Presidential Transition Announcement

The Board of Directors of PCA Retirement & Benefits, Inc. (RBI) has elected to accelerate its previously announced presidential transition. In November 2019, the board announced their selection of Ed Dunnington to serve as RBI’s next president with a transition taking place following the 48th General Assembly on July 1,2020. Now, Ed will succeed Gary Campbell as president effective April 15, 2020. Gary will continue to serve RBI as our investment specialist.

The decision to accelerate the transition is the result of several factors:

First, progress in the presidential transition is well ahead of schedule.  After naming Ed as RBI’s president-elect last year, the board laid out a plan that covered necessary training and a sequenced transfer of responsibilities between Gary and Ed. At our most recent board meeting in March, we were pleased to learn the process was going more smoothly and quickly than anticipated.

Second, Ed has already fully met the constitutional requirements to step into the president position. Our Book of Church Order empowers the agencies of the PCA to directly elect their presidents. These appointees must still sustain an examination by the Theological Examination Committee. Unlike the coordinators of the four program committees, agency presidents do not require the annual approval of the General Assembly (RAO 4-9). The Theological Examining Committee met with Ed Dunnington on February 25, 2020 and voted to sustain his examination (BCO 14.1.14).

Finally, the original timing the board had outlined for the president transition was based in part on the normal pulse of our mid-year denominational gathering at General Assembly. We had planned to use General Assembly as a time to honor Gary for his years of service and publicly transition the leadership to Ed. With the postponement of the 48th General Assembly, this removed another practical reason to delay the installation of Ed Dunnington as RBI’s next president.

Given Ed’s outstanding progress in taking up presidential responsibilities, his confirmation by the Theological Examining Committee, and the cancellation of the 2020 General Assembly, the RBI board had no practical or constitutional reason to delay the transition. Hence, as of April 15, Ed Dunnington is the president of PCA Retirement and Benefits, Inc.

It is also important to affirm that Gary Campbell has been fully engaged in this decision to accelerate the passing of the presidential baton, and in fact initiated this recommendation with the board’s Transition Committee. As a board, it is challenging to fully articulate the positive impact that Gary has had during his 13 years as president of RBI. Our confidence in Gary’s leadership has grown to this day, as has our gratefulness to God for the continuing preservation of his health. We are happy to report neither Gary, nor any of the RBI team, has been affected by the COVID-19 virus to date. The board is also enthusiastic that RBI, along with the pastors and staff of PCA congregations and affiliated ministries, will continue to benefit from Gary’s expertise in his continuing investment specialist role.

We are excited to see Ed Dunnington take up the call as RBI’s next president. As an ordained teaching elder and a Certified Financial Planner, he knows what it is like to serve as both a pastor and a financial counselor. Ed is deeply committed to the relational connections and professional expertise that have been hallmarks of Gary Campbell’s tenure. RBI’s future leadership is in great hands.

Please join us in praying for God’s blessing on this transition as well as his merciful hand on Christ’s church and those affected by the coronavirus. 

With Blessings,

 Jim Wert

Chairman, RBI Board of Directors