Advisory board named for Land Center at Southwestern

Katie Frugé, director of Texas Baptists’ Center for Cultural Engagement and the Christian Life Commission, and Bob Roberts, global senior pastor of Northwood Church in Keller and co-founder of the Multi-Faith Neighbors Network, are among the 19 members of the inaugural advisory board of the Land Center for Cultural Engagement at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

“We are grateful that these leaders who are engaging the culture in so many important ways have agreed to work with us as the founding members of the Land Center advisory board,” seminary President Adam Greenway said.

“We look forward to the insights they will bring to the table as the Land Center helps shape the conversation about significant ethical issues among Southern Baptists, other evangelicals, and the wider culture and educates our students how they can make a difference for our Lord.”

Land Center advisory board members who serve in pastoral ministry, academia, public policy advocacy, missions, journalism and other fields will lend their voices to the work of the center and help equip the next generation of Christians engage in the public square.

“We are honored to have the support of such an impressive and diverse group of Christian leaders for the vital work of the Land Center,” said Daniel M. Darling, director of the Land Center and assistant professor of faith and culture at Texas Baptist College, the seminary’s undergraduate school.

“As we work to engage in important conversations, equip the church, and educate the next generation, their voices will offer valuable counsel and ideas in helping us shape the future of our work.”

Richard Land, former president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, will chair the advisory board of the center named in his honor.

“I believe the Land Center is providentially placed to be a forum where Baptist and other evangelical leaders can convene and seek God’s guidance and discuss how to apply the eternal truths of Scripture to the critical moral issues confronting us as a nation,” Land said.

“This excellent, multi-generational board of advisors will provide great wisdom and guidance in helping the Land Center to assist Christians in being the salt and light in society that our Savior has commanded us to be. It will be a great honor to serve with each of them.”

Jack Graham, pastor of Prestonwood Church in Plano and former president of the SBC, and Matt Carter, lead pastor of Sagemont Church in Houston, also are members of the advisory board, along with two individuals on the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention staff—Executive Director Nathan Lorick and SEND Network Director Julio Arrolia.

Two Austin-based advisory board members are J.B. Horton, chief development officer of Texas Public Policy Foundation; and Julie Warren, deputy director of Right on Crime.

Other advisory board members are: Daryl Crouch, founder and executive director of Everyone’s Wilson in Mt. Juliet, Tenn.; Jon Kelly, lead pastor of Chicago West Bible Church; Michael McAffee, president and co-founder of Inspire Experiences in Oklahoma City; Dana Hall McCain, columnist with the Alabama Media Group; Adron Robinson, senior pastor of Hillcrest Baptist Church in Country Club, Ill.; Shannon Royce, president of the Christian Employers Alliance and former director of the Center for Faith and Opportunity Initiatives at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Kevin Smith, teaching pastor of Family Village Church in West Palm Beach, Fla.; Trevin Wax, vice president of research and resource development at the SBC North American Mission Board; David Whitlock, pastor of Lebanon Baptist Church, Lebanon, Ky.; and Jenny Yang, senior vice president of advocacy and policy with World Relief.