If you want the names of trustees of the International Mission Board (IMB), you can’t get them by calling the IMB office in Richmond, Va. This decision came following the January board meeting of IMB trustees.
When the trustees wrapped up their Jan. 9–11 meeting in Richmond, they instantly made headlines across the nation.
An internal squabble between Oklahoma trustee Wade Burleson and a group of other trustees over a policy decision resulted in a recommendation for Burleson’s removal.
Burleson came under fire following his outspoken criticism about new IMB policies dealing with believer’s baptism and a form of speaking in tongues known as “private prayer language.” The new policies were approved in November 2005, when trustees met in Huntsville.
The trustees’ January recommendation to remove Burleson from the board, along with more than a month of personal commentary by Burleson on his Weblog, or blog, sparked a media blitz.
From there, Southern Baptist laypeople across the nation wanted their voices heard. Some joined in the blogs; some wrote letters to the editor. But others wanted to talk directly with members of the board of trustees.
But not everyone knew where to find the names and contact information for the trustees.
One Alabama Baptist said she searched all Southern Baptist-related Web sites and could not find the information.
When she called the IMB, she was directed to the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) Executive Committee.
The Executive Committee maintains the official trustee list that is recorded in the SBC Annual, which is a public document and available at many churches and Baptist organization offices. The SBC Annual can be ordered through the Cooperative Program resources at the Executive Committee.
The list that appears in the annual breaks the trustees down by dates of when their term expires and then by state.
It provides the name and address of each trustee.
The president’s office of the Executive Committee is now providing the list of IMB trustees when requested, said Kenyn Cureton, vice president for convention relations for the Executive Committee.
“Tom Hatley (chairman of the IMB board of trustees) requested that the Executive Committee provide the trustee name and contact information,” Cureton said. “We are doing that.”
While providing the IMB trustee information “is not a big hassle” and “takes less than 45 seconds” to do, it is something the Executive Committee only does for the IMB as a routine procedure, he said.
Becky Chandler, executive assistant to the president, said that if a call comes in for any of the other entities, then the caller is directed to the specific entity for that information.
Chris Turner, media relations manager for LifeWay Christian Resources, said, “If a member of a SBC church wanted to reach one of our trustees personally, he or she should contact LifeWay’s office of the president, and someone there would be glad to share that information.”
Marty King, spokesman for the North American Mission Board (NAMB), said if someone calls NAMB for a trustee name, then a list with names and addresses of all trustees is provided.
Wendy Norvelle, IMB spokeswoman, confirmed that following the January board meeting, she, Hatley and a few others discussed how to handle calls that were coming in to the IMB office requesting trustee contact information.
“This was just a quick conversation about what we are supposed to do and how to handle it,” Norvelle said, noting the number of calls requesting that information had increased from “very few in the past” to “a couple.”
The IMB staff members chatting with Hatley during the informal meeting came to an agreement that calls would be directed to the Executive Committee.
Hatley said, “We want to be accessible, but we don’t want to put private information out for people who will harass them and not be sincere.
“I gave the staff the authority to give people my e-mail and my office number. And they gave that out a plenty,” he noted jokingly.
“I’ve answered every e-mail, call and letter,” he said, acknowledging that he had received “some heated letters.”
Hatley said he believes communicating with Southern Baptists one-on-one is “the only way to get what’s in their heart.”
“It’s a two-way message to them as well,” Hatley said, noting that after some e-mail conversations, he believed the e-mailer was “at least in the mood to give us a second chance.”
While the recommendation for Burleson’s removal will be reconsidered at the board’s March meeting, Hatley said he and other trustees continue to get “a good number of letters and phone calls.”
Alabama pastor Bill Hudgins, second vice chairman for the IMB trustees, said he doesn’t mind being contacted by Southern Baptists who are “sincerely trying to understand the issues.”
“If it is a Southern Baptist, then OK but not if it is someone outside the convention seeking information, questions from critical press or someone making attacks,” said Hudgins, pastor of Cross Creek Community Church, Hokes Bluff.
“Many people think we are a representative for our state at the IMB, but that is not the case,” he noted. “We are trustees for the IMB. We are not delegates for the state.
“I personally don’t have any problem being contacted, but a trustee cannot speak for the trustees,” Hudgins said.
To order a SBC Annual, call the Executive Committee at 615-244-2355 and ask for Cooperative Program resources. To obtain a list of the IMB trustees, call the same number and ask for the president’s office.
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