Baptist Briefs

Posted: 4/11/08

Baptist Briefs

Missouri Baptist Convention faces countersuit. The Missouri Baptist Convention could face paying more than $10 million to a developer over land formerly owned by Windermere Baptist Conference Center. William Jester of Springfield, Mo., has filed a counterclaim to legal action convention officials originally filed against him and the conference center in 2006. Jester accuses the original plaintiffs of hurting his business and defaming his character through the lawsuit and publicity associated with it. As part of a debt-restructuring plan to cover costs of expansion, Windermere transferred 943 acres to National City Bank of Cincinnati in 2005. The bank then sold the property to Jester’s Windermere Development Company. The convention sued, seeking to stop all land transactions at Windermere pending the outcome of a separate convention-filed suit against the conference center and four other institutions that removed themselves from the convention’s control in 2000 and 2001. In 2002, the convention filed suit to regain control of the agencies’ boards. In that case, a circuit court judge ruled Windermere had acted legally when its trustees changed the center’s corporate charter to appoint their own successors. The convention plans to appeal that ruling.

Missouri layman proposes peace committee. As battles continue to roil the Missouri Baptist Convention, prominent layman Kent Cochran is proposing a miniature recreation of the Southern Baptist Convention Peace Committee. Cochran wants the convention’s executive board, scheduled to meet April 14-15, to establish a 14-member committee representative of both sides within the embattled convention. “I’d be in favor of everything I could do to promote and bring about peace, but I’m not sure a peace committee is going to be an answer,” convention President Gerald Davidson said, adding that based on his recollection of the SBC Peace Committee in the 1980s, “the peace committee didn’t solve many problems at that time.”

Samford offers scholarship for freshman ministerial students. Samford University is offering a new Preministerial Scholars program aimed at students who demonstrate a clear calling to full-time ministry in traditional, church-related positions. The merit-based scholarships are worth about $11,000 per year initially, but they can increase to $16,000 if students meet certain academic criteria. For information on this program, call (205) 726-2925 or address mail to Preministerial Scholars, Department of Religion, Samford University, Birmingham, Ala. 35229.

Registration open for wellness walk/run. “Mission Milestone: 90 Years of Great Strides” is the theme of the annual wellness walk/run sponsored by GuideStone Financial Resources June 10 at White River State Park in Indianapolis during the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting. The theme celebrates the 90th anniversary of GuideStone, formerly known as the SBC Annuity Board. Registration is free and is available online at www.GuideStone.org/walk or by calling (888) 984-8433. Runners and walkers may choose between a one-mile and a 5K course. Warm-up begins at 6:15 a.m. Start times will stagger for runners and walkers, beginning at 6:30 a.m. Healthful refreshments will be served to all participants at the end of the walk. Registered walkers may pick up bib numbers at GuideStone’s booth at the SBC June 8-9. The first 500 registered walkers who come to the registration table will receive a free T-shirt.