Missouri Baptist board affirms executive director

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — After more than six hours of discussion in executive session Sept. 22, the Missouri Baptist Convention’s (MBC) executive board affirmed the MBC’s executive director, the chairman of the nominating committee and the works of that committee and all other MBC committees.

The affirmations come after speculative reports in the media and e-mails circulating around Missouri prior to the meeting that conservatives in the MBC are divided over the future of MBC Executive Director David Clippard and that a vote to dismiss him was possible. One association, Fellowship Baptist Association, went so far at its fall meeting as to issue a resolution affirming Clippard amid the circulating rumors.

In a press release issued Sept. 25, executive board members confirmed they “investigated concerns” that had been brought to the board and affirmed Clippard; Roger Moran, chairman of the MBC’s nominating committee; the work of the nominating committee; and the convention’s other committees.

According to sources close to the board, Clippard spent about 30 minutes accusing Moran and the nominating committee of trying to stack the executive board with members intent on removing or impeding him. Moran was allowed to counter those allegations, saying he was only seeking accountability from the convention’s staff, the sources said, not Clippard’s removal.

Although Clippard’s supporters had warned before the meeting there would be a motion to remove the executive, “such speculation proved untrue,” reported The Pathway, the convention-based newsjournal. “The discussion did not center on Clippard’s dismissal and no motions or votes to dismiss were taken.”