Georgia’s Christian Index editor, three other staff members fired

William Neal, editor of The Christian Index for a decade, has taken early retirement, reportedly under pressure from Robert White, executive director of the Georgia Baptist Convention (GBC).

Neal, 55, was called to a meeting with White Jan. 16. At the same time, one of White’s assistants was dispatched to the Index offices to announce to the staff that the Index offices would be closed until the following Monday, Jan. 20. According to sources, the GBC staff also confiscated computers.

Callers to the Index office the week of Jan. 20 were told that Neal was out of the office for the week.

White’s office reported that neither he nor other GBC officials were available for comment to the Biblical Recorder, North Carolina’s Baptist newspaper. White released a statement to Baptist Press, however, that he and Neal had discussed Neal’s retirement plans and that more news would be forthcoming after a meeting of the Index board on Jan. 25. Meanwhile, convention sources reported that White terminated three other Index employees Jan. 20. The others dismissed were Managing Editor Greg Brett, Media Coordinator Melea Goode and Administrative Assistant Laura Boltin.

The Index, the nation’s oldest Baptist newspaper, is owned by the Georgia Baptist Convention. Although located in a separate facility in Atlanta, the Index receives major funding from the state convention, and the newspaper’s editor historically has been elected by the convention’s executive committee.

A reorganization of the state convention in the mid-1990s, however, gave the executive director broad powers to hire and fire convention staff without prior action by the executive committee. All Index staff members are considered employees of the state convention.

Neal, who is a 28-year employee of the state convention, had been under increasing pressure from conservative leadership for several years. The Index, they contended, was not doing enough to advance the cause of the Southern Baptist Convention and of conservatives in Georgia.

Within the last year, Neal also has faced criticism within the Georgia Baptist Convention for a perceived failure to deal satisfactorily with alleged misconduct of some Index staff members. No accusations were made of personal misconduct by Neal.

Neither Neal nor White would comment on what reason or mixture of reasons led to Neal’s sudden departure from the Index. Sources said, however, that the alleged misconduct was not mentioned to the other dismissed employees as a reason for termination.

Neal previously worked in campus ministry, both as a local campus minister and as director of the state convention’s campus ministry program. He also served as associate editor of the Index with editors Jack Harwell and Al Mohler. During his tenure as editor, Neal turned around a declining circulation and expanded coverage to include a broader spectrum of Georgia Baptist life.

Neal and his staff redesigned the publication, which won overall design awards from the Baptist Communicators Association. Neal also received awards for his edi­­torial writing and for producing E Street, a supplemental magazine.

Neal was an active member of the Association of State Baptist Papers, and was currently serving as the organization’s president.

Brett, the managing editor, came to the Index in March 2000 from the staff of Truett-McConnell College, where he had been vice president for institutional development. He previously worked for Georgia Baptist Children’s Home and Family Ministries. He is a graduate of Georgia Southern University.

Goode came to the Index in 2001 from Truett-McConnell College, where she had been alumni director.

Boltin had been with the Index four months and served as administrative assistant. She previously worked in the Georgia Baptist Convention’s Cooperative Program.