Kevin Ezell currently serves as the newly appointed President of the North American Mission Board. Born in Germany (where his father served in the Air Force), Kevin was raised in Paducah, KY, where he graduated from Lone Oak High School. From there, he went on to obtain a bachelor of science degree from Union University in Jackson, TN, an M.Div from the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a D.min from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Kevin’s call to ministry began with an opportunity to use his talent on the tennis court as an opportunity to attend Union University on scholarship. During this time, he was always known as a “cut-up” and a people person, but even more as a young man who really loved people and who was serious about doing ministry. Since that time, Ezell’s reputation as a “cut-up” hasn’t subsided, but has actually served greatly to his advantage in numerous ministry and leadership venues. Prior to his nomination at NAMB, Ezell served faithfully as a Southern Baptist pastor. His first pastorate was at Hilltop Baptist Church in Fort Worth, TX where, he will tell you, he received his “first and only unanimous vote…seven to nothing.” After that, he went on to serve as pastor of First Baptist Church of Hartsville, TN from 1989-1991, of First Baptist Church of Marion, IL from 1991-96, and then of Highview Baptist Church in Louisville, KY from 1996 to September 2010 during which time Highview grew to seven campuses, in two states, in different counties. In addition to serving as a pastor, Dr. Ezell has also been highly engaged in denominational life serving as Chairman of the Nominating Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention, as Chairman of the Board of Trustees at Midwestern Seminary in Kansas City, on the Board of Reference at Union University (his alma mater), on the Advisory Council at Boyce College (a school of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary), and as President of the 2010 SBC Pastor’s Conference.
Kevin is a pastor’s pastor. During his time as a pastor, he has devoted a significant amount of time and energy to investing in the lives of pastors of all ages. He has always exhibited a burning heart for seeing young men called, trained, and launched into full-time ministry. As a result, dozens of young men (including more than a couple B21 contributors) have been sent out to preach the Gospel all over the world. While Kevin is widely regarded as one of the most effective leaders in the SBC, his most important leadership venue is his home. He and his wife Lynette have six children: Anna (21), Shelly (19), Taylor (15), John Michael (13), Libby (9), and Micah Lyn (6), We are thrilled to have Dr. Ezell joining us on the panel for the B21@SBC event. His is both a voice you need to hear and an example you need to see.
About the B21 Panel SBC2011:
When: June 14th, during the SBC lunch break (roughly 12pm-1pm)
Where: Phoenix Convention Center (PCC), West Building in Room 301A
What: A lunch panel discussion on Mission, the SBC, and more…
Who: Danny Akin, Kevin Ezell, Albert Mohler, John Piper, and David Platt
Registration Details:
- General Registration (April 26th – June 10th) – $15
Note: This $15 will include a lunch. We understand that $15 may seem high, but it is an average price at convention centers. We are not doing this to make money. In fact, we are attempting to raise money with sponsors to keep the cost at $15. Lunch in Phoenix downtown area will be costly, why not spend the time at a lunch listening to men like John Piper and David Platt talk about critical issues for the church. Thanks for considering this and we hope to see you there!!
B21 would like to make our readers aware of a conference on the Gospel and Arts in the Culture. This conference will be hosted at Vision Church in Raleigh, NC.
What: Conference and Concert on The Gospel and Arts in the Culture
Where: Vision Church
When: June 18th 10am, Concert 7pm.
Speakers: Sho Baraka, Jerome Gay, Jerry Blackwell, and Wilkins Joseph
Cost: $15
B21 is honored to once again have Dr. David Platt on our panel at the SBC 2011. Platt is husband to Heather, father to Caleb and Joshua, and Pastor of the Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, AL. He is a gifted expositor and devoted student of the Scriptures. His passion for the Word and commitment to reaching the lost and making disciples is evident in both his sermons and his life. He is leading his church to surrender their lives to God to accomplish the Great Commission and impact the world. In addition to being a pastor and preaching at numerous conferences, Platt spends a significant amount of time each year oversees taking the Gospel to unreached peoples, with an emphasis on training and equipping students, missionaries and pastors all over the world.
Platt is the author of the bestselling book Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream, and recently released Radical Together: Unleashing the People of God for the Purpose of God. He also has provided Christians with a tremendous resource in Disciple Making International (http://www.disciplemakingintl.org). DMI provides sermons, study guides, and materials from Secret Church (a stout six-hour theology course) as well as many other resources to equip and encourage churches all over the world. We encourage you to utilize the resources of DMI, as well as attend the panel this summer in Phoenix to hear what Platt and the other men on the panel have to teach us about living on mission.
About the B21 Panel SBC2011:
When: June 14th, during the SBC lunch break (roughly 12pm-1pm)
Where: Phoenix Convention Center (PCC), West Building in Room 301A
What: A lunch panel discussion on Mission, the SBC, and more…
Who: Danny Akin, Kevin Ezell, Albert Mohler, John Piper, and David Platt
Registration Details:
- General Registration (April 26th – June 10th) – $15
Note: This $15 will include a lunch. We understand that $15 may seem high, but it is an average price at convention centers. We are not doing this to make money. In fact, we are attempting to raise money with sponsors to keep the cost at $15. Lunch in Phoenix downtown area will be costly, why not spend the time at a lunch listening to men like John Piper and David Platt talk about critical issues for the church. Thanks for considering this and we hope to see you there!!
B21 is very excited about the direction of the North American Mission Board under the leadership of President Kevin Ezell (who will also be joining the B21 lunch panel on Tuesday of the Convention, Register for that HERE). Ezell has introduced the strategy entitled “Send North America” that will be a major church planting push from NAMB. NAMB is putting on a lunch panel to discuss this strategy and how churches can get involved. If you are going to be in Phoenix for the SBC, please make every effort to attend this meeting.
Details:
What: NAMB’s Send North America Luncheon
When: Monday, June 13, 2011 – lunch at noon (Doors open at 11:30am)
Where: Phoenix Convention Center room 122B (during the Monday lunch of the Southern Baptist Convention)
Speakers: Kevin Ezell and Ed Stetzer
Cost: $7 online ($10 in room 122B at Conventon Center if space is available)
Contact: SNAluncheon@namb.net or call us at 770-410-6380
On May 16th Emir Caner, President of Truett-McConnell College, tweeted, “The military discovered a large stash of pornography in bin Laden’s compound. I was unaware that Islam had its own Acts 29 Network.”
This tweet created quite a storm on Twitter with many calling for Caner to apologize for slandering other brothers in Christ (including Justin Taylor at The Gospel Coalition blog).
Dr. Caner has removed the tweet and made this statement about it, “I have come to realize over the past few days that Driscoll’s vulgarity is far too serious an issue to simply put out a satirical tweet. While it is easy to find Driscoll crossing the line (see articles by John MacArthur and Cathy Mickels) it should not be likewise with me, and for that I apologize.”
I have known Dr. Caner for a long time. I love him and have learned from him, but sadly, I found Dr. Caner’s tweet shameful and his apology inadequate, as it did not address the real issue on the table.
There are many possible items to discuss with regard to this situation but space will not allow them. Chief among my complaints would be that the Acts 29 Network is a growing and diverse body of churches that is by no means monolithic. To smear Acts 29 because you feel like one pastor or church in that Network has done something you disagree with is like condemning all Southern Baptists because one SBC pastor has an affair.
My intention with this post is not to stir up more controversy or dissect Caner’s apology, but rather I want to simply reflect on this fiasco and what it’s taught me about life and ministry in the SBC.
1. Will the SBC continue to divide sins into lists of respectable and unrespectable?
We like to hold our double-standards. Talking too bluntly (vulgarly?) about sex in a sermon is over-the-line and needs to be called out publicly, but deceptive “hyperbole” in a sermon can go without being called out? Is unrepentant, prideful judgmentalism a sin that we are happy to overlook, but vulgarity is not?
My prayer is that we will not look with disdain on sins that we see in others while continuing to give ourselves passes for the sins we struggle with…and that leads to my second reflection.
2. When will the SBC view confession and repentance the way that God views it?
Why is it that we want to continue to attack someone for a past fault when they have repented of that fault publicly and made steps to rectify them?
Caner wants to criticize Driscoll’s vulgarity. Driscoll has admitted publicly that there are times that he’s crossed the line. He has repented, and he has taken content down.
“…I received two emails from an older pastor whom I respect very much. In love, he brought to my attention a piece of content from me online that some of my critics have picked up on. It was a message I did out of the country a few years back on the more controversial sections of the Song of Songs…Allegedly, some of my critics were concerned by the older content, and I think there is wisdom in some of their concerns. So we have pulled that content…I want to thank my critics for teaching me that I have multiple audiences and that in addition to the room I speak to I am often also speaking to the world and need to keep repenting, learning, and growing in this skill for the sake of the gospel. In that way, my critics are helpful, and for them I am grateful.”
Baptist21 was started in part because we want to see gospel-centrality permeate the SBC. Part of gospel-centrality is recognizing that we are all in need of the grace of the gospel not just for justification, but also for sanctification. The Christian pilgrim makes progress down the road of holiness through confession and repentance.
Our prayer for the SBC is that we will look upon humble repentance, contrition and confession in the way God does and forgive it. Our prayer for the SBC is that it will be a convention of churches where we are all humble enough to be open to correction and willing to repent when faced with our sin.
That is mainly what I hope to take away from this. I am an arrogant sinner who easily gravitates towards judgmentalism, arrogance, pride and more. When I am confronted with a sin, even when it is done lovingly, I bow up and harden my heart. My prayer is that God will give me the grace to respond to correction with contrition and also to extend grace to the contrite.
I am grateful for every example of that kind of life, even when it comes from a pastor outside of the SBC.
