The Presidential Search moved into an exciting new phase this past month. After months of prayer and due diligence, the Presidential Search Team (PST) refined the candidate “pool” to a smaller group of highly qualified individuals. Each of these candidates provided a curriculum vitae, answered a series of questions featured in the back portion of the Opportunity Profile (PDF), and responded in detail to Biola’s doctrinal statement.

The material provided by each candidate was formatted and printed in a series of candidate “books,” which were distributed to each member of the Search Team and the Search Advisory Committee (SAC). For more than a week the members of each committee read and processed the information.

The PST then interviewed each candidate individually at an offsite location. At the same time, but in a different location, the members of the Search Advisory Committee met together and interacted with the candidate books. Although the members of the SAC did not meet with the candidates personally, they were able to inform the process by developing comprehensive profiles for each candidate. The PST members made it a point not to discuss their own impressions and evaluations of the candidates until they received input from the SAC, which took place in a four-hour meeting.

There is no question that the prayers of the Biola community have played a significant role in the process. At this meeting of the combined search committees, the Lord directed both the PST and the SAC to the same candidates, so when it came time to further refine the pool, there was complete agreement.

Now that there is an even smaller pool of candidates, the search process will move to the next phase. In the next few weeks, the PST and the SAC will meet as a joint committee to personally interview the remaining candidates and their spouses. While the target is to identify a final candidate by the end of the current school year, it is important to understand that this is a target and not a deadline.

More than anything, all who are involved in this important and historic process of identifying the next president of Biola University are seeking God’s will and God’s timing. We have a strong sense of the Lord’s leading to this point, and we are confident that He will continue to guide us through the process.   At the same time, we do not want to be so tied to a particular schedule that we fail to follow God’s timing and direction. 

So we would ask the Biola community to continue praying, perhaps now more than ever!