ORLANDO, Fla.—Oklahoma Baptist University (OBU) President Heath Thomas presented the Herschel H. Hobbs Award for Distinguished Denominational Service to Ryan Blackwell on June 9 during the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) Annual Meeting in Orlando, Fla. Blackwell serves as Lifeway Christian Resources president and chief executive officer.
“We are thrilled to see yet another OBU alumnus recognized for their love for the Lord and exemplary leadership,” Thomas said. “Blackwell is a friend and a perfect recipient for this prestigious award. His humility, extensive pastoral experience and executive leadership will carry Lifeway to new heights. Well deserved!”
Blackwell, who graduated from OBU in 2006 with a Bachelor of Arts in Religion-Bible, was elected as the 11th president and chief executive officer of Lifeway by the organization’s trustees this spring. He previously served as executive pastor and teaching pastor at Cross Church in Springdale, Ark., where he provided leadership development, strategic planning and organizational alignment as the church expanded from 7,000 to more than 11,000 in weekly attendance and added a fourth campus.
A native of Arkansas, Blackwell has served in local church ministry for more than 20 years. Prior to returning to Cross Church, where he also served as pastor of young adults, he was senior pastor of First Baptist Church of San Francisco for nearly a decade, leading the revitalization of the historic congregation. Throughout his ministry, he has served churches in Arkansas, California and Oklahoma, demonstrating a commitment to strengthening local churches and advancing the gospel through biblically faithful leadership.
“Receiving the Herschel H. Hobbs Award is a tremendous honor, especially as an Oklahoma Baptist University alumnus,” Blackwell said. “OBU played a significant role in shaping both my faith and my calling to ministry. The professors, mentors and friends who invested in me helped lay a foundation that continues to influence how I serve today. I am deeply grateful for this recognition and for the opportunity to continue serving Christ and His church faithfully in the days ahead.”
The Hobbs Award is named to honor the noteworthy Southern Baptist denominational service of Herschel H. Hobbs, a prolific author, preacher and radio program host. Hobbs was pastor of the Oklahoma City, First from 1949 until 1972. He died in 1995. He is also the namesake of OBU’s Herschel H. Hobbs School of Theology and Ministry.
Previous winners and their positions of service at the time they received the Hobbs Award include Stephen Rummage, former senior pastor of Quail Springs Baptist Church in Oklahoma City and current executive director-treasurer of the Florida Baptist Convention; James “Jamie” Dew, president of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and Leavell College; Jonathan Jarboe, president and CEO of The Baptist Foundation of California; David Manner, executive director for the Kansas-Nebraska Convention of Southern Baptists; K. Marshall Williams Sr., senior pastor of Nazarene Baptist Church of Philadelphia and past president of the National African American Fellowship of the SBC; Juan Sanchez, senior pastor of High Pointe Baptist Church in Austin, Texas; Anthony Jordan, former executive director-treasurer of the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma; Jeff Iorg, former president of Gateway Seminary and current president and chief executive officer of the SBC Executive Committee; Rebekah Naylor, former IMB missionary; O.S. Hawkins, former president of GuideStone Financial Resources; Daniel Akin, president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary; David S. Dockery, former chancellor of Trinity International University and current president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary; Robert Kellogg, president and CEO of the Baptist Foundation of Oklahoma and Tom Elliff, former president of the IMB.
