Baptist Briefs
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Midwestern search goes on. The presidential search committee of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary voted unanimously July 23 to continue their search process, stating they were not yet ready to recommend a candidate. The committee met in Denver July 21-23 for a second interview with a candidate. Chairman Carl Weiser, pastor of Hyland Heights Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Va., had previously announced that the committee was focusing on a particular candidate who would have further interviews.
___ Southern dean changes roles. Dennis Williams, dean of the School of Christian Education and Leadership at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., will become dean of institutional assessment Aug. 1. A new dean of Christian education and leadership will be sought. The seminary also is seeking a dean for its School of Church Music and Worship.
___ State and SBC leaders meet. Executive directors of state Baptist conventions participated in an unpublicized meeting with presidents of Southern Baptist Convention agencies and institutions July 26 in Nashville, Tenn. Few details of the meeting were made available to press afterward, only a statement that a Task Force on Cooperation had been formed to increase dialogue between state conventions and the SBC and to promote giving to the Cooperative Program unified budget.
___ IMB trustees affirm New Directions. Trustees of the Southern Baptist International Mission Board recently affirmed the board's current overseas policies, known as New Directions. The massive overhaul and restructuring of IMB overseas operations began in 1997. Major elements of the plan phased out many human welfare ministries and institutionally based programs to create a greater focus on church starting. New Directions also targets a greater proportion of resources to areas of the world deemed most responsive to the gospel or more in need of hearing the gospel for the first time. Trustee-approved recommendations regarding New Directions included an affirmation that "our mission is to start New Testament churches consistent with the Baptist Faith & Message. Where government policy allows and where security concerns are not prohibitive there, churches will be publicly identified as Baptist churches."
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