By Staff, Baptist Message
RIDGECREST, N.C. (LBM) – Trustees of the International Mission Board have agreed to a request from David Platt to join the staff of a Northern Virginia congregation as teaching pastor, while also serving as president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s overseas mission entity headquartered in Richmond.
Julie McGowan, IMB’s public relations leader, wrote Sept. 14, that trustee chairman Hance Dilbeck presented the information during the recently completed trustee meeting in Ridgecrest, N.C., for approval as part of the minutes from an Aug. 24 IMB trustee executive committee meeting.
According to McGowan, during the August meeting, the executive committee of the IMB trustees agreed to evaluate Platt’s involvement at McLean Bible Church “during a provisional period over the coming months.”
“‘Our president, Dr. David Platt, has expressed a deep sense of calling to serve as teaching pastor of McLean Bible Church while also continuing to lead the International Mission Board,’ Dilbeck, senior pastor of Quail Springs Baptist Church in Oklahoma City, said. ‘We respect Dr. Platt and his sense of the Lord’s leading; and we recognize our responsibility to hold him accountable for his work leading the International Mission Board. Over the coming months, while Dr. Platt serves as teaching pastor for McLean Bible Church, the trustees of the International Mission Board will evaluate Dr. Platt’s fulfillment of his responsibilities as IMB president. Trustees also will evaluate McLean’s level of partnership with the Southern Baptist Convention. We plan to revisit this matter in our February trustee meeting.’”
The IMB staff has posted questions and answers at imb.org/faq regarding Platt’s reasoning for seeking this church staff role. The information states Platt will “not receive a salary for his role at MBC” and that he will “not be involved in overall day-to-day leadership in the church,” which is about two hours by car from his home in Richmond.
“While Dr. Platt is committed to serving many local churches, he fully believes in the biblical importance of membership in one local church,” according to the website statement. “Upon becoming president of IMB, Dr. Platt and IMB trustees mutually agreed that in light of the age and stage of his family and the amount of travel he would do domestically and internationally during the week, it would be a good, wise, and right use of his time to be with his family on weekends serving in one local Southern Baptist church. Therefore, since stepping into his role as president, Dr. Platt has been home with his family serving in a local Southern Baptist church approximately 65 [percent] of his weekends. On the remaining 35 [percent] of his weekends, he has traveled domestically and internationally carrying out IMB responsibilities and preaching in Southern Baptist churches. Dr. Platt travels extensively during the week in his role as IMB president.
“As Teaching Pastor at MBC, Dr. Platt would continue the pattern of being with his family in this local church approximately 65 [percent] of his weekends,” the statement adds. “He also will continue to spend 35 [percent] of his weekends traveling domestically and internationally carrying out IMB responsibilities and preaching in Southern Baptist churches, in addition to his extensive travel during the week.”
Based on a release by Julie McGowan, IMB public relations leader, and statements on IMB.org.
