The rhetoric (especially from the C'tee on Continuing Review) is getting to be more about purity. The chair of that c'tee even read a passage from Jeremiah and said with these changes to the constitution 'we are trying to separate the precious from the worthless.' I become more inflamed as I think about the insensitivity of that comment.
Overheard:
In the Pathway article entitled "Committee Recommends
Trustees for MBC Agencies", Clippard listed four traits that all
trustees should have: loyalty, wisdom, a work ethic and wealth. I'm just an
ordinary layman, but I think that Clippard left out the most important
trait, an unwavering commitment to Christ. Unfortunately, this seems
indicative of MBC leadership. John K Boudinot
A
Sad Anniversary – The Lawsuit Tichenor
August 13 is a very sad
anniversary.
A
Blast from the Past ... Summer 2004 (Virginia
Baptists Committed newsletter)
"....Fundamentalism is more dangerous
than Liberalism because everything is done in the name of the Lord.
Keep
focus on faith, not radicalism (Herron in The [Kansas City] Star) 6/29/04
On
the day before Southern Baptists took the vote on a resolution calling for
the withdrawal of members' children from public schools, the silence from
the keepers of the convention was telling.
Overheard
"If you assume that the Executive Board has spent about $1.3
million paying lawyers and funding the lawsuit, the equals about $24,528.31
per MBC officer and executive board member, maybe those folks should get out
their check books and replenish the Strategic Initiatives Fund, so some real
mission and ministry Kingdom Work can be done by the MBC. Or maybe the 2,154
messengers who comprised the 2001 MBC that got the lawsuit started would be
willing to chip in $603.53 per person to pay off the debt."
The
Four Point Plan to Heal the Division (Tichenor) 7/14/04
Last week this website advanced a simple
four-point plan to bring about some level of healing of the division which
now plagues the Baptists of Missouri because of the ongoing lawsuit. I
realize that due to the legal process of appeal to the Western District
Court of Appeals that the lawsuit has basically been placed on the back
burner for the time being. However, we must realize that we still have this
elephant sitting in the middle of the living room.
Perspectives
from One Layperson 6/18/04
....I thank you for this wonderful internet resource you are operating... If you get beyond the hubbub and celebrations of the 25th anniversary of the fundamentalist takeover (Jerry Falwell himself called it a “hijacking”) of the SBC and all the conservative political posturing at this year‘s convention, a second message could be heard.
FBC-Jefferson
City BEACON (Sager) 06/28/04
.... It called public schools “godless,
anti-Christian” and “run by the enemies of God.” And it called on
Baptists to withdraw their children from public schools. What tripe and
nonsense.
Overheard
Referring to Pathway Editor Don Hinkle's
editorials: We
need his tribe to increase. Only then, and only perhaps, will moderate
Baptists finally leave the funeral home. Reason has not worked. The call to
conscience has not worked. The appeal to biblical truthfulness has not
worked. Offering other alternatives has not worked. Embarrassment is the
last recourse.
What’s
Wrong With Baptist Resolutions? W.
B. Tichenor 05/26/2004
News
is already circulating of what can be expected from the SBC Annual Meeting
concerning resolutions. The 2004 hot topic resolution is one to wage war on public education....After all what would a good old annual convention meeting be without
good Christian folks arguing over resolutions?
Unraveling the Spin (Tichenor) 5/8/2004
The official MBC leadership position regarding the current situation with the lawsuit against the Faithful and Free Institutions continues to get more and more spin.
Overheard
"Jim Baucom [featured preacher at the recent
BGCM] was the moderator for Cooperative Baptist Fellowship a couple of years
ago. He was introduced as "the best preacher in
Virginia." I am glad BGCM recognizes CBF preachers are among the
best and invite them to our meetings."
Overheard from a pastor
On Monday, 04/26, I received a letter from the MBC Executive
Director, asking for churches to help with legal costs by give 100 dollars per
month for 24 month (yea, right) and stating among other things that when he came
as Executive Director, the Convention was 750,000 dollars in debt. Isn't that at
minimum a twist on the truth? I looked to see if your site commented on
this letter and the charges made it, didn't find anything. Thank you for helping
us sort through the trash and spins of the MBC.
MBU
and Accountability (Alton Lacey) 4/5/04
One of the key issues facing higher
education institutions is that of accountability. With the costs of education creeping upward and the need for access to
education for all our citizenry increasing, it is reasonable for a
university’s constituents to demand responsible stewardship of its resources.
Reflections and Responses 04/12/2004
(Tichenor)
Now that we know exactly what the Judge did on March 11 and on April 7 and we don't have to rely on an official news journal or "spin" from institutions, Missouri Baptists might be well-served by some reflections and responses. I offer these from a position of bias. I am an unashamed supporter of what I have called for some time now the Five Faithful and Free Institutions.
Overheard 4/6/04
Whatever
the Judge decides doesn't change the fact that it cost over a millions
dollars for [the MBC attorney] Whitehead to find out that he didn't have the
right Plaintiffs to begin with. That was what Bart Tichenor's whole
amicus brief was about at the beginning.
Overheard 4/6/04
Judge Brown has ruled on the April 5 MBC's motion for him to reconsider
his previous March 11 ruling. HE HAS DISMISSED THE CASE AGAIN!!! This time his
ruling is very specific THE MBC, THE CHURCHES, NOR THE
EXECUTIVE BOARD HAVE ANY STANDING TO BRING ANY LAWSUIT AGAINST ANY
OF THE FIVE BAPTIST INSTITUTIONS. He also says the Messengers do not have standing to bring a suit. HE Clarified that his March 11
ruling DID
APPLY TO ALL FIVE Institutions!!!!
MBC and Whitehead have been handed a major defeat and the irony is they requested the judge to give them this defeat.
To
Continue the Suit or Not to Continue (Tichenor) 3/31/04
....The latest spin that has come from the MBC leadership is that the
recent action of Judge Brown really only applied to the Missouri Baptist
University; it doesn’t apply to the other institutions. Maybe those Baptist pastors and layperson that will blindly follow
whatever the MBC counsel proposes will buy that bill of goods. However, for those individuals who can use the basic reasoning
process, which the Creator provided to the highest of His creation, it just
doesn’t fly.
Defending or Destroying?
(Scott Stearman)
A number of years ago at a
Baptist Convention a well respected pastor
gave a sermon illustration that I will never forget.
Once
Again Around the Mulberry Bush (Kevin
Quinn) March 18,2004
[referring to Dr. David Clippard]....
"Foxes
in hen houses,” “bumps in the road” and other rustic aphorisms
were invoked as usual as he loves country analogies. But also, as usual,
Rev. Clippard presents a typically incomplete scenario of convention actions
which started the original trip around this legal mulberry bush.
Overheard
...by the way the lawsuit was dismissed against all 5
institutions. Mr. Withead obviously can't read.
The
following is an edited version of a letter received by from Celeste Jolly, Ironton, MO.
Mrs. Jolly is a resident of the Baptist
Home in Ironton and knows Baptist polity. "What is the Missouri Baptist Convention Historically?
Bump
In Road Overturns The Train W.
B. Tichenor
The ruling by Judge Brown... has been characterized by Dr.
Gary Taylor, Chairman of the Legal Task Force, as a “bump in the road.”
Missouri Baptists need to understand this little “bump in the road”
derailed the MBC Law Suit train.
Overheard
Don't know if you have read the misleading
response (my opinion) from Baptist Press regarding the March 11 ruling of
Judge Brown. Gary Taylor was not at the last hearing and is basing his
comments on hearsay. We all get a kick out of the MBC spin machine.
Romanian
Baptists 3/9/04
It may be of interest to you that
Romanian baptists do NOT .... They do believe wholeheartedly....
From a new subscriber..... 3/10/04
I graduated from Midwestern in [the early 1960's]. Several
years ago my wife and I notified Midwestern Seminary that we were changing our wills.
[Earlier] We had included Midwestern in our wills because our experience at Midwestern
was so powerful and life changing. You are in my thoughts and prayers, [A D.Min graduate]
CONCORD
BAPTIST ASSOCIATION (Sager) 02/29/04
Local church autonomy is alive and well! At a specially called meeting on
Sunday, Feb. 29, 2004, the executive council of Concord Baptist Association
unanimously voted to take no action regarding First Baptist Church's ordination
of women, and thereby affirmed the autonomy of the local church.
An
Unethical Evangelism: One Pastor’s Perspective (Keith
Herron)
This is the week “The
Passion” will be unleashed on the world and the opening of Mel Gibson’s
film on the brutal crucifixion of Christ does not bode well for the church.
Next
Step In The Lawsuit Tichenor
With the Missouri Baptist Convention now embroiled in two different
lawsuits, it is necessary to identify that this article relates to the suit
against the five Faithful and Free Institutions.
TO
WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:
Here's a REPORTER'S QUIBBLE...
On your Web page about the ongoing lawsuit activity
involving the Missouri Baptist Convention and the five agencies, you include
the following paragraph:
Action
Against MBC, Executive Board and Executive Director Clippard
.... The writer, nor MissouriBaptists.org, makes no representation as to the
truthfulness of the charges and allegations made in the lawsuit.
Leaders
with faith must respect beliefs of others (C. Truett Baker) 1/7/04
The use of religion to manipulate others to our way of thinking, gain power or
make money has a long and infamous history. One of Jesus' followers, Judas,
wanted Jesus to use his power to overthrow the Roman occupation of Palestine.
Simon the Sorcerer (Acts 8:9) became a "believer" to advance his
career of magic.
What is the real meaning behind this? (from Pathway)
Response from a pastor in southwest Missouri:
"When they called David Clippard as Exec. Director, I heard from a
reliable source that Jay Scribner had wanted that job and was very upset
because he had not gotten it."
What is the real meaning behind this? (from Pathway)
Administrative Committee Chairman Jay
Scribner, pastor,
RESPONSE: Overheard in Jefferson City 12/24/03
"One
thing that is
widely speculated is that Clippard and Scribner don't see eye to eye. Some
think Dr. Scribner feels it is time to escape Baptist Ground Zero and step
back so he can come riding to the rescue when things fall apart."
Happy
Holidays from Pathway?
....if
I use Roger Moran's method of analysis, I must conclude ... the MBC leadership
accepts Barclay's entire theological package, including his thoughts on the
virgin birth and his belief in infant baptism. Roger Moran himself would
have to draw this conclusion if he were true....
Collateral
(Kevin Quinn) 12/4/03
I think it’s interesting that Michael Whitehead
finds it atrocious that Windermere would use its assets as collateral for
standard construction loans.... but does not find
it troublesome that the Missouri Baptist Convention would mortgage its
Would
Lottie Moon be Appointed Today? (Thomason)
You can count on one hand the Missionaries that have had as
great an impact on the missionary movement as did Lottie Moon.... Would Lottie Moon gain an appointment by the SBC’s
International Mission Board (IMB)?
Bylaws
Are Made To Be Broken (Tichenor)
“No man is above the law.” It is a beautiful
concept. It is a cherished principle to freedom loving people. It is high heresy
to those who would be dictators.
One reader
reports....
... a recent visit to the reworked MBC
web site for agencies. She noticed a sharply reduced list and agencies
and colleges. Her question is: Does this mean that the MBC concedes and
acknowledges that it has no agency dealing with elderly Baptists, a conference
center, foundation, etc? Her understanding of the MBC's lawsuit is based
on their "ownership" of those entities and that they entities were
simply "rebellious" and "breakaway". Perhaps the MBC
knows more in reality than they will admit publicly?
"Show
Me the Money" for MoBARF (12/1/03)
Reasonable people ask: "Where can the money possibly come
from to fund MoBARF?" Based on the response of FBC Malden to MoBARF
($100 per month for 24 months), there will need to be more than 416 other
churches to match that level of giving.
Putting MoBARF Into Perspective
(Tichenor)
12/2/03
....There has never been another special
fundraising effort of this magnitude for any other special cause in the MBC.
Communications
(Olmsted)
Communication is a hot field of study on
college campuses these days...
William
Jewell 11/9/03 (Card)
When I served as
editor-in-chief for William Jewell's student newspaper last year, I was appalled by the insensitive, closed-minded individuals I encountered from
the fundamentalist camp of the Missouri Baptist Convention.
California Dreaming
(Kaylor/Mainstream)
California made history on October 7, 2003, as Gray Davis became only the second
governor in history to be recalled. I must admit that this bizarre
election....
Dis-in-gen-u-ous
11/3/03 (Sager)
dis-in-gen-u-ous:
adjective. Not straightforward; not
candid or frank; insincere. Now that we have had our vocabulary study for the
day, let’s use our new word in some sentences.
Jesus
Would Make a Lousy Missouri Baptist (Herron)
....Jesus
would make a lousy Missouri Baptist. He would undoubtedly be an easy target for
the Project 1000 crowd that has targeted fellow Baptists in a smear campaign of
incredible success.
Overheard
....Dr. [D. James] Kennedy certainly has the qualifications to be an outstanding
speaker. However, the question many of us have is not about that, but at a
time when so much fuss and emphasis is being made about requiring churches
to be singly aligned -How come we must go outside of the MBC and SBC to find
a speaker?
Tying
Down The Tent Flap(Tichenor) 10/13/2003
A few years ago in Baptist circles there was talk about “lengthening
the tent cords.” It
was a nice bit of lip service to a fuzzy concept that by imposing
doctrinal standards more people and churches would be permitted to come under
the Southern Baptist Tent.
A Question (Smith) 10/21/03
Regarding the lawsuits that have been filed against the five agencies, I
would like to know what all the $500,000+ was actually was spent on. How
much of this money went to lawyers/law firms? Specifically, I would
like to know how much the law firm that Michael Whitehead works for has received?
Is this information available? Thank you! Steve Smith
Liberty, Missouri
I wonder. . .
Harrison
I wonder if MBC representatives will be armed
with this
news at the next church they visit to prove that the SBC welcomes,
harbors, and encourages homosexual behavior?
Can
You Figure This Out?
from a recent Letter to the Editor in
Pathway from Dr. Morris Chapman: We need look no further than state Baptist
colleges and universities to find a number of examples of what happens
when ......
Response
(McClure)
....A
couple of years ago .... I posed the question you addressed, and he did a
little side-step....
Response (Boudinot)
Bart is right-on (or maybe
left-on). But who can make sense out of insanity. Which side of the brain can
help me understand why extreme fundamentalists are willfully destroying the
ministry of the SBC and MBC?
Response (Carey) 10/2/03
This is not in response to Mr. Tichenor -- but to Ordination of
Women(Sager) AMEN !!!
Dave Carey----Kearney, Mo.
Funding the
SBC Response (Dean) 09/27/2003
I do not know Bart, but I appreciate his attempt(s) to
inform Mo. Baptists. However, he and MoBaptists.org, lose credibility
when he offers pieces such as 'left brain-right brain'...
Funding
the SBC response (Dick Clark)
....I believe several
factors keep congregations from currently making a move: tradition, a sense of
"security," and resistance to change.
Statement
Regarding the Ordination of Women (Sager)
09/27/03
Responding to an
"admonition" from another church, Doyle Sager presented the following
report to the recent Concord Baptist Association meeting.
.... We believe very deeply in the authority and
infallibility of Holy Scriptures. As stated in the 1963 Baptist Faith and
Message, the Bible “has God for its author…and truth, without any
mixture of error, for its matter."
Overheard:
(Sept 24)
The Bible verse selected by the
MBC's
Pathway publication: The liberal soul shall be made
fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.
Funding the SBC – Defunding the MBC
(Tichenor) 9/23/03
I’m one of those
left-brain individuals. At least the tests designed to measure whether a person
is left or right-brained show that I am mostly left-brain. I realize my critics
in the MBC/SBC establishment will respond with a loud “We told you so. He is a
liberal.”
Lawsuit Update
-- September 18, 2003(Tichenor) 09/18/03
There has been recent action regarding the lawsuit against the five Missouri Baptist institutions.
Pathway Correction-- Overheard
(Pathway) Editor Hinkle opines about CBF/BGCM:
It is more their style to crow about their partnership with non-SBC
theological schools like Mercer University in Georgia, where the
president has denied the deity of Jesus Christ. He should visit the
official SBC website where Mercer is listed as an "SBC college"
and then admit his error.
The Pastor's Pen
(Doyle Sager)
Is it just me, or is this whole "10 Commandments Display in Alabama" thing a tempest in a teapot? Several have asked me about it, so here goes.
On
Ministry and Billable Hours W. B. Tichenor
While the lawsuit filed by the Executive Board
of the MBC and six Missouri Baptist Churches sits somewhat in neutral for the
time being, there are two things that are continuing.
Overheard
CP
Funding and the Defunded Five (Tichenor) 8/16/03
Who
Will Pay the Lawyers? (Tichenor) 8/11/03
Religious
Conservatives (Mart De Haan - RBC Ministries) July 2003
"The
Christians protesting in Alabama would be better off to take to heart the second commandment and stop worshipping a
graven image."
It’s fun to play with numbers. We
Baptists do it all the time. We keep track of how many live bodies we have
in Bible Study. . .Budget numbers are also always
interesting.
With the latest report from the MBC
Executive Board meeting that there is approximately $55,000 left in the
Strategic Initiatives Fund (SIF), the very real question for Missouri
Baptists is: Who is going to pay the lawyers who are prosecuting the
lawsuit against the five Missouri Baptist institutions? . . . .
How do the Ex. Bd. lawyers get paid
when the SIF balance drops to $0?
Why are the
villains in the greatest story ever told a group of religious
conservatives? The
question is personal. I am a religious and biblical conservative....Theologically, I’m a fundamentalist....
What I can’t shake, however, is the thought that the most dangerous
group of people in the New Testament were not atheists, secularists, religious
liberals, or advocates of sexual freedom.
SBC,
CBF, BWA, and Billiards (Kaylor) 7/24/03
While trying to keep up with the Baptist alphabet and conflict I went
online to do a little research. Mainly I wondered why the SBC would pull
out of the BWA because of the CBF. My confusion was only made worse by
the fact that I at first went to the website of the wrong BWA—the Billiards
World Cup Association (www.b-w-a.org).
Error noted:
A couple of readers noted the Pathway article cited last week
regarding Cooperative Program giving in
Missouri:
"May giving increased the 2003 Missouri CP total to $6,628,715. This
total is only 2.7 percent short of the 2003 five-month budget goal of
$7,239,726."
In truth, $6,628,715 is 91.6 percent of
$7,239,726. Thus, May-to-date giving appears to be at 8.4 percent below the
five-month budget goal.
Overheard
From
Jefferson City: 07/15/03
The MBC Executive Board has drafted a 2004 budget that
will not include William Jewell College. The budget will be voted on at
the St. Louis convention in November
The
Price of Freedom7/2003 (O'Brien)
"The Price of Freedom" tells of 56 men who signed the Declaration
of Independence in 1776 at great personal cost to themselves. Let us remember
them as heroes.... Some modern-day heroes paid a price
in 2003. That's when at least 77 men and women were terminated or
chose to resign or retire early as missionaries of the Southern Baptist
International Mission Board.
6/10/2003 (MB.org)
From a Texas reader: "Neither control freaks, ego-maniacs, bone-heads, power brokers,
psychos, spiritual blackmailers, myopic complainers, fire-breathing antagonists,
manipulative whiners, nor self-serving slaves of institutional Christianity will
be able to separate you from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus."
Attorney Fees? 6/9/03 (MB.org)
You have been quite informative about what the Missouri Baptist Convention
has spent on attorney fees thanks to Bart Tichenor's revelation.
My question is," Do the lawyers who work for the five institutions work
for them free?"
News
Stories from the Integrity Battlefront (Keith Herron)
How a thing is done makes a
difference. It makes as much a difference as the thing itself. Issues of
integrity seem to be a subtext for our culture these days. It’s also an issue
that eats away at the core of religious belief in our time.
CONSTITUTION: Literal reading creates
problems 5/6/03
(Richter)
Do the exact words
"separation of church and state" appear in the Constitution or Bill of
Rights?
Letter from North Carolina
05/02/03 (Paula Settle)
....with our denominational crisis only
getting worse by the day........I can no longer support an organization [WMU]
that is
not defending our missionaries who are
having to resign over the BFM issue. I have lost 5 missionary friends just in Togo where I served who are or
have already resigned over this.
The
Ever Increasing Cost of the Lawsuit (Tichenor) 4/30/2003
The report on the dollars
being spent by the MBC Executive Board to feed the lawyers is not good....just over $374,000 has gone to the lawyers
....Interesting that this effort
to exercise control is being paid for by a “Strategic Initiatives” funds.
That says a lot.
Controlling
the WMU? (Tichenor) 5/1/03
The recent dialog between the
Executive Director of the Missouri Baptist Convention and the WMU of Missouri
must have been an interesting exercise in how the “women are to submit”
doctrine was to play out.
One
Georgian's Take on the Shorter College Court Ruling 4/29/03
It was a victory for Shorter but may be appealed to the
Georgia Supreme Court in the next 30 days.
Blessed Are The Peacemakers
A Response To Southern
Baptist Pro-War Rhetoric 4/22/03 (Johnson)
None of our nations military leaders
are truly pro-war because they understand that war is always evil, even when
it’s a necessary evil. I
have great respect for the troops; but the soldiers delivering the military
ordinance in Iraq know you can’t drop a “smart bomb” on a busy
neighborhood street without hitting a few school children in the process. They
know civilian casualties are inevitable in any war.
Who Changed The Time?
4/14/03 (Doyle Sager)
A poem by FBC Jeff City
pastor Doyle Sager as a meditation on the way Daylight Savings Time and
cancer have both threatened to rob him of some daylight and in the context of
Holy Week.
Your perspective on Roger Moran's visit to North Carolina?
03/28/03 (MB.org)
What success has the Missouri Baptist
Convention enjoyed since the completion of Project 1000's transformation
of the Missouri Baptist Convention? We'd like to hear from you.
We'll compile a list for Baptists in North Carolina between now and Mr. Moran's visit
to North Carolina. Email us at missouri@mail.missouribaptists.org.
Important
conversations about the MBC and 2002 escrowed funds. 4/03/03
(MB.org)
The title says it
all. Questions remain that need to be answered.
Last
Sunday,3/20/03 (Olmsted)
Last Sunday the Springfield News Leader printed a misinformed story
about Windermere titled "Baptist Power Struggle Takes Toll." The
reporter was fed limited information from an MBC source that undermines the
reputation and future of our Baptist camp.
The latest news from the Baptist Building is not about more firings of staff. . . . The latest news is all about women having to submit or else. The Project 1000 leadership has finally targeted the WMU.
Missourian's
influence reaches N.C. 10/15/2001 (Baptist
Standard)
This article-- now 18 months old-- serves as
illustration that behaviors and actions bear fruit. Baptist life in
Missouri is what it is now because of a small group that was permitted to
succeed. ___FAYETTEVILLE, N.C.--Inspired
by the success of fundamentalists in Missouri, a group of North Carolinians is
working for a "takeover" of the Baptist State Convention of North
Carolina.
Overheard
3/13/03
It is now February 20 28
March 6 13 and still waiting for
answers. . . .An
MBC spokesman in November
said the $100,000 would be sent to Jewell in early January. Sallee said Jan. 29
the check had not arrived.
What
happened to the escrowed funds?
It has been two months . . . . Missouri Baptists who have been following this little adventure in
creative stewardship will recall that the Executive Board brought a very
specific recommendation relative to the disbursing of the escrowed funds.
What
about the lawsuit?
As
the mills of the gods grind exceedingly slow and exceedingly fine, likewise the
judicial system so moves.
What
about the Jewell Inquisition? 3/6/03 (Tichenor)
Overheard
3/5/03
Just read about the president of
Southeastern Seminary (Patterson) speaking and saying that a war with Iraq is
justified.
From Mr. Rogers 2/28/03
(via Baptist Center for Ethics)
"We live in a world in which we need to share responsibility. It's easy to
say 'It's not my child, not my community, not my world, not my problem.' Then
there are those who see the need and respond. I consider those people my
heroes." FRED
ROGERS, who died yesterday at 74
Overheard
1/30/03 (Shaver)
Just heard that Word and
Way has been given 28 days to vacate Missouri Baptist Building.
Scott Shaver,
pastor, Third
Baptist, St. Louis
Proposed
Solution Has Two Major Flaws 1/29/03 (Tichenor)
The proposal to end the conflict between the
Missouri Baptist Convention (Project 1000 leadership) and the Five Faithful and
Free Institutions presented by Darrell Moore
(Word & Way, 1/23/03) is interesting but it contains two fatal
flaws.
Mr.
Clippard says: 1/21/03
In normal times, . . .
Fuzzy Math
1/22/03
Mr. Clippard says, "The only change
that has affected the area of the WMU is in the area of one MBC staff
person who became part of the reduction-in-force."
This
sounds like fuzzy math. . .
The Georgia Peacemakers
1/9/03 (Tichenor)
Two different sons of Georgia. They
were from the same generation, but from different societies, different cultures.
Neither was born to wealth and neither sought greatness for the benefit
of greatness. Both sought to serve,
for the sake of service.
Will
this really happen? 1/7/03
MBC Executive Director David Clippard is in the
midst of full reorganization plan within the MBC. He said he would make
the convention's ministry "strategic and intentional."
Are
we better off now? 12/30/02 (Tichenor)
“Are
we better off now than before Project 1000 took control of the MBC and the
Executive Board?" is the question raised by Mr. W. B. (Bart) Tichenor at
the start of a new year.
Timeline
Updated 12/20/02
This useful timeline has been updated to include 2002 Baptist events.
Overheard
12/18/02
The real
question for Missouri Baptists. . .
Overheard
12/18/02
The authorization of the two new assistant execs was
done in violation of the policies and procedures manual which was in place for
the hiring. . .
The
Right Thing To Do With The Windfall 12/17/02 (Tichenor)
[An]
indispensable principle is manifested in what we call the “Golden
Rule”. . . .
Applying the principle so clearly demonstrated in the parable of the
“Bad Religious Leaders,” better known as the parable of the “Good
Samaritan,” four Missouri Baptist institutions find themselves on the horns of
an ethical dilemma. . . . . the fact that William Jewell College elects it own trustees
and the various subsidiary corporations of the Missouri Baptist Children’s
Home do likewise, was either intentionally overlooked or just simply ignored.
Overheard
12/16/02
It
seems obvious the [MBC] leaders have realized picking on poor Aunt Tillie at the
Baptist Home is hurting [Cooperative Program] receipts and morale. . .
Overheard
12/6/02
The MBC leadership already is and will
continue to look for something to substantiate their desire and decision,
I contend, eventually to cease funding William Jewell through the MBC
budget.
Overheard 11/27/02
Irony of ironies. The folks in Arizona who sued
the [Arizona Baptist] Foundation are watching the Missouri court case with
interest. . . + + +
When The Baptist Home for the
Aged was sold on the courthouse steps, . . .
Response
to Pathway 11/20/02 (Dr. Scott
Harrison)
You know all that stuff about Heaven and
eternal rewards? I know we really believe it.
Overheard
11/18/02
"Wonder why Pathway chose to ignore all the WJC [William Jewell College] connections to the people they
have identified."
Days
of Discernment 11/06/02
Missouri Baptist College (now MBU) was founded
during the mid-1950’s through the desire of local pastors and laypersons for
an evangelical Christian institution in the St. Louis area.
You’ve been faithful to that task.
You’ve grown in that task far beyond the area of St. Louis.
And now, not without resistance, you are seeking to continue that task
into this new century.
Overhead
10/25/02
Every time
the International Mission Board pulls out the old saw about "being
accountable to Southern Baptists," I think, "They really are talking
about being accountable to the 8,000 people at the Orlando convention who were
stampeded into endorsing a document written by the power brokers."
An
Interview with Mr. W. B. (Bart) Tichenor
10/2/02 (MB.org)
MissouriBaptists.org
interviewed W. B. (Bart) Tichenor about his recently conducted Friends Tour on
behalf of the Missouri Baptist Institutions being sued by the Executive Board of
the Missouri Baptist Convention and six Missouri Baptist churches.
Perspective From Pressler
by Barry Pennington 10/3/02 (Susquehanna-
Independence)
The new Missouri Baptist publication, The
Pathway, entertains the idea
that CBF, BGCM, or some other moderate organization was behind the five Missouri
Baptist agencies choosing to elect self-perpetuating boards of trustees.
The fact is, these agencies made their decisions independent of one another in
an effort to protect themselves from being taken over by a single theological
viewpoint.
Overheard
9/24/02 (Camdenton)
Now,
I am not sure of taking on [William] Jewell [College] at this time. We need to
choose our battles.
The Power of an Open Mouth
by Keith
Herron 9/26/02 (Holmeswood-Kansas City)
A few years back, a news
article was released about an exciting rediscovery of a breed of pheasants that
had been thought to be extinct for over 70 years. The birds were found in
central Vietnam. Officials of the World Wide Fund for Nature told Reuters news
service that villagers living in the Bach Ma National Park caught both a male
and female of the blue-black Edwards pheasant.
The
Pastor's Pen
by Doyle Sager 9/13/02 (FBC-Jeff City)
Regarding
the misguided MBC lawsuit against 5 institutions, an interesting dilemma is fast
approaching. Here it is.
Covenant or Control
by Jim Hill 9/12/02 (MB.org)
"I have been praying for more
than a year that God would bring his people together.
Unfortunately, some have been unwilling for that to happen."
An article submitted by Jim Hill, former Exec. Director of the Missouri Baptist
Convention.
Clarification from a Missouri Attorney
8/28/02 (MB.org)
A letter from St. Louis attorney
Cynthia Holmes sent to Word and Way, Pathway, and
MissouriBaptists.org in response to coverage in the August 22, 2002 Word
and Way about the MBC lawsuit against five Missouri Baptist
institutions.
Perspective from a Windermere Trustee
"I read with interest the article "MBC launches news journal" appearing in the June 2002 edition
of "the Pathway", now considered the "official" news journal of the MBC. Of particular note is a quote by [former MBC President]
Robert Collins. . ."
Friends of Missouri Baptist Institutions to File Amicus Brief
W. B. (Bart)
Tichenor, counsel for MissouriBaptists.org, announced today that he is
authorized to organize and coordinate the filing of an amicus curiae brief
at the appropriate time on behalf of interested Missouri Baptist churches
and individuals in support of the defendant Baptist institutions.
The Inequity of Defunding- 8/8/02
(MB.org)
The recent action by the Executive Board of the Missouri Baptist
Convention to defund five Missouri Baptist entities should have come as no great surprise.
The corollary action taken by the Board of refusing to permit these Missouri Baptist
agencies to exhibit at the MBC annual meeting likewise was to be expected. These were simply further actions in the
continuing campaign of intimidation and attack to set the stage for the filing of lawsuits
against Baptist brothers and sisters.
Escrowing Not
Authorized - 6/02/02 (W.B. (Bart) Tichenor)*
In all of the recent pronouncements by the
President of the Missouri Baptist Convention and the attorney for the Legal Opinion Task
Force relative to allegations of violations of the MBC Constitution and state statutes,
one very important fact has been over looked. Maybe the fact has not been overlooked, but
just conveniently ignored by President Curtis and Attorney Whitehead. That fact is that
the action of escrowing funds allocated to a Missouri Baptist Convention agency is not
authorized in the MBC Constitution, Bylaws or Business and Financial Plan.
A careful reading of the recent article by the attorney for the Missouri Baptist Convention's Legal Opinion Task Force should raise some very serious questions in the minds of all Missouri Baptists. Michael Whitehead asserts that it does not take a room full of Philadelphia lawyers to understand the concerns, which Missouri Baptist Convention leaders have with the hostage entities. If that is the case, then Missouri Baptists should be asking why was it necessary to spend tens of thousands of Missouri Baptist dollars to hire not one but three different law firms to render opinions relative to current conflict? If it doesn't take a room full of Philadelphia lawyers, why didn't Mr. Whitehead simply issue his own opinion and save Missouri Baptists a lot of money. 5/22/02 (W.B. (Bart) Tichenor*
The time for ending the conflict concerning The Baptist Home, Missouri Baptist College, The Missouri Baptist Foundation, Windermere Baptist Conference Center and the Word & Way is long past. Enough time, energy and financial resources have been expended on this matter. The conflict has now deteriorated to the point of the MBC president issuing an open letter which argues about who said what and who did or didn’t do this or that. Such allegations and responses back and forth can go on forever, without really focusing on the big picture.
The following statement was released by the Missouri Baptist Convention on December 10, 2004.
MBC changes
Baptist Home giving option
(Word&Way) 11-09-04
Individuals who
traditionally give an anniversary offering to support The Baptist Home now
will need to double-check with their church treasurer to make certain their
gift goes where they intend.
God
has blessed The Pathway in many, mighty ways (Pathway) 10/29/04
October has been an historic month in The Pathway’s brief
history .... I am most thankful to God for the staff He has assembled. In 18
miraculous months they have established The Pathway as a nationally
respected publication known for its theologically conservative view of
reality, aggressive reporting and thought-provoking opinions.
State
Convention Exec Fires Managing Editor (EthicsDaily.com)
10-27-04
The managing editor of the Missouri Baptist Convention newspaper The
Pathway reportedly was fired Oct. 11, after Executive Director David Clippard
charged him with insubordination.
Where Do We Belong?
Dealing
with Baptist issues without destroying relationships (FBC Lee's Summit)
Eight seminars/ Four cities....
The purpose of this seminar is to help you
and your church navigate the waters of denominational relationships with
minimum disturbance and maximum effectiveness.
What role did
theology play in MBC fracas? (Word & Way)
What role, if any, has theology played in the continuing legal struggle
between the Missouri Baptist Convention and five related entities? The answer
depends on perspective -- the current legal conflict either is a direct result
of theological differences or it's simply a struggle for political control.
The two issues may be intertwined.
The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Missouri is grieved by the attacks in a recent Missouri Baptist Convention Pathway article.... the Pathway released confidential
information in an attempt to discredit pastors and churches that relate to Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and/or CBF of Missouri. The article made reference to eight CBFMO-affiliated churches
and three individuals, including CBFMO Moderator Bob Webb.
Committee
recommends trustees for MBC agencies (Pathway)
The names of 60 Missouri Baptists will be submitted to messengers at the
2004 annual meeting of the Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) as candidates to
serve on MBC boards and commissions.
Option to
buy made on Baptist Bldg. (Word&Way)
Missouri Baptist Convention and Cole County Commission representatives
inked a contingency contract on Aug. 25 for the possible sale of the Baptist
Building for $2.75 million.... First, the 13 other property owners in the block also must agree to sell....
Presiding Cole County Commissioner Bob Jones called the release of
information on The Pathway Web site and an Aug. 27 Jefferson City Post-Tribune
article "unfortunate." The commission would have preferred to have
had time to contact each property owner individually before word of the
pending agreement with the MBC had been released. None of the other property
owners had been contacted as of Aug. 30.
CBF
supporters, critical of the MBC, using MBC-provided annuity services
(Pathway)
Several Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF) leaders in Missouri –
consistent critics of the Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) and its conservative
direction and leadership – are continuing to use the annuity services provided
by the MBC. Pathway research shows also that several prominent Baptist General Convention
of Missouri (BGCM) representatives are continuing in the annuity program,
including ....
Participants
concerned with single alignment, CP (Word&Way)
A single-alignment proposal and use of Cooperative Program money to fund
lawsuits were among topics addressed in at least two Missouri Baptist
Convention listening sessions.
Single
alignment moves forward: Messengers
to decide at MBC’s annual meeting (Pathway)
To be considered an SBC
church and eligible for membership in the MBC, a church must: ....
• Not send representation or messengers to, nor financially support or
budget funds for any other state convention or national convention or
organization which serves and/or acts as a national convention.
BGCM to
explore relationships (Word&Way)
The Baptist General Convention of Missouri authorized interim executive
director Jim Hill and president Bill Miller to explore the development of
various relationships, including one with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of
Missouri, another with the Baptist General Convention of Texas and its missions
subsidiary, WorldConnex, and another with Ministry Connect, a Missouri
consulting ministry.
Appeals court
declines to dismiss MBC's appeal of Brown's decision on agencies (Word&Way)
The Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, denied a request to dismiss
an appeal against five Missouri Baptist Convention-related entities.
Thomas accepts leave from MBC
(W&W) 7/15/2004
Missouri Baptist Convention associate executive director Larry Thomas has
accepted an extended sabbatical leave from his duties effective July 15. The
leave will last until Thomas' official retirement at the end of the year.
Midwestern
‘no longer a part of the problem,’ Roberts says Jun 21, 2004 (BP)
....During his report to the SBC June 16, Roberts said Midwestern, once known for
its liberal teachings, is “clearly no longer a part of the problem, but a part
of the solution.”
Legal
fund contributions on the rise (Pathway) 6/10/04
Money has started flowing into the Missouri Baptist Convention’s
(MBC)
Agency Restoration Fund and the amount is steadily rising.
SBC
elects officers from both coasts & Midwest Jun 16, 2004 (BP)
....
Gerald Davidson, pastor of the St. Louis-area First Baptist Church in Arnold and
a past president of the Missouri Baptist Convention, was unopposed as SBC first
vice president.
CP
Giving down in Missouri this year (BP) June 10, 2004
.... The SBC received
$4,343,074 in CP funds from Missouri Baptists during the eight-month period...
Listening session
attendees question using CP funds to pay legal fees (W&W)
Missouri Baptist Convention executive director David Clippard and his four
associates heard an earful from critics and supporters of the convention's
lawsuit against five Baptist institutions and a proposal to use Cooperative
Program funds to fund legal expenses during May 13 listening sessions in Kansas
City.
Should
16 million Southern Baptists pull their kids out of public schools? (Pathway)
It
was one of the most important books of the 20th Century and the first sentence of its first chapter is as much an indictment of America
’s public education system as it is a scholarly, yet sobering observation.
MBC
listening session sparks lively debate Pathway 05/27/2004
....“I
don’t mean to beat a dead horse to death, but I still can’t see this legal
suit against the five institutions,” [FBC Oak Grove pastor] Messer said. “I
don’t agree with what they did, but I feel like we need to let that thing go.
Why not just rather be wronged, just take it on the chin. “I
believe you and your team could lead us to revival by getting out of that
suit,” Messer said to Clippard.
Barry
passes resolution supporting use of CP Pathway 05/27/04
The Barry County Association of Southern Baptists has unanimously adopted a
resolution pledging the association’s full support in the Missouri Baptist
Convention’s legal battle against five rebel agencies.
Controversial
SBU Bible professor resigns (Pathway)
Scott Langston, the Southwest Baptist University (SBU) professor who
said in 2002 that his “blood boils” when he thinks of Missouri Baptist
fundamentalists and that Jonah was not swallowed by a big fish, has resigned
from the SBU faculty.
MBC
budget, our entities, our legal questions (Clippard in Pathway)
If
memory serves me correctly, I believe I have written only two other columns that
spoke to issues regarding the legal questions our Convention is trying to get
answered. This all began before I
came as your Executive Director
CP-funds-for-legal-fees
question to face messengers (W&W) 4/22/04
.... According to the March financial report, the convention staff placed $280,000
into the Strategic Initiatives/ARF fund during the first quarter. Apparently,
the money came from a $1 million line of credit messengers also authorized at
the 2003 annual session. Figures in the March report indicate $225,151 as a
notes payable liability on Dec. 31, 2003. By March 31, the debt had reached
$505,151.
Messengers
to decide whether to use some CP funds to recover five former CP agencies (Pathway) 4/15/04
Messengers attending the 2004
Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) annual meeting will have the opportunity to
decide whether to use a portion of the Cooperative Program allocation budget in
the legal effort to recover five former Cooperative Program agencies.
National CP ahead of last year, Missouri CP down 13 percent (BP)
4/8/04
Year-to-date contributions through the
Southern Baptist Convention's Cooperative Program are up 2.52 percent compared
to the same time frame in 2003, according to SBC Executive Committee president
Morris H. Chapman.
During the same time period, CP gifts received from Missouri totaled
$3,154,976, or 13.19 percent behind last year's six-month total of $3,634,280.
Judge
Brown's April 7 ruling
For the reasons set out in the Court’s Judgment of
Dismissal, the portion of plaintiffs’ motion for Reconsideration of the
Judgment of Dismissal is denied.
The MBC's suggestions in support of motion to reconsider 4/5/04
MBU's reply to the MBC's motion to reconsider 4/5/05
MBC
attorneys file ‘motion to reconsider’ (Word&Way) 4/1/04
Attorneys for the Missouri Baptist Convention have filed a
motion, which, if granted, would continue the MBC’s legal battle with five of
its affiliated entities.
Thoughts
& Adventures (Pathway- Don Hinkle) 3/31/04
....This massive outpouring of
publicity that would have impressed Joseph Goebbels for its breadth and
ferocity, has gotten them little to nothing. What on earth were they thinking
when they embarked on such foolishness?....
Mo.
breakaways challenged over ‘distortions and double-talk’
3/19/04 (BP)
A massive public relations
campaign against the Missouri Baptist Convention has churned out inaccurate and
misleading information, according to the chief legal counsel for the state
convention.
Past
president, pastor recommends prayer as MBC legal battle with agencies continues (Pathway) 3/18/04
By
One of the generals of the
conservative resurgence in Missouri Baptist life is urging the current
leadership to look beyond the potential discouragement of ongoing legal
wrangling and rally around the flag of Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) moral
certitude.
Midwestern
Seminary to annnounce plans for new Bible college (Pathway)
Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (MBTS) trustees were expected to
give a green light to the start-up of a new four-year undergraduate Bible
college on the seminary campus at their quarterly meeting March 15-16.
Click here to read the complete ruling by Judge Thomas Brown
Missouri
Baptists Asking Judge to Reconsider Lawsuit Dismissal (EthicsDaily.com) 03-17-04
The Missouri Baptist Convention plans to ask a judge to reconsider and modify
his ruling dismissing a lawsuit against five convention agencies before filing
an appeal, the convention’s attorney said Tuesday.
From My Heart to Yours David Clippard, MBC Executive Director
Disappointed, but certainly NOT defeated or
discouraged.
... the trustees of five Missouri institutions and agencies have been responsible including their decisions that impact how boards are elected. The evidence of their trustworthiness is their steadfast determination to serve all Baptists in Missouri.
A Wise Judge Decides
H.K. Neely, BGCM director
Cole County Circuit Judge Thomas Brown, in
dismissing the lawsuit against five Missouri Baptist institutions, showed more
wisdom than many recent Baptists in understanding historic Baptist principles
and practice.
MBC
undeterred by limited court ruling (Pathway) 3/12/04
The Missouri Baptist Convention’s (MBC) legal task force is leaving
little doubt about what the next step will be following a court ruling March 11
that the Executive Board and six churches do not have legal “standing” to file suit against Missouri Baptist
College.
Missouri
Baptist Leaders Vow to Continue Legal Battle (EthicsDaily.com) 03-15-04
Missouri Baptist Convention representatives said Friday afternoon they would
continue a legal battle against five convention entities named in a lawsuit
thrown out of court on a technicality.
Judge
dismisses convention lawsuit against Missouri Baptist agencies (ABP) 3/11/04
A Missouri judge has effectively
dismissed a lawsuit filed by Missouri Baptist Convention leaders against five
institutions that removed themselves from convention control.
Negrut:
SBC should withdraw from BWA (Pathway)
When the Executive Committee of
the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) voted to recommend the SBC withdraw from
the Baptist World Alliance (BWA), it was the right decision, according to Paul
Negrut, president of the Romanian Baptist Union.
Ruling
could bring end to MBC suit, or keep it alive (W&W) 3/3/04
Cole County Circuit Judge Thomas Brown reserved his ruling Feb.
26 in the latest round of legal wrangling between the Missouri Baptist
Convention and five of its institutions. His ruling could end the litigation or
would move the lawsuit one step closer to trial.
Evangelism
trend continues downward (Pathway)
The Missouri Baptist
Convention’s (MBC) general 30-year downward trend in evangelism continued in
2003.
2/26/04 -- Court Update(Tichenor) Judge Thomas Brown has essentially taken under advisement a Motion...
Davidson
to be nominee for convention first vice president (BP) 2/20/04
.... "The former presidents [of the SBC] have decided that Gerald Davidson
should be first vice president, and Dr. Adrian Rogers has been asked to nominate
him," said Bailey Smith, president of the SBC in 1981 and 1982.
Kaylor Petition
A copy of Ms. Carol Kaylor's
three-count petition filed against the MBC, the Executive Board of the MBC, and
Ex. Director David Clippard.
Missouri
Baptist Convention, exec sued for slander, discrimination by fired employee
1/28/04 (ABP)
Already embroiled in legal action against five of its agencies, the Missouri
Baptist Convention now faces litigation by a former employee.
When
we talk about fundamentalism . . . Let's be honest! (Pathway)
.... Fundamentalist is a word sometimes used to describe the radical
Muslim who erroneously believes that he may gain heaven by killing the infidels
(Christians), as well as the Bible preacher who loves and lives the Word of God
(obviously the Muslim and the Bible preacher are opposites).
Conservatives
Gaining Ground in State Conventions, Editor Says (EthicsDaily.com)
01-28-04
The “conservative resurgence” continues to gain ground in Baptist state,
according to a fundamentalist editor.... --Missouri's state meeting “was the
most united convention in decades,” Pinckney wrote.
Legal
issues at forefront in 2003 (W&W) 1/9/04
“Relationship” is the key word in several major events that
captured Missouri Baptists’ attention in 2003 — relationships strained,
questioned, severed and reconciled. Word&Way takes a brief look back at some
of those relationships newspaper staff covered for our readers.
Word&Way
booted from MBC meeting (Word&Way) 12/18/2003
Word & Way's 107 years of openly covering Missouri Baptist
Convention executive board meetings ended with a prayer on Dec. 9.
$3.8
million Hall Family Foundation gift supports academic excellence at William
Jewell (WJC) 12/15/03
William Jewell College has announced a major gift of $3.8 million from The Hall
Family Foundation to further enhance academic programs at the nationally
recognized liberal arts college.
This
Jewell Is a Real Gem (AAUP) 11/2003
.... It took considerable guts, therefore, for William
Jewell College to reject the demands of the Missouri Baptist Convention, a
decision that cost the college nearly a million dollars, about 3 percent of its
operating budget.
Missouri Baptist Foundation reduces
staff in restructuring
(W&W) 12/11/03
Several Missouri Baptist Foundation staff members have
voluntarily stepped away from their jobs or cut back working hours to help the
Foundation reduce expenses.
MBC
hires Messer as lobbyist for 2004 Legislature (Pathway) 12/08/03
The Christian Life Commission
(CLC)
of the Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) has hired Kerry Messer to be the
legislative liaison for the 2004 State Legislature, according to CLC Chairman
Rodney Albert.
From
My Heart to Yours (David Clippard in Pathway)
Lottie
Moon: An inspiration for missions
Tolliver:
New committee on building sale will work steadfastly (Pathway) 11/31/03
The committee that will study
the feasibility of selling the Baptist Building is going to take its time, according to the newly elected president of the
Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC).
Word&Way
is barred from MBC meetings(Word & Way) 11/27/03
In a move unprecedented in Southern Baptist circles, a state
convention president will attempt to bar a Baptist publication from attending or
reporting on state meetings.
Insurer
files to avoid legal fees (W&W) 11/20/03
The company that insures the Missouri Baptist Convention, three
of the convention’s institutions and three of six churches that have joined
the MBC’s legal action against those agencies has filed legal action in
federal court to avoid paying on policies.
Brown
rules against Baptist Convention in one part of suit against agencies
(Jefferson City News Tribune) 11/10/03
The Missouri Baptist Convention isn't a "member" of the Missouri
Baptist University's corporation, and can't claim a membership right to sue the
St. Louis school, Cole County Circuit Judge Thomas J. Brown III ruled this
morning.
William Jewell Responds to Missouri Baptist Convention Funding Decision
(WJC)
11/4/03
The president of William Jewell College responded today to a decision by
messengers to the Missouri Baptist Convention meeting in St. Louis to eliminate
William Jewell from the convention’s 2004-05 budget.
Baptist
group cuts funding to William Jewell(Post-Dispatch) 11/05/2003
The Missouri
Baptist Convention broke its 150-year-old tradition and voted Tuesday not to
give one penny to William Jewell College in Liberty, Mo.... College President David L. Sallee said Tuesday, "It was a foregone
conclusion; the only question was when." He added that the state convention
was following a Southern Baptist Convention trend toward top-down management.
Church
group cuts old tie to William Jewell College(Kansas City Star) 11/5/03
In fall 1977, David O. Moore listened silently
as his fellow Baptists debated a resolution condemning his teachings at William
Jewell College.
Missouri Baptist Convention seeks
authority to borrow $1 million (St. Louis Post Dispatch) 11/1/2003
The Missouri Baptist Convention will ask members this week to
put up some of its assets as collateral for a $1 million loan.
State
WMU winds up listening sessions 10/30/03 (Word&Way)
Members of Missouri Woman’s Missionary Union had an
opportunity to express opinions and ask questions about WMU and a proposed bylaw
change during a series of just-completed listening sessions.
Kennedy,
Mohler head speaker list at 2003 MBC's annual convention (Pathway)
Two of America's most renowned
theologians and Christian apologists will be the featured speakers when Missouri
Baptist Convention (MBC) messengers gather for their 2003 state convention in
St. Louis, Nov. 3-5.
David
Tolliver to be nominated as MBC president
(Pathway)
David Tolliver, pastor of Pisgah Baptist Church,
Excelsior Springs, will be nominated to serve as the 2004 Missouri Baptist
Convention (MBC) president.
Church Reminds itself of Baptist history and the Bible
Rock Falls Baptist Church, part of
the Heartland Baptist Association, has used these study materials for Sunday
evening studies about
What Baptists Believe. Here are Part 1 (Confessions
and Creeds), Part 2 (The
Bible) and Part 3 (Those
Problem Passages in the Bible)
‘Laundering’
term gets BGCM leader in hot water; CP gifts not going through Texas
(Pathway) 10/23/03
The Baptist General Convention of Texas (BGCT) has not
"laundered money" for the Baptist General Convention of Missouri (BGCM)
to the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), according to David Nabors, BGCT chief
financial officer/treasurer.
Legal
fund will hurt missions (Word&Way editorial) 10/23/03
In
less than two weeks, messengers to the annual meeting of the Missouri Baptist
Convention will be faced with two recommendations perhaps unique in the 167-year
history of MBC.
$1
million credit line sought for legal fees (Word&Way) 10/16/2003
In an effort to cover its legal fees, the Missouri Baptist
Convention executive board will ask Missouri Baptists to give above budget
requirements in 2004.
Theological
crossfire in Richmond as MBC, BGCM, CBF debate differences (Pathway) 10/9/03
First Baptist Church, Richmond, caught up in the Heartland Baptist Association
controversy, decided it was time to get some straight answers.
Motion
calls for committee to study sale of Baptist Building (Pathway)
What would you do with a seven-story,
78-year-old building that has an average monthly utility bill of $15,000?
EEOC files formal complaint against MBC
(Word & Way) 9/12/03
Missouri Baptist Convention officials last week confirmed that,, they have received a formal com-plaint from the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on behalf of a former employee.
Motion consideration next on court docket(Word&Way) 9/12/03
Two requests for judgments in the legal action the Missouri Baptist Convention has taken against five of its agencies prompted Cole County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Brown to cancel a scheduled Sept. 2 hearing. Plans had called for a trial date for the pending litigation to be set on that date.
Windermere
Loan Financing Finalized: Wilderness Creek Expansion Proceeding (Windermere) 09/04/03
The Windermere Board of Trustees approved a major expansion of Windermere during
2002. Construction of the Wilderness Creek campus was temporarily delayed
earlier this year when the original plans for financing the expansion did not
work out.....Construction will be resuming within a few weeks on the first phase of the
expansion.
Executive
board keeps task force motions secret (Word&Way) July 24,2003
Missouri Baptist Convention executive board members ended their
meeting July 15 by publicly passing two recommendations from their legal task
force. But they would not reveal to the media and visitors present the
recommendations' contents.
Midwestern, Golden Gate
seminaries safe for now, but changes still loom July 22, 2003 (ABP)
Is the Southern Baptist Convention considering selling the valuable property
of its two smallest seminaries? Southern Baptist leaders say "no." But
they won't rule out the possibility of significant changes in the future for at
least one of the schools.
Time
to tell Missouri Baptists about Midwestern debate
(Pathway editorial)
....There is no doubt that
nerves were becoming a bit frayed. Many Missouri Baptists that I have talked
with in recent weeks were beginning to apply war paint. It is not clear whether
this was an overreaction, but what is clear is that war drums began beating
again among battle-hardened conservatives in the "Show Me" state.
Missourians, like Moran, could be seen joining Roberts in vigorously lobbying
SBC Executive Committee members on the [SBC] convention floor in Phoenix. In
addition, there were murmurs of Project 1000 forces mobilizing to carry the
fight to the SBC's annual meeting in Indianapolis, with Baker calling for 2,000
Missouri Baptists to show up as messengers. (Project 1000 was the conservative,
pro-SBC organization of laity and pastors who prevented a takeover of the MBC by
pro-Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF) moderates/liberals in the state. As a
friend of mine recently put it, "If there is one organization that SBC
leaders respect - and maybe even fear - it is Project 1000.")
Jewell
stays independent (Sun-News) July 24, 2003
....this ancient bastion of Baptist education in Missouri, with its traditions of
prayer and ministry, and its motto of "trust in God and work," is not
Christian enough for the Missouri Baptist Convention. MBC leaders demand changes
at Jewell, which received Time's Liberal Arts College of the Year designation
for 2001-2002.
Southern
Baptists need BWA (W&W) 7/10/03
Messengers
to the recent Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in Phoenix, Ariz.,
successfully cut back funding to the Baptist World Alliance. Some suspect that
this may be only the beginning of a plan for Southern Baptists to cut off BWA
completely. Messengers reduced BWA funding from $425,000 to $300,000.
The SBC in the Order of the
Phoenix: A Perspective on the Recent SBC Meeting 7/8/03 (BGCM)
As the seven
thousand SBC messengers left Phoenix, tens of thousands of Americans raced to
bookstores to purchase Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. In the book,
the Order of the Phoenix is a group that formed to fight the dark lord who
sought power and control in the 1970’s. They were also known for their
diversity and inclusiveness. Now they are underground and trying once again to
defeat him. However, most people do not believe their claims about the dark
lord and thus do not want to get involved. But they are right and with Harry
in the battle every reader knows that this time the dark lord will be
defeated.
CP
up for fifth straight month 6/26/03 (Pathway)
Cooperative Program (CP) receipts continued an
upward trend in May.
Controller
fired for misconduct (Pathway) 6/24/03
A former controller for the Missouri Baptist Convention
(MBC) was
terminated April 15 for her involvement in the unauthorized tampering with the
executive director's computer and email files.
Former
MBC controller files EEOC complaint 6/19/03 (W&W)
Already
embroiled in a legal battle with five of its institutions, the Missouri
Baptist Convention now faces an investigation by the federal Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission for possible mistreatment of an employee.
Kennedy,
Mohler head speaker list at 2003 MBC’s annual convention 5/22/03
(Pathway)
Two of America’s most renowned theologians and
Christian apologists will be the featured speakers when Missouri Baptist
Convention (MBC) messengers gather for their 2003 state convention in St.
Louis, Nov. 4-5.
MBC
president asks churches to support CP 5/22/03 (Pathway)
Monte Shinkle,
president of the Missouri Baptist Convention, is asking Missouri Baptists
to get behind the Cooperative Program.
Clippard
urges WMU: Don’t leave your heritage 5/15/03 (Pathway)
[David] Clippard came to the WMU annual meeting April 25 at William Jewell College
seeking clarity. He wanted delegates to tell him which type of
Baptist—Primitive, Free Will, Southern, etc.—they are. He left that day
wanting to know more.
Bivocational church planting was the focus of Mark Coppenger's message as he returned to Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary .... Coppenger will be named an honorary alumnus of MBTS during the alumni luncheon June 18 in conjunction with the Southern Baptist Convention.
Reported in W&W
5/8/03 (W&W)
. . . For April, Missouri CP gifts to the SBC were.
. . .
Tornadoes cause major damage
at William Jewell College 5/6/03 (ABP)
William Jewell College was hit hard by tornadoes that roared through Kansas
City May 4. "Very preliminary" figures released May 5 estimated
damage to the Baptist school at $15 million to $20 million. Despite heavy
property loss, no one was injured.
Baptists
among victims of Missouri tornadoes
5/6/03 (ABP)
WATCH OUT: Conservative
Baptist official warns group 4/25/2003 (Winston-Salem
Journal)
MBC trial
likely to get started early in 2004 04/24/03
Board calls on Jewell to
clarity positions on homosexuality
MBC Executive Board News 4/15/03 (MB.org)
Cooperative
giving down in 2002 4/10/03 (Pathway)
Missouri
WMU told to change charter to work only with conservatives
4/3/03 (ABP)
Churches
threaten to leave the Heartland Baptist Association 3/27/03
(Pathway)
Baptist
power struggle takes toll Windermere, Baptist Convention argue over who controls center.
3/16/03 (Springfield
News-Leader)
"Where
do I belong?” 3/13/03
Tensions
simmer between Jewell, state convention 02/26/03 (The Kansas City Star)
Cooperative
receipts down 2/20/03 (Pathway)
Trustees
Reaffirm William Jewell College Mission 2/18/03
(WJC)
Word&
Way must leave Baptist Building Agency must be out by March 1 2/6/03
(W&W) Jewell
President Showed Courage 2/4/03 (Liberty
Tribune)
Churches ask “Where Do We
Belong?” Upcoming seminar to answer questions about denominational relationships
1/24/03
Learning 1/23/03 (Liberty Sun News)
An
Open Letter from David Clippard 01/15/03
Layman
proposes solution to Missouri Baptist conflict
1/23/03 (W&W) Sallee,
Duncan: Control at heart of Jewell-MBC controversy Church
Will Press for return of Escrowed Funds 1/2/03
(W&W)
MBC
won't forward escrowed funds; no decision on returning them to churches 12/19/02
(W&W) MBC
staff reorganization gets underway: Up to 19 people are being told that they are
losing their jobs 12/19/02 (W&W)
Qualls,
Spannagel to join Clippard management team,
as MBC restructuring begins
12/12/02 (Pathway) William
Jewell College Affirms Its Autonomy 12/17/02
(WJC)
MBC
to launch inquiry at William Jewell over sex, homosexuality 12/12/02
(Pathway)
William
Jewell debates adding homosexuals to bill of rights
12/06/02 (BP)
Judge
declines to dismiss lawsuits against Missouri Baptist agencies
11/26/02 (ABP)
At least three Baptist church members died in Missouri when
tornadoes ripped through the state May 4.
A Missouri layman warned conservative Baptists
yesterday to hold their ground against their moderate brethren.
Attorneys for the Missouri Baptist Convention and
five institutions it is suing can work out details for completing steps leading
to setting a trial date in the ongoing legal battle. Cole County Circuit Judge
Thomas Brown decided to allow the move during a brief status hearing in
Jefferson City on April 21.
Following a lengthy closed-door session April 15, members of the Missouri
Baptist Convention Executive Board issued a statement calling on William
Jewel! College to "clarify their positions on homosexuality and
Christ-dishonoring presentations, such as the 'Vagina Monologues.'" The
board made the move at the recommendation of the board's inter-agency
relations committee,
In executive board meeting today (Tuesday), the
Board voted on disbursements to fund the state missions offering and
disbursements to the 4 agencies. Representatives came forward to
accept checks presented by President Monte Shinkle.
Missouri Baptists contributed $16,181,156 to the
Cooperative Program (CP) during 2002, down from the $18,924,964 given the
previous year.
And statistics from the Missouri
Baptist Convention’s finance office show that giving to the CP continues to
lag behind goals through the first quarter of 2003.
The head of the Missouri Baptist Convention has threatened to cut funding for
the state's Woman's Missionary Union if the women don't vow exclusive loyalty
to the convention.
Two churches are threatening to leave the Heartland
Baptist Association because it refuses to insert language into its
constitution that would require member churches to solely align with the
Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) and Southern Baptist Convention (SBC).
Construction on a $19.5 million youth camp at Windermere Baptist
Conference Center has been abandoned since December, as project financing
dissolved while a long-standing legal dispute among Missouri Baptists
solidified.
Recently seven retired pastors wrote the
following letter to Dr David Clippard, Exec. Dir. MBC: 3/7/03
“Where do I belong?” is a question asked when
introduced into a new or
clumsy situation. Three churches are answering that question as it
relates
to the larger Baptist denomination these days.
William Jewell College's trustees have refused to answer written questions
that are part of a Missouri Baptist Convention inquiry.
January Cooperative Program giving lagged behind receipts needed to meet the
monthly goal, according to Carol Kaylor, Missouri Baptist Convention controller.
The Trustees of William Jewell College voted
unanimously to reaffirm the liberal arts college’s mission statement during
their regular meeting last week. That statement maintains that the College will
“provide students with a liberal arts education of superior quality; serve
communities beyond the campus educationally, culturally and socially; and be an
institution loyal to the ideals of Christ, demonstrating a Christian philosophy
for the whole of life and expressing the Missouri Baptist heritage which is the
foundation of the College.”
Dear
Brothers, 2/10/03
Among the more than twenty MBC workers laid off by David Clippard and the state
leadership is our worker with the Hispanics, Koreans and other language groups
in SW Missouri - Samuel Gonzalez.
Word&Way must
vacate space it currently uses on the ground floor of the Baptist Building in
Jefferson City by March 1. In addition, materials belonging to the news journal
and stored in another area of the building have been locked away from Word&Way
staff.
The newspaper - if you had time to do all the research
- is a great arbiter of how the meanings (or spellings) of words change over
time. Take the word "gay", for instance. It was not that long ago that
gay meant a frivolous type of fellow. Today it means- well, you know.
The Missouri Baptist Convention has made dramatic
changes in recent years - from terminating convention employees in a
reorganization attempt to eliminated funding for five institutions and agencies. But
it’s not just happening at the state level; tensions continue to rise in the
Southern Baptist Convention as well.
Last week my own newspaper, the Sun, carried a letter from homosexual-hating
avenger Fred Phelps denouncing William Jewell College for lacking control.
Standing with Fred on this side of the issue is the Missouri Baptist Convention.
Both are concerned because the William Jewell Student Senate wants to
"discuss" protection of homosexuals from discrimination.
A letter to WMU Leaders, Pastors & DOMs about
recent staff changes at the MBC.
A Springfield layman has proposed a solution to the ongoing conflict between
the Missouri Baptist Convention and five of its agencies. The proposal would
require the convention to withdraw a lawsuit it filed last August and would
require the institutions’ boards to rescind actions to become
self-perpetuating.
Control of the institution, rather than moral concerns, is the “essence of the
controversy” between William Jewell College and the Missouri Baptist
Convention at least two College leaders believe. “How one does Christian
higher education is a big part of this current issue,” Jewell president David
Sallee said in a recent interview.
At least one church plans to press the Missouri
Baptist Convention to return the escrowed portion of the church’s Cooperative
Program gifts.
The Missouri Baptist Convention executive board
voted to turn down church requests to release escrowed Cooperative Program
monies to five MBC agencies.
. . . Joy Mistele said she believed
that churches understood that the money was to remain in escrow until the issue
of self-governing boards was settled.
“I understand that the churches thought nothing would be done with the
money. The convention made a change
in the 10th month. The
convention will be seen as not doing what we said we would do,” she said.
Cooperative Program giving in 2002 has fallen short of the $19.2 million
budgeted for the year. In July, the
board revised the CP budget to reflect anticipated receipts at $16.5 million. The MBC reported actual receipts at $14,664,963 as of Nov.
30.
Kenny Qualls, pastor of Springhill Baptist Church, Springfield, and president of
the Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC), will step down from both positions to
take a job on the staff of David Clippard, executive director of the MBC, The
Pathway has learned.
William Jewell College President David Sallee said
today that governance of the College will not be compromised by pressure from
any external organizations, institutions or individuals.
College Attacked by Media 12/13/02 (Hilltop
Monitor)
A comprehensive article about the story behind
Baptist Press and its current focus on William Jewell College. The article
covers several pages and is in .pdf format.
A Missouri Baptist Convention Executive Board
subcommittee has voted to open an inquiry into reports of a homosexual agenda on
the William Jewell campus at Liberty.
Baptist Press, using Project 1000 sources and tactics, notes: The
student senate at William Jewell College are [sic] debating whether to add the
phrase "sexual orientation" to the anti-discrimination portion of the
Baptist school's student bill of rights. The action is the latest in a series of
pro-homosexual activities on the campus of the Missouri Baptist Convention
institution.
The article's "connect the
dots" routine fails to mention that Sen.Jim Talent spoke at the 2002 Fall
Convocation.
The conservat