People may have heard rumors that Mark Foley has lost his mind, lost his health or lost his passion for Jesus.
But none of those things are true, he said.
Foley, president of the University of Mobile (UMobile), said he’s planning to step down soon not because of a bad reason but because of a good one — he wants “bodacious change” for the Baptist university.
“I’m not leaving under coercion or because it’s hard — I’m leading change,” Foley said to those present in the Nov. 17 morning session of the convention’s annual meeting. “As I look into the future, the future needs a bodacious change by the Church of Jesus Christ. And the best thing I can do is to find the president who will lead into this future.”
Next UMobile president
So Foley confirmed that he was “wrapping up and starting a search” for the next UMobile leader.
“Right now there’s a person who has a godly itch and doesn’t know what to do with it, and they’re going to find themselves as the president of the University of Mobile,” Foley said. “Pray for that president. And pray for me as I lead this institution into the hands of the next president and work to ensure a safe and healthy transition.”
Rick Lance, executive director of the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions, affirmed Foley’s leadership and expressed appreciation for his time at the helm of UMobile. And he prayed for Foley, his successor and his fellow state Baptist college presidents.
“As the world has passed a turning point of change, we need leadership like we’ve never needed it before and guidance like we’ve never had before,” Lance said. “We need a move of God on our lives like we’ve never experienced before. I pray we will be found faithful and that those who come behind us will know of that faithfulness because of the legacy left behind.”
Andrew Westmoreland, president of Samford University in Birmingham, said Samford’s leadership is currently praying through how to best leave that kind of legacy.
“Samford has been a Great Commission university for 174 years,” Westmoreland said. “Right now we are considering, ‘What are the academic programs that Samford should think about for the next 174 years?’”
Part of that consideration for the future involves the appointment of a new provost, Michael Hardin, who formerly served as dean of the Culverhouse College of Commerce at the University of Alabama.
During his report, Westmoreland introduced Hardin to messengers and affirmed him as God’s man to lead Samford academically into the future.
“Pray that Samford would not be a place that does not know what to do with the world,” Westmoreland said. “We have 5,206 students from 46 states and 32 countries that I see every single day. Pray for them. Pray for them to have opportunities and use them well. Even right now, they are all over the world.”
Myanmar partnership
Students from Judson College in Marion are in the same boat and need the same prayers, said Judson President David Potts.
He reminded convention messengers about Judson’s partnership with a seminary in Myanmar, “one of the most hostile places in the world today.”
He also shared testimonies from Judson’s partnership with the Lovelady Center, a Birmingham-based ministry to women transitioning from incarceration, addiction or an abusive situation.
“There is darkness in this world and at this time but the Light will always shine in the darkness,” Potts said.
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