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Chitwood Approved As New KBC Executive Director
06/02/2011
LOUISVILLE – The Kentucky Baptist Convention Mission Board today approved Paul Chitwood as the convention’s new executive director/treasurer. He will assume those duties July 1.
The vote was taken at a special meeting of the mission board held at the Kentucky Baptist Building in Louisville. The vote was 88-7 in favor of election with one ballot disqualified.
Pastor of First Baptist Church of Mt. Washington, Chitwood, 41, fills the position vacated by Bill Mackey who retired May 31 after 13 years in the role. A native of Lafollette, Tenn., Chitwood has led the Bullitt County congregation since 2003.
"We wanted character," said Paul Badgett, chairman of the 15-member search committee that made the recommendation May 12.
"We wanted someone with the right chemistry, someone who could relate to all Kentucky Baptists, and we wanted competence," added Badgett, pastor of First Baptist Church of Pikeville.
KBC President Floyd Paris, a member of the search committee, said the panel "interviewed a lot of great guys. Any one of them could have done a good job, but we weren’t asked to find someone to do a good job. We were asked to find the one the Holy Spirit had set apart. That’s a different question."
Chitwood and his family were introduced to the mission board and guests. He and his wife, Michelle, have three children: Daniel, 14; Anna, 12; and Cai, 4.
In a brief statement and several follow-up questions, Chitwood said he sees the role of KBC executive director as "being a pastor to pastors," and a "cheerleader to our brothers and sisters on the front line" of ministry.
As executive director, he said he would also "press our staff, myself and pastors" to start new churches across Kentucky.
Chitwood said he believes the Kentucky Baptist Convention should be a "big-tent convention" that has room for Baptist churches that may have different nuances of theological belief.
He extended the metaphor by describing the four "stakes" required to hold up the tent: "a high view of Scripture," the Baptist Faith and Message and other traditionally accepted Baptist statements of faith, a spirit of cooperation and a commitment to the Great Commission, which instructs believers to share the gospel message everywhere.
"With those four stakes, the Kentucky Baptist Convention can be a big tent that honors God," Chitwood said.
In discussion, board members questioned why Chitwood, who was originally a member of the search committee, was considered for the position.
"Paul originally did not see himself … as a candidate," explained Don Mathis, the past president of the KBC tasked with forming the committee. Chitwood "did not at any point decide to be a candidate until after he had been asked by numerous members of the search committee."
Mathis said several committee members were asking among themselves, "Why is the obvious candidate on the committee?"
He also said that additional candidates were interviewed even after Chitwood agreed to be considered for the post.
"This was not a one-and-done interview," Paris said, noting that candidate Chitwood came before the panel three times before they made their recommendation.
Prior to serving as pastor in Mt. Washington, Chitwood previously he served pastorates at First Baptist Church of Somerset (1999-2003), First Baptist Church of Owenton (1995-99), and South Fork Baptist Church in Owenton (1993-95).
He served as KBC president in 2005-06 after having served as first vice president in 2003-04. He was president of the Kentucky Baptist Convention Pastors’ Conference in 2002.
He was also a member of the special study committee that led to the development of the KBC’s Kentucky Baptists Connect goals in 2002-03 and then served on the Mission Advisory Committee related to those goals from 2004-09.
He was chairman of the board for the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention from 2008-10 as the IMB launched a global reorganization.
Currently he is a trustee and adjunct professor of missions and evangelism at University of the Cumberlands, a Kentucky Baptist university in Williamsburg where he received a Bachelor of Science degree. Chitwood also is assistant professor of evangelism and church growth at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville from which he holds a Master of Divinity and Ph.D. degrees.
Prior to the vote, Chitwood told mission board members that, if elected, he would resign his teaching positions.
He is the fifth man to serve as KBC executive director in the past 50 years. Previous leaders include Bill Mackey (1998-2011), William Marshall (1983-1997), Franklin Owen (1972-1983), and Harold Sanders (1961-72).
The Kentucky Baptist Convention is a cooperative missions and ministry organization made up of nearly 2.400 autonomous Baptist churches in Kentucky. A variety of state and worldwide ministries are coordinated through its administrative offices in Louisville, including: missions work, disaster relief, ministry training and support, church development, evangelism and more. For more, find us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
by Dannah Prather, KBC marketing/media relations associate
