Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary trustees unanimously elected Dr. R. Philip Roberts as the fourth president of the Kansas City-based Southern Baptist seminary in Jan. 2001. Roberts told trustees he accepted the position “as a trust from God, the Southern Baptist Convention and from you.”

Since arriving, Roberts has overseen steady growth in MBTS’s student population, assembled a top-tier faculty, launched Midwestern Baptist College, SBC, implemented a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) program, and expanded the school’s campus by purchasing the Koehn-Myers building, constructing housing facilities and renovating many of the campus’ existing buildings. Most recently, the Seminary is expanding with the construction of a 1,000-seat chapel complex, and there are plans for a complete renovation/consolidation of the library – including a new home for the school’s C.H. Spurgeon library collection.

Roberts began his duties in Feb. 2001, after a seven-year tenure with the North American Mission Board, where he served as vice president for the Strategic Cities Strategies Group.

The president brings to the job broad experience in training ministerial students. As director of the Interfaith Evangelism Department of the North American Mission Board and later as vice president for urban evangelism and church planting, Roberts often taught seminary students to understand the perspective of other religious groups in order to witness more effectively. He served as professor of missions and evangelism at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary from 1990-1994 and co-directed the Lewis Drummond Center for Great Commission Studies. Roberts has been honored to speak and preach at a wide array of churches, conferences and seminaries throughout his ministry.

In addition to pastoring international churches in England, Germany and Belgium, Roberts has extensive experience leading and teaching evangelism and discipleship courses throughout Europe. Presently, he serves on the board of trustees for two theological institutes there. Roberts received his Ph.D. from the Free University of Amsterdam, conducted post-graduate research at Oxford University, received a M.Div. from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., and the B.A. from Georgetown College in Georgetown, Ky. He is the author of several books, including Mormonism Unmasked and The Counterfeit Gospel of Mormonism, as well as having served as executive director of The Mormon Puzzle and The Cross and the Crescent interfaith videos. He has also contributed to numerous theological journals, opinion pages and Christian publications. In April 2010, he was elected as president of the International Society of Christian Apologetics.

Roberts and his wife, Anna, have two grown children, Naomi and Mark.

Dr. Jerry Sutton, accomplished Southern Baptist Convention pastor and administrator, joins the executive staff at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary as dean and vice president of academics. Sutton brings to Midwestern extensive experience from a variety of ministerial spheres. A Southwestern Seminary graduate, Sutton earned his Ph.D. in church history with minors in preaching and Greek New Testament. He served as the senior pastor of Two Rivers Baptist Church in Nashville, Tenn., from 1986 until 2008 and has taught courses at multiple SBC seminaries, including an adjunct professorship at Midwestern. In 2005, Sutton became the first vice president of the Southern Baptist Convention. Since his retirement from Two Rivers, he has served in the classroom as associate professor of Christian proclamation and pastoral theology at Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary and Graduate School in Lynchburg, Va. He has also served as a trustee at LifeWay Christian Resources and as president of the SBC Pastors’ Conference. A respected historian, Sutton authored the authoritative account of the conservative resurgence, The Baptist Reformation. He has published a resource for individuals seeking spiritual rededication entitled The Way Back Home, and his work, A Matter of Conviction: A History of Southern Baptist Engagement with the Culture, stands as both a historic description and centennial commemoration of the denomination’s interaction with American culture. His latest book is entitled, A Primer on Biblical Preaching. He and his wife, Fern, have two adult daughters.

Dr. Anthony W. Allen serves as Senior Vice President of Institutional Advancement at MBTS. He has extensive financial development skills and experience from his previous 16 years of work at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (SEBTS) as Assistant to the Vice President for Institutional Advancement and then Vice President for Financial Development. He also served at (SEBTS) as Director of Admissions and Student recruitment. As both pastor and administrator Allen enjoys communicating God truth to God’s people, emphasizing the importance of expository preaching. Allen holds a Bachelor’s degree in History and Religion from Duke University in Durham, N.C., a Master of Divinity degree with Biblical Languages, and a Master of Theology degree in Christian Ethics from SEBTS. He completed his Doctorate in Higher Education Administration at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, N.C. Allen and his wife, Stacy, have five children, Bethany, Evan, Leighton, Annaliese and Brinley.

Dr. David M. McAlpin serves as Vice President for Student Development at MBTS. He comes to Midwestern with over 25 years of experience as a senior pastor, having served churches in Tennessee, Florida, and Missouri. During his 14+ year tenure at the First Baptist Church of Harvester in St. Charles, Mo., he co-founded the Center for Christian Ministry Studies at Lindenwood University and also served as the Center’s Executive Director from 2002 to 2006. As both pastor and academician McAlpin has been committed to interpreting the Bible with accuracy, and preaching it with passion and clarity. Helping those called into Christian ministry to develop those same gifts energizes and animates his life. McAlpin holds a B.A. from Berry College, an M.Div. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. from Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary. He served on Midwestern’s Board of Trustees from 1995 until 2000; additionally, he has served in various capacities on the state denominational level. He and his wife, Nanell, have two sons.

Dr. Rodney A. Harrison serves as Vice President for Institutional Effectiveness, Director of Doctoral Studies and as an assistant professor of Christian Education. He comes to Midwestern following a fruitful ministry in church planting and mission service in California, the Dakotas and Minnesota. Prior to coming to Midwestern, he served as the New Church Extension Associate for the California Southern Baptist Convention. Harrison is the author of two books on church planting and has written material for LifeWay Christian Resources and the North American Mission Board. Harrison holds a D.Min. in Mission Administration from Golden Gate Seminary and has done post-doctoral studies at Oxford University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Harrison and his wife, Julie, have 3 children, Joshua, Cassandra and Gabrielle.

Terry Johnson serves as Chief Administrative Officer at MBTS. He comes to Midwestern with 30 years of Information Technology experience with the IBM Corporation. Johnson has a broad technology background leading projects and product development from silicon and microprocessors, networking, voice-data integration, application/internet, and telecommunications. He also managed large, complex relationships with key Alliance partners of IBM. During his tenure with IBM, he has resided in New York, North Carolina and Georgia before relocating to Midwestern. Johnson is a graduate of The Ohio State University with a B.S. from the College of Engineering in Computer and Information Science, and a M.S. in Telecommunications from Pace University in New York. Married for more than 30 years, he and his wife, Patty, have 5 children: Chelsea, Whitney, Austin, Molly and Karley.