Thom Rainer, the newly elected president of LifeWay Christian Resources, sat down with Bob Terry, editor of The Alabama Baptist, after he was officially elected by LifeWay’s board of directors. The following questions and answers come from that interview.
Q: How did you come to know the Lord?
A: I grew up a United Methodist in Union Springs. When I was in the seventh grade, my football coach at Bullock County High School called me into his office and asked if I knew I would go to heaven when I died. That question caused me to think about my relationship with the Lord, and that night, at home, I prayed and asked Jesus into my heart.
I became a Southern Baptist when Nellie Jo and I married. My wife was a Southern Baptist, a member of Golden Springs Baptist Church in Anniston. After we married, we went through a process of evaluating churches and denominations. I bugged Dewey Corder (then pastor of Golden Springs) to death with all my questions, but we decided Southern Baptist is where we wanted to be.
Q: How did the Lord confirm for you and your family this change of direction in your ministry?
A: When I received the written questionnaire from the search committee, I was very uncertain. I did not send back the completed form until next to the last day. My wife had a conviction about this call from the beginning but kept quiet about it so I could work through it myself. I can only explain what happened as the Holy Spirit drawing me to it. By the time of the second contact, I began to be excited about the possibility. When the interview came in August, I was unabashedly enthusiastic. I told the committee that if the Lord led them another way, I would be greatly disappointed.
About 2:30 a.m. the morning after the interview, I got a call telling me to meet committee Chairman Rick Evans (pastor of Dalraida Baptist Church, Montgomery) at a certain place in the Opryland Hotel. They did not tell me why. I must have been a sight after being waked out of a deep sleep, but when Rick told me the committee had unanimously agreed on me, there was no more sleep that night.
Q: How has the Lord prepared you for this position?
A: I do not want to come off as arrogant or boastful. I am uneasy to say I am qualified to lead LifeWay, but there are several points that seem to intersect here. First, I have a pastor’s heart. I was serving as pastor of Green Valley Baptist Church in Birmingham when asked to be the founding dean of the Billy Graham School of Evangelism at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (in Louisville, Ky.). Second is my educational background. LifeWay is a provider of resources and training. That is what I have done as a professor and as dean. I am an author. I have published with Broadman & Holman and with other publishers. That gives me an author’s perspective. Until my election, I headed a consulting service. My firm consulted with more than 500 churches. That provides the insights of an outside consultant. Since taking the position of president of LifeWay, my company has been dissolved. There is no conflict of interest. Also I am a researcher. I study the church and culture and how to more effectively reach people for Christ in our culture. Finally my love of business. Since leaving my position heading corporate lending for SouthTrust Bank in Anniston, I have stayed in touch with trends in business, in management and leadership. I love business.
I am not trying to make a case for the search committee, but that is who I am.
Q: Southern Seminary, where you have served for the past 11 years, is publicly identified with what is commonly known as Calvinism. How will this identity influence your leadership of LifeWay?
A: I am not a five-point Calvinist. In today’s theological climate, I believe it is necessary to declare where I am on that issue. I was well received at Southern Seminary. No one ever expressed concern about my theology. There are some of the more reformed theological faith at Southern, but I do not think the institution is known for advocating Calvinism. No dean at Southern Seminary is a five-point Calvinist.
Q: Multiple conventions in some states indicate Baptists are struggling with identity and diversity. How do you see LifeWay addressing these issues under your leadership?
A: I am clearly a conservative Southern Baptist. I believe the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 is a broad statement that reflects my faith and the faith of the broad majority of Southern Baptists. LifeWay will be closely in line with the Baptist Faith and Message 2000.
I am not supportive of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, but I am not saying LifeWay can’t provide what these churches want. I can reach across to the wide range of churches that are Southern Baptists. Whether any church uses our material will be the church’s decision.
Q: What excites you most about your new position?
A: LifeWay is the largest provider of church resources in the nation, if not the world. There is no place to touch leaders and churches like LifeWay. It is an incredible platform. From here, you have an encompassing touch of the whole of Southern Baptists and the evangelical world. I do not want to be presumptuous on the relationship I have with evangelicals around the world, but they might provide some opportunities. Our first responsibility, however, is to Southern Baptists.
Q: What perils do you see that could hinder accomplishing your goals?
A: The first is true of any entity — that is inward focus. We must be careful to make sure we are looking beyond ourselves. We have to continually ask what is our constituency saying and what is culture saying to us. We must impact culture with the gospel.
I pray we can overcome others by focusing on who we are as Southern Baptists. Can we agree to disagree and move forward? Southern Baptists are people of missions, evangelism and a people of the Word. Where there is a passion for evangelism, it transcends differences. That is what really matters.
Q: Any last word for Alabama Baptists?
A: I am proud to be an Alabamian and an Alabama Baptist. A list of those who impacted my life would take hours. I want Alabama Baptists to know that I will never take my spiritual roots for granted. Alabama Baptists are a part of who I am. My wife shares that same appreciation for Alabama Baptists.
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