Burleson calls for SBC probe of IMB

Posted: 6/09/06

Burleson calls for SBC probe of IMB

By Greg Warner

Associated Baptist Press

ENID, Okla. (ABP)—Wade Burleson is calling for the Southern Baptist Convention to investigate “manipulation” and “coercion” by his fellow trustees of the International Mission Board.

Burleson, pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Enid, is a first-year trustee of the International Mission Board, the SBC’s flagship agency, which selects and directs Southern Baptists’ 5,000 global missionaries—the largest missionary force of its kind in the world.

Earlier this year, IMB trustees accused Burleson of using his blog to violate trustee confidentiality, prompting them to try to have him removed from the board. He complained he never was given the chance to hear the specific allegations or respond to them. After an outcry from the SBC’s rank and file, the trustees let Burleson stay on the board, but they passed a policy forbidding dissent.

In a June 1 posting on his blog, Burleson said a motion will be introduced at the June 13-14 annual Southern Baptist Convention calling for appointment of a seven-member ad hoc committee to investigate “five concerns”:

• “Manipulation of the nominating process” by which the Southern Baptist Convention elects IMB trustees.

• Attempts “by one or more” chief executives of SBC agencies “to influence and/or coerce the IMB trustees, staff, and administration”—an apparent reference to Paige Patterson, president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

• The appropriateness of closed-door meetings—“forums and executive sessions”—by IMB trustees, “as compared to conducting business in full view of the Southern Baptist Convention,” and the exclusion of “any individual trustee” from meetings of the full board without SBC approval.

• Imposing “new doctrinal requisites” on IMB employees and missionaries that go “beyond the 2000 Baptist Faith and Message,” the SBC’s conservative doctrinal statement required of all missionaries—a reference to the IMB’s much-criticized policies against private prayer languages and defining an appropriate baptism.

• “Suppression of dissent” among trustees, such as the IMB’s new policy that prohibits any trustee or employee from publicly criticizing board decisions.

Dozens of motions are introduced each year at the SBC annual meeting. Most are rejected, ruled out of order or referred to the affected agency. Burleson’s motion, however, invokes SBC Bylaw 26B, which will require messengers to vote on the motion during their two-day meeting rather than refer it to another body. Invoking Bylaw 26B reportedly would require approval by two thirds of the messengers voting, however.

It is unclear who would appoint the investigation committee, but it could be the SBC’s newly elected president. The motion requires the committee to bring a progress report to the SBC Executive Committee and its final report to the next Southern Baptist Convention meeting in June 2007.

Burleson insisted an SBC investigation would be the fairest way to address his allegations against his colleagues. In the meantime, however, he said he will continue to serve on the board and to blog about his experiences.

“Blogging has been my attempt to energize and mobilize grassroots Southern Baptists in their understanding of, and participation with, the International Mission Board’s ministries through a greater comprehension and appreciation of the IMB’s work,” he wrote.