Last month the IBSA Board of Directors’ Executive Director Search Committee completed an eight-month process of considering the future needs of the IBSA organization, and screening and interviewing candidates to succeed me in the role of Executive Director. I’ve been praying for them throughout that time, as I’m sure many others have.
On December 9, the full board then elected Dr. Scott Foshie, who has already been serving on our IBSA staff, and who has also served as a local associational leader and as pastor of Steeleville Baptist Church. While I would have celebrated and supported whomever the board elected, I’m especially pleased to have a close friend and brother stepping into this role, and one who is already well-acquainted with the organization’s mission, values, strategies, and challenges as he leads our network into its next chapter.
Scott will serve as “Executive Director Elect” from January through March, and then fully assume the Executive Director role when I retire April 1, a date I chose in memory of my dad, Tom Adams, who went home to be with the Lord 20 years ago on that day.
So, for the next three months, Scott and I will work together on orientation and onboarding, while also double-teaming multiple issues and decisions. I know we both would appreciate the prayers of Illinois Baptist pastors and church members. In addition, let me also ask you to consider supporting Scott in three specific ways as he begins.
1. Invite him. Invite him to your church, or out to lunch, or to the next meeting of pastors or leaders in your area. Scott is already well-known and well-traveled in Illinois, having moved here from Tennessee in 2015 and having now consulted with many churches and associations in revitalization. Still, after almost 20 years in the role, I continue to meet new pastors and leaders every month. It takes years to get to know hundreds of churches and thousands of church members, many of whom change over time. The ones Scott will know best are the ones who invite him for some personal, face-to-face time.
2. Speak candidly with him. Tell him where your church is hurting, or where you are hurting personally. Share with him any questions or concerns you may have about the Southern Baptist Convention, or about our network of churches here in Illinois. Tell him what kind of assistance your church or its leaders need. Tell him how IBSA has helped you the most in the past. Tell him what it would take for your church to partner more strongly with other churches across the state. Tell him the truth, not as a complaint, or even just as a compliment, but as a first step toward stronger partnership in the gospel.
3. Please encourage him. Challenges and frustrations come with any leadership role, and especially in ministry leadership. I have often described our churches’ mission of sharing the gospel and a biblical worldview in a large, northern state like Illinois as an uphill climb. And sometimes, even within our family of churches, there are diverse perspectives and multiple opinions about how best to proceed.
Scott will need your encouragement because he is not just his position, he is a person. Like all of us who have held this position before him, he is an imperfect person, doing the best he can to follow the Lord’s leadership amidst many competing needs and expectations. So please, pray for him. Invite him. Speak candidly with him. Then encourage him in the work of the gospel, knowing that you may be one of the few who has remembered to do so that week.
Nate Adams is executive director of the Illinois Baptist State Association. Respond at IllinoisBaptist@IBSA.org.