Dale Johnson elected executive director of ACBC

Dale Johnson, assistant professor of biblical counseling at Southwestern Seminary, has been elected executive director of the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC). This comes in the wake of current executive director Heath Lambert’s decision to step down from the position after assuming the senior pastorate of the First Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Fla. Following a nationwide search, ACBC identified Johnson as a candidate, and on March 27, ACBC’s board voted unanimously to approve him as Lambert’s replacement. 

“Dr. Johnson is a remarkable man and is the perfect leader for ACBC,” said Lambert in ACBC’s formal announcement. “He is a professor of biblical counseling, he is a member in good standing of ACBC, and he holds our theological and ethical commitments with conviction and grace. He is absolutely the right choice to lead our organization into the future.”

Johnson will begin in a part-time capacity at ACBC as executive director elect on May 1. He will then be formally installed as executive director during the ACBC annual conference, Oct. 1-3, which will take place on the campus of Southwestern Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. Johnson will also serve as one of the plenary speakers at the conference. 

In assuming the reigns of leadership at ACBC, Johnson says he is grateful to Lambert for his stewardship of the organization for the past six years. “At ACBC, we want to see churches flourish as they care for souls, and we desire to equip believers to minister the Word with accuracy, conviction and compassionate care for those who are hurting,” he continues. “I consider it an honor to serve the Lord Jesus by serving ACBC, its membership and its mission. It will be a special honor to be installed as the next executive director of ACBC on the campus of Southwestern Seminary during our annual conference in October.”

Before coming to Southwestern, Johnson served as associate pastor of family life at Raiford Road Church in Macclenny, Fla., for seven years. He first came to Southwestern as a student, completing his Ph.D. in Biblical Counseling in 2014. He was then elected to the faculty in Southwestern’s Terry School of Church and Family Ministries, where he continues to lead master’s- and doctoral-level courses as well as serve as associate dean for the research doctoral program. He will continue in these roles while serving as executive director of ACBC.  

To learn more about the upcoming ACBC annual conference on Southwestern’s campus, see here.