Nashville, Tenn. | The search team for SBC Executive Committee (EC) announced they have a candidate for President and CEO for the denomination’s hub organization—but they won’t release the name until Feb. 18, when he will be introduced to the EC Trustees just ahead of their meeting. A name is being floated in the blogosphere, but there has been no official release or other reliable sources in the reporting yet.
The nominee was selected from among 30 candidates, according to search team chair Neal Hughes of Montgomery, Alabama. He said 60 reference checks about the candidate were conducted.
“In doing due diligence, we gathered references from over 60 people from every walk of SBC life, including a full review of primary, secondary, and tertiary references,” Hughes wrote in a statement to EC Trustees that was released by the denomination. “In accordance with the Executive Committee’s newly adopted hiring guidelines, we completed an extensive list of checks and tests.”
The probable nomination comes after the failed vote on the first nominee, Texas pastor Jared Wellman, in May, on a vote of 50-31. Opponents criticized a process that allowed a previous ex officio member of the search committee to become the nominee. Then in August, interim EC CEO Willie McLaurin resigned just as his name was to be presented as nominee for the post permanently. Although a popular candidate after a year in the position, vetting for McLaurin’s candidacy revealed that he had inflated his resume with false degrees and schooling.
McLaurin had served as interim CEO following the October 2021 resignation of Ronnie Floyd, after criticism of the EC’s handling of sexual abuse claims in the SBC and treatment of abuse survivors.
Jonathan Howe, an EC vice president who leads communications for the denomination, including Baptist Press, has served as interim CEO since McLaurin’s resignation, although current EC Board chair Phil Robertson tried to bring a candidate to replace Howe in the interim capacity after Howe had been on the job for a month. That candidate withdrew unexpectedly, the night before a vote was scheduled.
The full meeting of the EC Trustees is scheduled for February 19-20.