Executive director search moving forward
By Don Hinkle
Editor
JEFFERSON CITY – Missouri Southern Baptists are getting closer to having a new executive director for their Convention, but just how close is anyone’s guess.
The 11-person committee met Feb. 19 at the Baptist Building, their fourth such meeting since being established by the Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) Executive Board July 10.
“The committee is scheduled to meet again later this month and it is moving forward,” said James Freeman, committee chairman and a member of Country Meadows Baptist Church, Independence.
“After much prayer, the committee discussed what the Holy Spirit was laying on each member’s heart regarding the individual nominees,” he said. “The committee will be spending the next 30 days gathering additional doctrinal information about the nominees.”
Freeman said he was excited about the spirit of the committee and the “incredible quality” of the nominees.
“Although I cannot predict exactly how God will move the Missouri Baptist Convention forward, it is clear from the nominees that God intends to use Missouri Baptists to engage the world in an exciting evangelical movement of spreading the Gospel through words and deeds,” Freeman said.
He said the committee decided not to comment further about the number of candidates and the process.
The committee announced that it was examining 11 nominees following its Jan. 16 meeting with a goal of cutting that number to five. Freeman said following the January meeting that once five were selected they would be sent questionnaires and the committee would initiate telephone interviews with each one.
Once the questionnaires have been returned, Freeman explained in January, and each has been evaluated, the committee intends to rank each candidate #1, #2, #3, #4 and #5. They will begin dealing solely with #1 until he has been recommended, he withdraws or the committee decides to move on to candidate #2 and so on until a candidate is called or all five have completed the process. All five candidates will face an extensive vetting process that will include background checks and interviewing references – three to five levels deep.
Freeman, declining to say if the number had been cut to five or any other number, suggests the search is moving into a delicate and highly confidential stage.
