Posted on September 30, 2008, by Marv Knox to his FaithWorks blog on the Baptist Standard Web site (www.baptiststandard.com)
Steve Vernon is a great pick for associate executive director of the BGCT Executive Board.
The BGCT Executive Board has selected Steve Vernon to become the board’s associate executive director, serving alongside new Executive Director Randel Everett. This is a great move.
Vernon has been pastor of First Baptist Church in Levelland for 17½ years. He’s also been president and vice president of the BGCT. He’ll do a terrific job in his new role.
Balanced roles
In nominating Vernon, Everett drew chuckles from the board after noting he sensed divine direction to choose Vernon because the West Texas pastor casually noted he “likes committee work.” Funny line. But it’s also a great insight into the Executive Board’s top two staff leaders.
Everett is an idea guy. He started his new job last spring with a bang by announcing Texas Hope 2010, a monumental plan to share the gospel with every Texan and to make sure no Texan goes hungry by Easter 2010. That’s Everett’s forte—helping Texas Baptists think big and dream God‑sized visions for our life and work together.
Everett also is a people person. He’s off to a fast start in his young tenure, traveling the state and meeting Texas Baptists. Speaking in our churches. Drinking coffee with laypeople and ministers alike. Visiting our institutions. Scoping ministry needs and possibilities. These are exactly the kinds of tasks he needs to be doing.
But you can’t provide specific, day-to-day leadership of a large and complex organization and simultaneously travel all over the state. And it’s hard to carve out the time to dream and ruminate on potential and possibilities if you’re bogged down in minutiae of staff moves, budgets, and “committee work.”
So a leader like Everett needs someone to lead out in details, to secure implementation of programs, to sweat the details. Everett wisely knows this, and he made a terrific decision to select Vernon. As he described their working relationship, “I’ll focus on strategy, and Steve will focus on tactics.”
True-blue Texas Baptist
Vernon knows Texas Baptists inside-out. After a year as vice president and a year as president of the convention, he’s seen the BGCT firsthand and up-close. More than perhaps any convention president and/or vice president, he made an effort to attend all kinds of meetings and meet with the vast variety of Texas Baptist constituencies.
He’s been to all these places and knows Texas Baptists and the convention so well for a simple reason: He loves our convention, which means he loves our people—laity, pastors and ministry staff, institutional employees, directors of missions, Executive Board staff. Everybody. He’s intentionally inclusive, warm and loving.
Great for the job
Vernon is thoughtful, creative, energetic, faithful, kind, compassionate, and full of integrity. He’s the real deal, and he will raise the bar for strengthening the convention—not only the work of the Executive Board, but also the churches, associations, and institutions.
Oh, and another thing. He’s funny. His sense of humor will serve him—and all Texas Baptists who will work alongside him—well in days of transition, challenge, and opportunity.
Thank God for Everett’s good decision, and pray for Steve and Donna Vernon as they move from Levelland and their beloved First Baptist Church to Dallas.