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.”

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

Roberts and his wife, Anja, have two children, Naomi and Mark. The president brings to the job broad experience in training ministerial students. As director of the Interfaith Witness Department of the North American Mission Board, 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 to 1994 and co-directed the Lewis Adison Drummond Center for Great Commission Studies. On several occasions he has taught adjunctively for Midwestern, lectured on missions and spoken in chapel.

In addition to pastoring several international churches in England, Germany and Belgium, Roberts taught evangelism and discipleship for the Evangelical Theological Faculty in Belgium with continued ties to the school, and served as dean of theology for the Institute of Biblical Studies in Oradea, Romania, where he currently serves as trustee.

From 1992 to 1994, he served as dean of theology at the International Academy of Modern Knowledge in Obninsk, Russia. He also served as dean of the Young Itinerant Evangelist’s Institute as a part of Leighton Ford Ministries in Moscow and Romania. Roberts also taught evangelism at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Early missions experiences included serving in Rhodesia, Israel and Maryland.

Roberts received his Ph.D. from Free University of Amsterdam, conducted post-graduate research at Oxford University, received the M.Div. from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and the B.A. from Georgetown College. He is the author of several books, including Mormonism Unmasked and The Counterfeit Gospel of Mormonism, as well as having contributed to numerous theological journals, opinion pages and Christian publications.

Dr. Jerry A. Johnson serves as Vice President for Academic Development, Academic Dean, and Professor of Ethics and Theology at MBTS. He comes to Midwestern from Criswell College in Dallas, where he served as President and Professor of Theology and Ethics. Prior to Criswell, he was Dean of Boyce College at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and has over 15 years of pastoral experience in Texas, Colorado, and Kentucky. Johnson holds a B.A. from Criswell College, an M.A. from Denver Conservative Baptist Seminary, and a Ph.D. from Southern Seminary. His leadership in the Southern Baptist Convention includes chairmanship for both the Board of Trustees of Southern Seminary and the SBC Committee on Order of Business. He and his wife, Rhonda, have two children.

Mr. Anthony W. Allen serves as Senior Vice President for Administration and COO at MBTS. He has extensive 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. 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 from SEBTS. He is currently working on 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.

Mr. Lyndal H. Lovelace serves as Vice President of Business Services and Chief Information Officer at Midwestern. He has 20+ years of management experience working as an engineer, project manager and IT director at several Fortune 500 companies. He most recently served as a Global IT Manager for a manufacturing company, where he was responsible for a team spread over 30 locations around the world. Lovelace holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Missouri and a master’s degree in information systems management from the Keller Graduate School of Management in Chicago. He is currently pursuing a D.Ed.Min. degree from MBTS. He feels called by the Lord to this position, and is blessed to be managing and administrating in the Midwestern family environment. Lovelace and his wife, Michelle, have been married for 14 years; and they are blessed with four children – Madison, Logan, Drew and Annabelle.