Kentucky pastor Kevin Ezell nominated NAMB president

UPDATED, Sept. 1, 4:00 p.m.
PENSACOLA ?Louisville pastor Kevin Ezell has been nominated president of the North American Mission Board, search chairman Ted Traylor told Florida Baptist Witness Aug. 31.

The recommendation of Ezell, senior pastor of Highview Baptist Church in Louisville and immediate past president of the Southern Baptist Pastors' Conference, will be considered Sept. 14 at a special called meeting.

Ezell, 48, is the unanimous choice of the eight-person search committee.

"I am humbled and honored by the search committee's confidence and nomination," Ezell told the Witness on Sept. 1 "I am looking forward to meeting the NAMB trustees and excited about the future possibilities."

Trustee chairman Tim Dowdy, an ex officio member of the search committee, informed NAMB trustees of Ezell's nomination in a letter sent via e-mail the evening of Aug. 31. On Aug. 30, Dowdy announced the special called meeting in an e-mail to trustees.

In the Aug. 31 letter, which Traylor provided to the Witness, Dowdy told trustees Ezell is a "gifted preacher and teacher and a faithful ambassador of the Lord with a passion for reaching the lost and touching the world for Jesus Christ. His own family embodies this commitment as Kevin and his wife of almost 25 years, Lynette, have three natural children and three adopted children from three different countries: Ethiopia, China, and the Philippines."

Dowdy, pastor of Eagle's Landing First Baptist Church in McDonough, Ga., noted Ezell has led his current church to grow to 6,000 members since becoming pastor in 1996 "when he stepped into a difficult situation to rebuild consensus and lead the church to flourish."

In the last three years Highview's membership has increased by more than 1,000, Dowdy said, "while the church's investment in missions reached $1.2 million in 2009."

Under Ezell's leadership, the congregation has grown to seven campuses spread across metropolitan Louisville, including southern Indiana.

According to Dowdy, Ezell's previous pastorates in Illinois, Tennessee and Texas all experienced significant growth.

Traylor, senior pastor of Olive Baptist Church in Pensacola, said in the letter, "Kevin Ezell is a warm, personable leader who can make difficult choices in leading an organization to be laser-focused on the mission at hand."

Ezell's "communication and organizational skills" are cause for excitement for NAMB's future, Traylor added.

"His family commitment to international adoption will be an inspiration to all Southern Baptists," Traylor said of Ezell. "He has led Highview Baptist Church, a multi-campus ministry, with 12 percent of their budget being given to Southern Baptist causes. He is a loyal missions supporter."

Traylor expressed "great joy" that Ezell was unanimously chosen by the search committee.

Ezell's nomination drew praise from the current president of the Southern Baptist Convention, as well as one of his predecessors.

"It is with great joy and excitement to hear the good news that Kevin Ezell is the unanimous choice of the search committee for the president of NAMB," said SBC President Bryant Wright in the letter.

"[Ezell] is a gifted leader, and so much of the convention was able to see what a great job he did of leading the pastor's conference in Orlando in June," he added.

Wright, pastor of Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in suburban Atlanta, urged prayer for Ezell "as God prepares him for this new calling of key leadership for Southern Baptists as we seek to fulfill Christ's Great Commission."

Former SBC President James Merritt "joyfully and enthusiastically endorsed" Ezell.

"I have known Kevin for many years and have long admired his outstanding leadership skills, his pastor's heart, his ability to work with people, and the tremendous love he has for the Southern Baptist Convention," said Merritt, pastor of Cross Pointe Church, in Duluth, Ga.

Calling him an "outstanding selection," Merritt said Ezell's "unique set of personality traits, leadership abilities, and an understanding of twenty-first century evangelism in a changing culture, I think, give him tremendous qualifications to take the North American Mission Board to newer and higher levels of reaching this country for Christ."

The letter notes that both Wright and Merritt were references for Ezell.

Danny Akin, president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C., and David Dockery, president of Union University in Jackson, Tenn., also were quoted in the letter as references who supported Ezell's nomination.

"This is a great day for NAMB. It is a great day for the SBC," said Akin, who was a member of Highview for almost eight years of Ezell's tenure as pastor.

Dockery said of Ezell, a member of his school's Board of Reference, "is an exemplary pastor, a serious and faithful student of Scripture, and dedicated Christ-follower."

Dowdy told fellow trustees more information about Ezell will be provided before the Sept. 14 meeting.

Traylor told the Witness the search committee finalized its decision on Aug. 30. There were at least five "face to face major" meetings of the committee, as well as several conference calls, he said.

The committee considered about 20 recommendations for president, "a surprisingly short list," Traylor said, noting his group also looked "outside of the recommendations that came to us."

Traylor declined to say how many finalists were considered, only noting the committee "interviewed several candidates."

Ezell's church ? with multiple campuses in two states ? has a complicated missions giving profile.
Information from the 2009 Annual Church Profile for Highview Baptist Church lists 121 baptisms and primary worship service attendance of 3260. The church has 7721 total members and 4740 resident members, it reported in the ACP. Highview gave $140,100, or 2.23 percent, through the Cooperative Program from total undesignated receipts of $6,270,057.

According to a report from the State Convention of Baptists in Indiana, Highview contributed $140,100.04 to CP through SCBI in 2009, making it the largest CP giving church in total giving. Highview has "church at large" status in the SCBI. One of the church's seven campuses is in Southern Indiana.

Highview also gave through the Kentucky Baptist Convention, according to a KBC report. During 2009-2010, the church contributed $10,000 through the Cooperative Program and $8,784 to the Annie Armstrong Offering.

According to Highview's ACP, in 2009 the church gave $50,000 to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions and $10,000 to the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American Missions, with total missions expenditures of $1,350,107.

Highview's missions giving goal for 2010, according to its website, is $1.3 million, with $400,000 for Cooperative Program, $100,000 for Lottie Moon, and $10,000 for Annie Armstrong. The "Million for Missions" program also has a goal of $582,000 for local missions, including $340,000 for four campus missions, $145,000 for a "mentoring/intern program" at Southern Seminary, and $1,200 for the Long Run Baptist Association in Louisville, Ky. The website notes, "Actual expenditures will be determined by offerings to Mission to Missions."

A native of Paducah, Ky., Ezell was born in Germany during his father's service in the U.S. Air Force.
Ezell has served on the board of trustees of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Mo., including as its chairman, and currently serves on the Advisory Board of Boyce College, the undergraduate school of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, as well as Union's Board of Reference.

He earned a bachelor of science degree from Union Univer