NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)–It matters little to Hollis E. Johnson III that when he retires June 30 as president of the Southern Baptist Foundation it signals the end of an era.
Johnson is the last Southern Baptist entity head who was around when the Southern Baptist Convention’s conservative resurgence began in 1979.
He survived the restructuring of the SBC when it took place in 1997 and the foundation was moved from entity status to being a subsidiary of the SBC Executive Committee. “Nothing changed in what we did or the way we did it,” Johnson said. “The only thing that changed was how we were governed and board size which was reduced from 35 to seven members.”
Johnson wants to be remembered for one thing — integrity.
“I live by a simple creed,” Johnson said. “I always try to do the right thing no matter what the consequences.”
It was that creed, along with his strong belief in the goals and ministry of the foundation, that kept the entity from being frayed by SBC politics.
“This business [financial management] is the kind that strife does not need to be a part of,” Johnson noted. “The Southern Baptist Foundation is a trust institution. We succeed or fail based on people’s trust.”
And, the foundation has succeeded under Johnson’s leadership. He had a working knowledge of the entity when a trustee called him in 1976 to see if he would be interested in succeeding Kendall Berry who was retiring that year. Johnson was a vice president and trust officer of a local bank that had the foundation as one of its clients.
“It is awesome to look back and see how everything I did was God-inspired, leading me to this place,” he said.
Johnson was elected executive secretary/treasurer-elect (because of state law the title was later changed to president) and assumed his position Jan. 1, 1977. At that time, the foundation had $17 million in assets. Today the foundation manages more than $226 million.
He takes little credit for the growth. “Financial assets in general have grown over that time frame,” he observed. Yet, he acknowledged, some of the growth is due to the fact the foundation was “able to provide investment results that met the goals and expectations of the institution’s clients.”
“We provided a timely and effective service,” he said.
One of the high points in his ministry came in 1977 at his first SBC annual meeting. The president of the convention that year happened to be James L. Sullivan, president of the Baptist Sunday School Board (now LifeWay Christian Resources). Years ago Sullivan had been Johnson’s pastor at Belmont Heights Baptist Church in Nashville. “He did a marvelous introduction of me which helped to ease my apprehension,” Johnson, who turns 67 in June, recalled.
He said he has enjoyed helping individuals realize their stewardship goals with what God provided them. “That has been a neat thing to see,” the Nashville native said.
Johnson has worked with people with millions of dollars to those who had only “the widow’s mite.” No matter how much the person had, he or she could “give from now until Jesus comes” through trusts managed by the foundation, he said.
His main concern over the years has been to be faithful to God’s calling. “God is going to judge us on faithfulness, not results. He is in charge of the results.
“Results will happen if we are faithful,” Johnson observed.
Since he first assumed his position, Johnson regarded it as a ministry and not just a job. A lifelong Southern Baptist, Johnson likes to joke that he was “born and re-born” at Belmont Heights.
He noted God began to “work on him” a few years before accepting the foundation post. He and his wife, Celeste, lost two children, one before birth and one 48 minutes after birth. “God used that to get me back to depending on him,” which in turn got him more involved in church. Over the years at Belmont Heights he has held numerous committee positions, served as a deacon chairman three times, and has taught Sunday School for more than 20 years. The Johnsons now have two grown children — Hollis E. Johnson IV, a teacher and coach in Nashville, and Martha S. Johnson, an FBI agent in Chicago. They also have one grandchild and “one on the way,” Johnson added.
Johnson said he has never regretted for a minute his decision to come to the Southern Baptist Foundation. “Once I believed it was a calling, I couldn’t say no.
“I never wanted to ‘be somebody’ in life. I just wanted to be the person God wants me to be the best I can.”
Those who have worked with Johnson over the years can attest to that.
Morris H. Chapman, president of the SBC Executive Committee, said Johnson has built the foundation “into an institution known for its integrity and trustworthiness throughout the Southern Baptist Convention.”
“He had the intuitive ability to put together an excellent staff and has established good rapport with the foundation’s constituency and state foundation executives,” Chapman said. “He and his wife, Celeste, are wonderful Christians and faithful witnesses to Christ’s saving power. I am especially grateful for the privilege of working with him during these last 10 years and congratulate him on the coming opportunity to pursue some of the things he has always wanted to do, but never had the time. He is a Christian gentleman who has been a faithful ambassador for Christ in the years he led the foundation. Due to his leadership, the Southern Baptist Foundation is built upon the ‘solid rock,’ both spiritually and fiscally.”
Clay Warf, executive director of the North Carolina Baptist Foundation, described Johnson as “a unique person in that he has all the investment skills and knowledge of an excellent money manager, but at the same time he has the heart of a pastor.”
“He knows the jargon of Wall Street while at the same time he knows how to relate to Baptist people in a compassionate way,” Warf said.
Clay Corvin, vice president for business at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, agreed. “Hollis Johnson is one of the most knowledgeable investment people I’ve ever worked with,” Corvin said, adding that Johnson helped the seminary invest its money at the highest rate possible while understanding the possible risks.
“He has always been helpful and honest about sharing his views on what we should or should not do. He’s been a real friend of the institution,” Corvin said.
William F. “Bo” Childs, president of the Tennessee Baptist Foundation, also worked with Johnson and the Southern Baptist Foundation while serving at the Baptist foundations in Alabama and the Northwest.
“Hollis Johnson is a Christian gentleman. Probably no one in Southern Baptist foundation life is more respected than Hollis,” Childs observed. “I have found him to be a professional person in all aspects. He’s a man of integrity and a man of trust. We will miss him.”
Johnson also has earned the respect of those who have served as trustees of the Southern Baptist Foundation.
“It’s almost an oxymoron to speak of a Christian businessman, but that’s what Hollis is,” said John Blackman, a current trustee of the foundation who also serves as chairman of its investment committee.
He noted Johnson has “gone a long way in establishing relationships with our Baptist clients.
“He’s an excellent investment person, but he is even better at building a sense of confidence and trust among people,” added Blackman, a member of Immanuel Baptist Church in Nashville.
Bill Lovell, a member of Brentwood (Tenn.) Baptist Church and another current trustee, echoed comments about Johnson’s investment skills.
Lovell cited Johnson’s loyalty as one of his attributes. “I am impressed with his loyalty to people. He stands with them and supports them. He has appreciated his trustees and has listened to them,” Lovell observed.
“He is very devoted to the Southern Baptist Foundation and he will be missed,” Lovell added.
As he looks to retirement, Johnson said the thing he will miss most is the people. “I won’t miss the computer, the reports and the meetings, but I will miss the people. I’ve been associated with a lot of quality people who have been committed to God’s work,” he said.
He plans to remain busy doing God’s ministry, just in a different setting — Belmont Heights.
“There’s no place like the local church to do God’s work. That’s where most of my time and energy will end up — doing kingdom work at Belmont Heights,” Johnson said.
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(BP) photos posted in the BP Photo Library at https://www.bpnews.net. Photo titles: HOLLIS E. JOHNSON III and 20-YEAR CO-WORKERS.
