IMB presidential search committee head assures trustees: We are determined.

RICHMOND, Va.  Chuck Pourciau of Shreveport, La., chair of the International Mission Board presidential search committee, told IMB trustees meeting Sept. 27 that the process of finding the organization’s next president had not been “a straight line.”

Pourciau noted that the 16-member committee began work March 1 with a “timeline, a plan,” to take them from point A to point D. Point A would involve listening to Southern Baptists for six to eight weeks, then praying and determining “what we need in our next president before moving on to who we need.” Point B would be the receiving of nominations from Southern Baptists around the world, with point C consisting of evaluating and corresponding with nominees. Finally, point D would be the presentation of a candidate at the September trustees’ meeting.

“Point D is not in September,” Pourciau said.

Instead, Clyde Meador was installed as interim IMB president in September. Meanwhile, Pourciau asked his fellow trustees for prayer.

“We did not present to you a permanent president in September. We are asking you to pray with us that [the presentation of a candidate] will be in November,” Pourciau told trustees.

Emphasizing the importance of the “right destination” rather than the journey, Pourciau told trustees that the search committee had added a fast day to their prayers and invited the board to pray and fast every Tuesday for the search.

“We anticipate that God is going to speak to us through that,” Pourciau said, adding that recommendations and advice could still be submitted to IMBsearch@broadmoor.tv.

“We are determined, as your brothers and sisters in Christ who want the same thing you want, to travel whatever path we have to travel to arrive at the right destination, and we’re convinced beyond any doubt that we will,” Pourciau said.

The presidential search committee headed by Pourciau and vice-chair Andy Davis of Durham, N.C., includes David Sills, Louisville, Ky.; Lisa Lovell, Fayetteville, Ark.; Ken McLemore, Hampton, Va.; Nancy Patrick, Hershey, Pa.; Will Payne, Syracuse, N.Y.; Seth Polk, Cross Lanes, W.V.; Bill Ricketts, Athens, Ga.; Tim Simpson, Clarksburg, Md.; Cindy Snead, Phoenix, Ariz.; Derek Spain, Dacula, Ga.; Susan Bryant, Waddy, Ky.; Rick Dunbar, Madison, Miss.; and Robert Welch, Brownsboro, Texas. Duane Ostrem, an IMB field leader, is a non-voting member providing perspective from the mission field.