Between Two Worlds

On July 1, 2006, James Emery White, succeeded Walter Kaiser to become the fourth president of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.

Today, less than one year later, Gordon-Conwell issues the official announcement that Dr. White has resigned.

Effective June 30, 2007, Dr. White will resign "due to family considerations which resulted in his unanticipated inability to relocate as planned from North Carolina to Massachusetts. Dr. White will continue to teach as Professor of Theology and Culture at the Charlotte Campus."

In his place "The Board of Trustees of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary has appointed Dr. Haddon W. Robinson as Interim President, effective July 1, 2007."

The press release says, "The Board of Trustees also announced that they have formed a Presidential Search Committee to seek a permanent president."

I would encourage you to go back and read John Piper's article, Pray for the Seminaries. Oh, what God might be pleased to do in response to a campaign of consistent, hope-filled prayer by ordinary folks like us. I encourage you to considering praying for the seminaries, especially for presidential vacancies. There are few posts more strategic and influential.

In related news, at the end of March Trinity International University/Trinity Evangelical Divinity School made the following announcement:

On Tuesday, March 27, 2007, Trinity President Dr. Greg Waybright accepted the call to serve as senior pastor of Lake Avenue Church in Pasadena, California. He will conclude his time at Trinity and begin his new role at Lake Avenue later this summer. . . .

We will continue to keep you informed throughout this process. We will create a presidential search committee, which may include representation from the Board of Regents, the EFCA Board, faculty, alumni, and others. Please be in prayer for this committee as it assembles and begins to work through the complex process of finding our new president. Visit this page for current updates: www.tiu.edu/president.

. . . Please join me in prayer, for wisdom and discernment in our decision-making and planning and particularly that God would prepare Trinity's next president for this next season.

Note also this press release:

Bethel University President George Brushaber, M.Div., Ph.D., today [May 4, 2007] announced that he will conclude his presidency when his current term expires in June 2008. . . . After Brushaber’s announcement today, the Bethel University Board of Trustees announced the formation of a Presidential Search Committee to lead the process of selecting Bethel’s fifth president. The committee will make a recommendation to the Board of Trustees, and subsequent to their endorsement, the candidate will be presented to the delegates to the biennial meeting of the Bethel Corporation in June 2008 for election.

Gordon-Conwell. Trinity. Bethel. Three of the major seminaries in the US, each of them currently searching for a new president. May God raise up the right men.