President Geoff Hammond and three of his closest associates resigned their positions with the North American Mission Board after trustees met more than seven hours in executive session Aug. 11 at the board’s Alpharetta, Ga., headquarters.
Geoff HammondThe three staff members who also resigned were Dennis Culbreth, senior assistant to the president; Steve Reid, senior associate to the president for strategy development; and Brandon Pickett, communications team leader.
Their resignations came after 54 of the board’s 57 trustees (including two from South Carolina) met in an all-day closed session. Four of the 54 trustees participated by conference call.
Until the announcement of the resignations, there was no word from trustees throughout the day about either the substance of their discussions or their progress toward a resolution.
In a statement delivered to the media at 7:33 p.m., trustee chairman Tim Patterson said:
“First, I want to thank the trustees of the North American Mission Board who have come together today and worked through some very difficult issues. They have carried out their responsibilities today in a way that has been honorable, thorough and fair.
“Dr. Hammond has resigned as president of the North American Mission Board and his resignation takes effect immediately. In addition, three of Dr. Hammond’s closest associates – Steve Reid, Dennis Culbreth and Brandon Pickett – will resign their positions as well.
“Even though the subject of today’s meeting has been the topic of much media speculation, it is important to remember that this is a personnel matter and we will keep the details of today’s discussion confidential.
“As you can imagine, these last few days have been very challenging for Dr. Hammond and his family, our trustees and the employees and missionaries of the North American Mission Board. We will continue to be in prayer for Dr. Hammond, his family, and for the families of the others who have resigned.
“We have much work left to do as we seek God’s guidance in these days. I still believe that God has great plans for the North American Mission Board and that NAMB will play a key part in the Southern Baptist effort to reach North America for Christ.”
Two South Carolinians who serve as NAMB trustees were present at the meeting: Cleatus Blackmon, director of missions for Greer Baptist Association, and Donna Medcalf, a layperson and member of Edwards Road Baptist Church in Greenville. When contacted by the Courier for comment, both deferred to Patterson’s statement.
The meeting initially was to involve only members of NAMB’s executive committee – a smaller group within the board of trustees – but members of the whole board learned about the meeting’s agenda and succeeded in calling for a meeting of the full board.
The son and grandson of missionaries, Hammond, before taking over as president, served as a NAMB church-planting missionary with the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia (SBCV) convention. He also served as senior associate director of the SBCV.
He was elected president by a unanimous vote of the NAMB board in March 2007 following a nine-month search to replace the previous president, Robert Reccord, who resigned as president in April 2006, citing “honest philosophical and methodological differences.”
All three of the associates who resigned had close working relationships with Hammond before he became NAMB president. Reid and Pickett were on staff with Hammond at SBCV. Culbreth was a pastor in Chesapeake, Va., a NAMB trustee and member of the search committee that brought Hammond to the mission board.
The resignations come at a time when NAMB is embarking on an ambitious partnership with state conventions and local associations to see every SBC church, by 2020, planting other churches. The evangelical initiative is called God’s Plan for Sharing (GPS).
Rudy Gray, president of the South Carolina Baptist Convention, said in a statement that Hammond’s resignation “was not a complete surprise,” noting that NAMB trustees met with Hammond in a closed session in April to “discuss his leadership style.”
“I have talked with no one who did not respect Dr. Hammond or his heart for evangelism,” Gray said. “No one questioned his faith or integrity, but that he simply was not the leader NAMB needs.”
Gray urged South Carolina Baptists to pray for Hammond and his family as well as the three associates who also resigned. He also urged prayer for the trustees and for the work of NAMB. (Read Gray’s full statement here.)
Jim Austin, SCBC executive director-treasurer, said, “We should pray for Dr. Hammond, his staff that resigned and their families, along with the staff that remains and the work of the NAMB.”
The day after Hammond’s resignation, Patterson met with NAMB staff members and assured them “NAMB is going nowhere but forward.”
Patterson told employees by the end of the day someone would be named to run NAMB’s day-to-day operations. After that, trustee leaders will begin the process of finding an interim president. Soon after, a presidential search team will be established from among trustee members.
By noon, Patterson had e-mailed the staff announcing that Richard Harris, who has nearly 30 years of combined service at NAMB and its predecessor, the Home Mission Board (HMB), will serve as the entity’s acting interim president until an interim president is chosen. Harris’ previous service includes 10 years as NAMB’s vice president of church planting and 16 years leading HMB’s mass evangelism efforts.
Patterson asked the staff to continue praying for Hammond and the others who resigned the day before. “We love them and pray for them that God would do great works in their lives.”
– BP (with additional reporting from Mike Ebert and Butch Blume)