NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)–Alabama pastor Rick Evans will be leading the committee that will search for the next president of LifeWay Christian Resources following the announcement by James T. Draper Jr. that he will step down Feb. 1, 2006, after 15 years as the entity’s president and chief executive officer.
Evans, pastor of Dalraida Baptist Church in Montgomery, Ala., has been a LifeWay trustee since 2000 and is a member of the corporate affairs committee. Evans has been active in associational work in Alabama, serving as moderator, pastor’s conference president and evangelism committee chairman. He was ordained as a Southern Baptist minister in 1979 and also has served as a fulltime vocational evangelist.
“I understand the magnitude of our task,” Evans said, “and see my role as leading this committee to seek God’s man through prayer. I encourage all Southern Baptists to pray for the search committee as we seek to know the will of God concerning the future leadership of LifeWay.”
Evans noted that the committee immediately will begin accepting resumes and recommendations. They may be sent to Evans’ attention at Dalraida Baptist Church, 3838 Wares Ferry Road, Montgomery, AL 36109. The deadline for submissions is April 15.
“Rick is uniquely qualified to shoulder this responsibility,” said Wayne Hamrick, chairman of LifeWay’s trustees. “He is God’s man to lead our trustees in the search for God’s man for the future of LifeWay.”
Other presidential search committee members are:
— Vice chairman Phil Neighbors, pastor of Valley Baptist Church in Bakersfield, Calif., and a LifeWay trustee since 1998. He is a member of the trustees’ church resources committee.
— Secretary Ken Jones, president of Saddle Springs, LLC in Thompson Station, Tenn., and a LifeWay trustee since 1998. He is chairman of the audit committee, chairman of the investment committee and a member of the finance and business services committee.
— Mark Anderson, senior pastor of Colonial Heights Baptist Church in Jackson, Miss., and a LifeWay trustee since 2002. He is chairman of the corporate affairs committee and a member of the trustee executive committee.
— Bill Henard, senior pastor of Porter Memorial Baptist Church in Lexington, Ky. A LifeWay trustee since 2001, he is chairman of the Broadman & Holman committee and a member of the trustee executive committee.
— Melvin Pugh, vice president of human resources at Worthington Armstrong Venture in Malvern, Pa., and a LifeWay trustee since 2002. He is vice chairman of the trustees’ finance and business services committee, secretary of the audit committee and a member of the executive committee.
— Roger Willmore, pastor of Deerfoot Baptist Church in Trussville, Ala., and a LifeWay trustee since 1999. He is vice chairman of the church resources committee and a member of the trustee executive committee.
— Tom Woodson, senior pastor of Sheridan Road Baptist Church in Tulsa, Okla., and a LifeWay trustee since 1998. He is the trustees’ recording secretary and secretary of the trustee executive committee.
Ex officio search committee members are Wayne Hamrick, chairman of LifeWay’s trustees; Ed Ethridge, trustee vice chairman; and Bobby Welch, president of the Southern Baptist Convention.
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