Rodney Hammer, the International Mission Board’s (IMB) regional leader for Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) for the past eight years, resigned effective May 5 after challenging policies of the board of trustees with which he is in disagreement.
Hammer informed the CEE trustee committee and IMB administration that he could no longer support personnel policies adopted by the board regarding the baptism of prospective missionaries and regarding private prayer language.
Hammer resigned his position, recognizing expectations for field leadership to be accountable to and support board policies. Hammer and his family left the field for stateside assignment May 5.
They plan to be reassigned to a field assignment upon their return.
"We absolutely love working with our missionary family and the peoples of CEE, but I must now resign as regional leader," said Hammer, who has served as an IMB missionary for 18 years. "I am expected as a regional leader to accept, own and support the policies of the IMB trustees. I can do so no longer."
Mark Edworthy, a member of the regional leadership team, will serve as interim regional leader.
In 2005, IMB trustees adopted a stance against appointing missionary candidates who have not been baptized in a Southern Baptist church or in a church of another denomination that practices believer’s baptism by immersion alone.
A second policy ruled out the appointment of missionary candidates who practice either glossolalia (tongues) in public or a "private prayer language." In 2007, the trustees revised the measures, which are now both termed guidelines.
They retain much of the original wording but with several changes for clarification.
Neither the original actions nor the revisions apply retroactively to missionaries appointed before the measures were adopted. (BP)
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