MBTS honors Edie at alumni luncheon

SAN ANTONIO–John Edie, executive pastor of Second Baptist Church in Springfield, was given the 2007 Alumni of the Year award by Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (MBTS) at the alumni luncheon during the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) annual meeting.

Edie, who earned a master of religions education degree in 1970, has pastored such high-profile Baptists as Morris Chapman, now president of the SBC Executive Committee, before returning to Missouri in 1989 to serve as minister of education of Second Baptist.

John Marshall, pastor/teacher at Second, introduced Edie to the crowd of alumni, faculty and trustees before the award was presented.

“He has all the growth,” Marshall said. “He has been the main instigator. Almost none of the church’s success could have been done with out him. Preachers know you need a guy in the organization who will make things work and make things happen. For 18 years, John Edie has been filling that role.”

Marshall said that when he was being considered as pastor of Second, he called a friend to ask about Edie.

“Without a moment’s hesitation, he said ‘He’s the best in the country.’ You could not give this award to a more deserving graduate.”

Phil Roberts, MBTS president, presented Edie with a citation from the seminary as well as a framed page of the first chapter of John from the Guttenberg press.

“The older I get, the more I realize that honors like this are actually team honors,” Edie said. “This is this result of my godly parents, godly pastoral leadership, godly church members and deacons, and godly seminary professors. It’s not about me. It’s about a team working for the Lord with the goal of winning the world to Jesus Christ.