By: Dean Inserra
In the fall of 2021, I stepped on the grounds of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary to lead a workshop at the annual For The Church National Conference. While on campus, I toured the awe-inspiring Spurgeon Library before walking across campus to visit the new Mathena Student Center— the highest quality student center I have ever seen on a seminary campus. These state-of-the-art facilities are a far cry from the time Dr. Jason Allen had his first interview as a presidential candidate at Midwestern. At that time, by his own words, “the campus was so unappealing that the trustees didn’t even meet at the seminary but rather at a nearby hotel.” The man interviewed off campus was soon named the President, and as the old clichè goes, the rest is history.
Today, Midwestern Seminary is much more than a collection of significantly upgraded facilities. It is a vibrant seminary with a clear vision and mission of being for the Church. The revitalization of this Southern Baptist seminary in Kansas City is a story that needs to be told—and there is no one better to take on the task than the one God appointed and used to lead the turnaround, Jason K. Allen.
In fact, Allen’s 10 years at Midwestern is the story of his appropriately titled leadership book, “Turnaround.” This reflective and insightful leadership book uses the first decade of Allen’s presidential tenure to teach leadership principles that Allen instituted and developed in leading Midwestern Seminary to be for the Church.
This is a book by a practitioner, not a theorist—all based on the foundational belief that leadership is a stewardship. Allen makes clear to leaders and future leaders reading this story that “your convictions are what you believe, your mission is why you exist, and your vision is where you’re going.” Those three words—conviction, mission, and vision—have been the foundation of what we have seen come into reality in Kansas City over the last decade.
The ten chapters of the book explain ten different realties implemented and developed by Allen and his team that led to the turnaround of the Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary we know today.
Among the ten focuses of the Midwestern story that resonated with me the most, as both an onlooker and alumnus, was Allen’s insistence that the institution must “define the mission.” The mission Allen instituted flowed from his convictions, now known as “three simple, but powerful, words: for the Church.”
“Those three words are why we exist,” writes Allen. “For the church is more than our mission statement—it’s our mission.” Being for local churches should be the reason seminary exists, as it is literally the training ground for service in church leadership, especially pastoral ministry, and the mission of Midwestern removes all doubt.
In honoring those who came before him, Allen acknowledges that there “were faithful men and women already serving for the church,” but clarifying the mission brought about “leveraging all the seminary’s resources for the church in a way that hadn’t been done before.” A clearly defined mission has certainly brought about action from Midwestern Seminary. A clear and right mission statement, Allen writes, “will unite your organization. The mission will draw you forward, magnetically pulling your team together.”
Another aspect of Jason Allen’s leadership covered in Turnaround is the significance of the team a leader puts into place. He writes, “Essential to our institutional success is the team we’ve assembled.” For anyone even casually familiar with Midwestern Seminary today, that statement from the President is undeniably obvious. The staff and faculty are respected across our network of churches in the Southern Baptist Convention, and Dr. Allen is quick to note and pass on credit for this great seminary story.
A common factor I have with friends who work at the seminary, beyond a newfound affection for the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals, is a respect for Jason Allen as a man and as a leader. Allen encourages leaders to “nurture your team, cultivate their strengths, forgive their shortfalls, and honor their families.” I never hear of anyone on the team at Midwestern being in a hurry to leave Kansas City for a new ministry position.
There was a time not long ago when Midwestern Seminary was an afterthought and not a very coveted destination. What has happened in just a decade to turnaround the seminary is nothing short of remarkable. If I were only allowed to point to one thing that changed the game in Kansas City, it would be culture.
Allen writes that “an organization’s culture is more detected than documented, more overheard than heard, more sensed than seen. If an organization’s culture is healthy, you’ll likely know it. If it’s unhealthy, you definitely will.”
The use of the word “detected” stood out to me as I think back on the last ten years of Midwestern Seminary. Without any knowledge of what has taking place on campus, many Southern Baptists like myself began asking, “What in the world is happening at Midwestern?” Even though we didn’t have enough information in the early days to place our finger on it, it was undeniable something was happening. That something, we would come to find out, was convictional and visionary leadership.
Jason K. Allen has shown us that religious institutions can be turned around. The for the Church mission has moved far past being detected. It is now realized and celebrated. I am proud to be associated with this vibrant and dynamic seminary under the leadership of Dr. Jason Allen. May our pastors and missionaries be for the Church as a result of his stewardship.
