IMB chairman addresses recent events, decisions

International Mission Board (IMB) trustee Chairman Tom Hatley issued an “open letter” March 7 to all Southern Baptists — and a much longer letter to all Southern Baptist pastors — addressing recent decisions by IMB trustees.
   
He also announced that he is asking the board’s personnel committee to take another look at the two matters — the IMB’s policy on private prayer language and baptism for missionaries — that led to confusion among Southern Baptists. 
   
The letters accompany detailed background material outlining the trustees’ votes on glossolalia (the practice of tongues), the use of private prayer language by missionary candidates and the candidates’ mode of baptism. The information is available at www.imb.org.
   
“I have addressed (the detailed explanation) to pastors because they are the teachers and guardians of the Word for their congregations,” Hatley said in his letter to Southern Baptists. “But feel free to look over their shoulders and read this material.
   
“There has been no small controversy concerning some of our recent decisions,” Hatley said. “However, as I have shared this information with pastors and others, most have expressed joy because information they had previously received was incomplete. Seeing the greater context has helped many to appreciate the decisions recently made.”
   
The controversy surrounding the IMB changes was a factor in a dispute between trustees and Oklahoma trustee Wade Burleson. In an unprecedented move, trustees tried in January to remove Burleson from the board for discussing board deliberations on his Web log. Hatley has since said he will ask trustees in their upcoming March meeting to drop the request for removal.
   
IMB President Jerry Rankin expressed appreciation for the statement released by the board chairman. “Much of the confusion and misperceptions regarding these actions came from the lack of clearly defined explanations for the policies,” Rankin said. “While some will not be in agreement with the rationale, these documents will help others understand the deep convictions of those on our board.”
   
During their Nov. 14–17, 2005, meeting in Huntsville, the trustees approved a policy stating that a missionary candidate eliminates himself or herself from potential IMB service if he or she has the practice of tongues or a “private prayer language” as an ongoing part of his or her conviction or practice. They also adopted a baptism guideline stating that future missionary candidates must have been baptized in a church that: practices believer’s baptism by immersion alone, does not view baptism as sacramental or regenerative and that embraces the doctrine of the security of the believer. Exception clauses were included in both the guideline and the policy for special situations. Neither the guideline nor the policy is retroactive, and neither will be applied to anyone already in the appointment process.
   
“The decisions that were recently made have been matters of review and study for more than two and a half years,” Hatley said.
   
He also noted he is asking the IMB trustee personnel committee to take “a fresh look at these documents with the intention of providing further clarification.”
   
Hatley said the policy on tongues and private prayer language was not initiated by trustees to “embarrass” Rankin, who acknowledges he has had a private prayer language for many years. “Trustees have been blamed for having the motive of trying to hurt our president,” Hatley wrote. “The force that pushed the issue to this higher level, however, included the president and a few others on staff and on the board.”
   
Rankin said in February, he insisted the full board deal with the issue because of its importance. “I did insist it come before the full board because I think you have to be very circumspect in your processes. It was at my insistence that the full board act on it, rather than it just being a committee that puts this in place.”
   
Hatley invited pastors and any interested Southern Baptists to e-mail their suggestions and feedback to imbtrustees@imb.org. (BP, ABP)