NASHVILLE (BP and local reports) – Willie McLaurin has been named interim president and CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) Executive Committee in Nashville, replacing Ronnie Floyd who resigned in October.
Executive Committee officers made the announcement Feb. 1. Since 2020, McLaurin has served as the vice president for Great Commission relations and mobilization at the Executive Committee.
“We hope that he will help us to reset the tone by which the Executive Committee serves Southern Baptists,” said Rolland Slade, Executive Committee chairman and senior pastor of Meridian Church in El Cajon, Calif.
The Executive Committee has wrestled with how to proceed with an investigation into purported mishandling of sexual abuse allegations in Southern Baptist churches and institutions. The committee vote last October to bring in an outside investigation firm and waive attorney-client privilege during the investigation resulted in a wave of resignations including Floyd, 15 committee members, and the committee’s longtime legal counsel.
Slade said that while McLaurin’s appointment is an important step for the Executive Committee, there will be more information regarding additional leadership assignments at a later date.
McLaurin, 48, served for 15 years at the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board (TBMB) in Nashville before joining the Executive Committee staff in January 2020. Prior to serving at TBMB, he was executive pastor at Greater Missionary Baptist Church in Clarksville, Tenn., and senior pastor at Greater Hope Baptist Church in Union City, Tenn. He has served as an interim pastor for numerous Southern Baptist churches.
He also previously served on the SBC Resolutions Committee in 2018 and as president of the Black Southern Baptist Denominational Servants Network in 2011-2012. He was on the Executive Board of the Tennessee Baptist Convention from 2003-2005, and was the inaugural president of the African American Fellowship of the Tennessee Baptist Convention.
It was McLaurin’s pastoral experience, Slade said, that made it clear to the Executive Committee officers that he should be their choice as interim. “The messengers and churches of all sizes throughout the SBC need to know that they are seen, heard, and appreciated.”
Executive Committee member Dan Lanier, senior pastor of Northcrest Church, Meridian, told The Baptist Record in a written statement, “Willie is a great man of God. He is a servant leader! He has a quiet strength! He will lead us through these difficult days!”
Executive Committee member Adam Wyatt, pastor of Corinth Church, Magee, told The Baptist Record in a written statement, “Willie has a pastor’s heart and will serve us well. I look forward to working with him over the coming months as we seek to bring more transparency and openness to the Executive Committee.”
Mississippi’s third Executive Committee member, Brian Cloys, could not be reached for comment by publication deadline.
McLaurin is a member of Simeon Church, Antioch, Tenn. He and his wife Antonia have two daughters, Sierra and SiChanna.
