Lifeway Christian Resources trustees named an interim CEO and began the initial steps to search for a successor to President and CEO Ben Mandrell during a special-called meeting Tuesday (July 15).
Trustees have asked Joe Walker, Lifeway’s executive vice president and CEO, to serve as interim president and CEO until a new president is named, in accordance with Lifeway’s bylaws.
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Walker will serve in the role held by Mandrell, Lifeway’s 10th president, who is vacating the position to serve as senior pastor at Bellevue Baptist Church in Cordova, Tennessee. Mandrell’s first Sunday as pastor is scheduled for Aug. 10.
Walker
Since March 2025, Walker has served as Lifeway’s executive vice president and COO, overseeing daily operations and helping provide strategic leadership of the organization. Prior to serving as COO, Walker served as CFO for six and a half years and 12 years as corporate controller. He has held various financial positions at Lifeway since 1986.
A native of Tennessee, Walker is a CPA and holds a bachelor’s degree with a major in accounting from the University of Tennessee, Martin. He is a member of First Baptist Church Hendersonville, Tennessee.
Search committee
Trustees also have named an eight-person search committee to find Lifeway’s next leader.
The trustees’ presidential search committee will be led by their chair, Billy Stewart, who is a retired community college president. Billy now serves as the executive pastor for administration at First Baptist Church Jackson, Mississippi.
Other members include James Carroll, chair of Lifeway’s board of trustees, who will serve as an ex officio member; Beth Greene from Knoxville, Tennessee; Madeline Harris from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Caleb Iorg from Portland, Oregon; Michael Schmidt from Reno, Nevada; Rob Sumrall from Elizabethtown, Kentucky; and Matt Surber from San Antonio, Texas.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Carol Pipes and originally published by Lifeway.
