So today I’m announcing a big new change my life and in the life of our family. I’ve stepped down as Senior Pastor of Gages Lake Bible Church and have accepted a position with the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention as Vice President of Communications. To make your life easier, let’s just call it ERLC.
This is a decision I did not take lightly. For one thing, I dearly love the good people at Gages Lake Bible Church. I’ve been privileged to serve there for five years and have formed deep and lasting friendships. We were prepared to continue serving there for a good long time. But alas, God’s plans are higher than ours. Tomorrow I will share about our experience at Gages Lake.
Today I want to talk about serving at the ERLC. In July, Dr. Russell Moore, the new President, reached out to me about serving on his team. After much prayer and counsel, God led Angela and I through the decision to go to Nashville.
I have long admired Dr. Moore. As a pastor, I learned much from his teaching and preaching that has impacted my life and ministry. I’ve been particularly impressed by his application of Scripture to big cultural questions. His tone of “convictional kindness” is one our generation of the Church needs as it assesses it’s role in an increasingly post-Christian age. He is a first-rate preacher, scholar, and ethicist and to join him in serving Southern Baptists and the wider evangelical world is an honor.
My role will be Vice-President of Communications. This will be a great and fun challenge. We have great talent on our team, with folks like Andrew Walker, Daniel Patterson, Philip Bethancourt, Barrett Duke, Trillia Newbell, Joe Carter and others. Our job is to craft a 21st century communications strategy that helps equip the Church to live out the gospel.
So this is a big life-change for our family as we move to Nashville from Chicago, a city I have known and loved for all of my 35 years. For Angela, this is a chance to return to her roots below the Mason-Dixon line. For me, an opportunity to embrace a new city and make new friends. We look forward to what God will do in us and through us in this next season of life.