Updated June 24, 2019 9:38 a.m.
The presidential search team for LifeWay Christian Resources announced today that it is recommending Ben Mandrell as the new president and CEO. Mandrell, 42, is currently the lead pastor at Storyline Fellowship in Arvada, Colo.
He would succeed Thom Rainer, who retired earlier this year. Brad Waggoner has been the acting president and CEO since March 1. LifeWay’s board of trustees is scheduled to meet on June 28, when they will vote on Mandrell’s nomination.
Ben Mandrell |
“I am so humbled by this incredible opportunity and grateful to be joining the amazing team of creatives at LifeWay,” Mandrell said in a press release. “I can hardly wait to see what God has in store for these coming years.”
Kent Dacus, chairman of the presidential search committee, said the unanimous recommendation followed a 10-month search, during which the team considered a diverse group of candidates.
Dacus said Mandrell “has an incredible passion for the local church and for how LifeWay can help meet its needs. We found a leader who has a focused and compelling vision for the future of LifeWay.”
Mandrell previously served as a collegiate minister and senior pastor of Englewood Baptist Church in Jackson, Tenn. He moved to Colorado in 2014 to start Storyline Fellowship in partnership with Englewood and First Baptist Church in Orlando, Fla. He was featured as a church planter in the North American Mission Board’s 2017 week of prayer, which coincides with the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American missions.
Chuck Lawless, vice president for spiritual formation and ministry centers at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, said, “Ben loves the lord, his family and the local church. He understands the importance of both strong theology and practical relevance. I see him as one of God’s gifts to the SBC, and I could not be more thrilled for the future of LifeWay.”
Southern Baptist Convention President J.D. Greear, pastor of The Summit Church in Durham, N.C., said Mandrell “is the kind of visionary, disruptive leader that LifeWay needs just at this moment.”
Mandrell received a bachelor's degree from Anderson University in Indiana, a master’s degree from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., and a doctoral degree from Union University in Jackson, Tenn. He and his wife, Lynley, have four children.