JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Six months through the year, the Missouri Baptist newspaper Word & Way made up just under 45 percent of funds held in escrow by the Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) in special gifts from individuals and churches.
The paper reported gifts totaling $79,704 between January and June in its Aug. 1 issue. That compares to $178,347 earmarked for the paper for the same period in the MBC budget but held in escrow over a leadership dispute.
While expressing gratitude for the gifts, Editor Bill Webb said the publication would still need to “make up some lost ground to guarantee continued service.”
Word & Way is one of five MBC agencies to have funds held in escrow after they acted to move to self-perpetuating trustee boards, removing authority for electing trustees from the state convention. Lawyers said the move came out of concerns about ascending liability and a desire to protect the agencies from Baptist politics.
Missouri Baptist leaders have indicated they might sue, if necessary, to regain control of the entities. In the meantime, MBC leaders have established a new “official” state news journal to replace Word & Way, which has been published since 1896.
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