SWBTS, association property dispute still undecided

FORT WORTH, Texas — Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (SWBTS) notified Tarrant Baptist Association (TBA) before Christmas it had six months to vacate its offices on the edge of the seminary campus. The seminary asserted the association was in violation of its affiliation agreement — in part because of perceived toleration of homosexuality by a member church or churches.

But while TBA moderator Al Meredith contends the seminary lacks authority to take unilateral action, he expressed hope the situation can be resolved and the association’s longtime fraternal relationship with the seminary be maintained. The association office received a registered letter from SWBTS on Dec. 10. The letter stated the association was in violation of its 1997 affiliation agreement, and it directed the association to vacate its property on James Avenue within six months. It also stated the title on the property should revert back to the seminary. In 1982, the seminary provided TBA land and the funds to build its office building, granting a 99-year lease on the property, Meredith explained.

At that time, the seminary and association entered into an affiliation agreement stipulating the property would not be used for commercial activity, and the association and seminary would commit to remaining in theological harmony. In 1997, the property agreement was renegotiated, and TBA received the deed to the property. “The affiliation agreement remained intact,” Meredith added.

According to the agreement, if any disagreement should arise between the association and the seminary, the matter should be resolved by a three-member arbitration panel with one seminary representative, one associational representative and one party mutually agreed upon by both parties, he noted. On Dec. 20, three associational representatives met with seminary President Paige Patterson and some of his staff to discuss the situation. “We had a lengthy and amicable discussion,” Meredith said in an interview. He noted during the discussion, Patterson commented he had learned information he did not have when the original Dec. 10 letter was delivered. He agreed to consider the matter further and discuss it with the seminary’s attorneys. Patterson was not available for comment for this article.