CARLINVILLE, Ill. — Wendell Lang, a pastor from Pryor, Okla., has been confirmed as the 10th executive director of the Illinois Baptist State Association (IBSA).
The 46-year-old Lang has been pastor of First Baptist Church of Pryor since 1989. He was elected during a special meeting Jan. 28 of the IBSA board of directors. The board’s secret ballot vote of 55–2 easily topped the two-thirds majority needed for approval.
In November 2001 Lang completed his second one-year term as president of the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma.
Lang replaces Bob Wiley, who stepped down in October 2001 after a tumultuous relationship with some IBSA-elected leaders during the last two years of his five-year tenure.
Glenn Akins, IBSA’s former manager of strategic planning and associational services, has led the state association during its leadership transition. His place in the association remains unclear because his former position was eliminated during an organizational restructuring, and messengers to the annual state convention meeting last November eliminated funding for the newly created position of associate executive director, widely viewed by many Illinois Baptist insiders as a job created for Akins.
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