re doing our work in regard to the current cultural moment.

Mitch Kimbrell:

And I just confess to you that I’m glad it’s going to be someone else’s job to lead the ERLC right now. What a tall task. But I’m praying that Southern Baptists can move toward majoring on the essentials. I think about what the Apostle Paul said in First Corinthians chapter 15, “I delivered to you as a first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the scripture that he was buried and that he was raised again on the third day according to the scripture.” And all that gospel nugget means that God, the Son, came and took on flesh and lived a perfect life, died in obedience to the Father and the place of his people, and was gloriously raised, ascended, and is reigning, is returning. And then, there are historic Baptist interpretations of those things, some secondary, tertiary things that are imported to us as Baptists. But we’re asking the Lord that he might bring someone who can try to help bring some unity in this cultural moment, which doesn’t mean uniformity always, but maybe someone who embraces that there are good-faith Southern Baptists who have different opinions on some of these things.

Mitch Kimbrell:

Let’s bring them together. Let’s facilitate some of these conversations. Those are some ideas that we’ve been talking about ways to sort of respond to this cultural moment. But it is a fascinating cultural moment, maybe is the best thing I can say about it. It’ll be interesting to see what the Lord does in regard to our work in this current moment.

Narration:

The ERLC seeks to come alongside our SBC churches to assist pastors with practical resources grounded in God’s Word. As we eagerly anticipate the next leader of the ERLC, we invite you to pray along with us for the individual God is preparing a leader marked by a deep love for Jesus, biblical conviction, wisdom, and a heart for unity in this cultural moment. Thanks for listening to this episode of the ERLC podcast. Join us next time as we hear from the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions.