GuideStone’s Summit 2025 equips church leaders to navigate change, legal challenges, burnout

By Roy Hayhurst, GuideStone

FRISCO, Texas — Being fully present and committed to their roles is a key antidote to burnout, according to speakers at The Summit, Powered by GuideStone Financial Resources. This was one of several topics covered during the annual conference held last week in North Texas.

More than 200 church and ministry business leaders representing more than 100 churches and ministries attended the two-day conference, hearing from law, human resources, accounting, finance and leadership experts.

“The antidote to exhaustion isn’t rest,” author and consultant Tod Bolsinger said. “It’s wholeheartedness. Half here will kill you after a while.”

Author Ryan Leak challenged leaders to embrace risk.

“There is no version of leadership that isn’t risky,” Leak said. “The question isn’t whether it’s risky — it’s whether it’s worth it.”

GuideStone President Hance Dilbeck drew from Psalm 78:70-72 to point to the challenges leaders face and the necessity to be effective and caring leaders.

“Leadership in the Kingdom is a mystery,” Dilbeck said. “God chose David. He brought David. He raised him up. Leaders are servants, stewards and shepherds. It’s not about owning the flock — it’s about guiding God’s inheritance.”

Legal and accounting issues took center stage in addition to leadership encouragement. Texas-based attorney and CPA team Frank and Elaine Sommerville addressed attendees in both keynote and breakout sessions.

“What if we treated our staff not just as employees, but as disciples,” Frank Sommerville told attendees during a human resources law and regulations session. “It would change the culture of our church.”

Elaine Sommerville warned attendees about the risks associated with private benefits and inurement for church workers.

“The church is not a tool to enrich insiders,” she said. “Private benefit and inurement are automatic revocation issues. You can’t ignore them. Rest assured — the IRS doesn’t care if your pastor’s book is good theology. If it benefits them personally, that’s inurement unless it’s properly structured.”

In the closing keynote session, author and speaker Jason Young encouraged attendees not to burn out but to “burn bright.”

“Rest isn’t a reward,” Young said. “It’s a discipline. If you’re going to help people be healthy, you have to be healthy yourself. Burnout isn’t a badge of honor. It’s a signal you’ve been running on fumes too long without replenishing your soul.

“Boundaries don’t block your calling — they protect it.”

Next year’s Summit is set for April 19-21, 2026, and will again be held in Frisco, Texas, north of Dallas.

SEBTS announces changes to M.Div.

By SEBTS Staff

WAKE FOREST, N.C. — In its April 15 meeting, the Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary’s Board of Trustees unanimously approved changes to the M.Div. core, along with changes to the Master of Arts (MA) core and other curricular revisions.

The new MDiv core includes the following revisions:

• Prioritizing Scripture: Southeastern’s biblical exposition and biblical studies classes already include a heavy emphasis on hermeneutics, the study of the proper interpretation of the Bible. Now, the new M.Div. core includes hermeneutics as a stand-alone class, providing students with an even deeper foundation in biblical interpretation.
• Integrating evangelism and discipleship: In the Great Commission Jesus pairs evangelism with discipleship: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19a). The new M.Div. core combines evangelism and personal discipleship and disciple making into one course, giving students a greater understanding of how evangelism and discipleship complement each other. These changes equip students to integrate them in their own ministries.
• Adding an elective to the core: The new M.Div. includes an extra elective within the core, so students can customize their degree with a course that fits their unique interests and ministry needs.

“As the cultural landscape shifts, Southeastern remains rooted in the infallible, inerrant, all-sufficient word of God,” said Southeastern President Danny Akin. “Our new M.Div. core reflects this commitment, and this love for the Scriptures drives our Great Commission focus.”

Provost Scott Pace concurred, highlighting the importance of the Scriptures to students’ ministry preparations. “Southeastern’s updated M.Div. will prepare students for a lifetime of Great Commission ministry. These revisions demonstrate our unwavering commitment to the Scriptures as the foundation for every field of study to equip students for every field of ministry.”

Southeastern M.Div. students will still be able to select a 12-hour specialization of their choosing. These changes to the core increase the Southeastern M.Div. from 82 hours to 84 hours.

“The revised M.Div. is also designed to train students to navigate contemporary dynamics of local church ministry with added curricular flexibility,” Pace added. “Combining the updated core with their preferred specialization allows students to tailor their M.Div. degree according to God’s calling on their lives.”

The Board of Trustees also approved comparable changes to the M.A. core. Much like the M.Div., the new M.A. core adds a hermeneutics course and features the new integrated evangelism and discipleship course. In addition, a Christian missions course has been added to the M.A. core, increasing the M.A. core from 37 to 39 hours.

In these changes, Southeastern’s Great Commission focus remains the same. “What I think makes Southeastern’s MDiv program stand out is that we approach the M.Div. under the umbrella of the Great Commission,” said Akin. “The Great Commission is King Jesus’s final marching orders for the church, and because we are servants of the Church, we design our M.Div. program to help students grow in obedience and commitment to the Great Commission. The M.Div. at Southeastern is not an end in itself; it is a means to fulfilling the Great Commission.”

To learn more about the M.Div. and M.A. at Southeastern Seminary and how you can be equipped to serve the church and fulfill the Great Commission, visit sebts.edu/degrees.