Board leaders at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and an embattled trustee have agreed to meet and discuss their differences — with a threat to remove Texas pastor Dwight McKissic from the board taken off the table.
The agreement puts a halt for now to a situation that marked the second time in as many years that a Southern Baptist institution has tried to remove a rookie trustee for alleged misconduct.
Last year, trustees of the International Mission Board (IMB) tried to remove Oklahoma pastor Wade Burleson from their ranks but later backed down.
In both cases, the trustee controversies emerged around the issue of "private prayer languages," a controversial devotional practice related to speaking in tongues.
And in both cases, the trustees were accused of breach of confidentiality with fellow board members.
No trustee has ever been removed from a Southern Baptist board.
McKissic, pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church, Arlington, Texas, said Southwestern’s effort to remove him as a trustee "is nothing but a 21st-century lynching of an independent-thinking black man who has demonstrated strong support for the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC)."
"Because I will not join the ‘good old boys club,’ I’m subjected to removal as a trustee," he said.
He later apologized to trustee Chairman Van McClain for the tone of his comments.
McKissic preached a sermon at the Fort Worth, Texas, seminary last August in which he acknowledged he has practiced a private prayer language since his days as a student at Southwestern.
He said he disagreed with the IMB’s November 2005 decision to amend its list of missionary qualifications to exclude those who use a "prayer language" in private.
Two months after McKissic’s sermon, Southwestern trustees adopted a policy stating the Southern Baptist seminary would not "endorse in any way, advertise or commend the conclusions of the contemporary charismatic movement including ‘private prayer language.’" McKissic was the lone trustee to vote against the measure.
McClain then requested a meeting with McKissic, saying the trustee had inappropriately used confidential material sent to him in advance of the board’s October meeting. McClain also said he is concerned about the way McKissic has expressed his disagreement with board actions and seminary policies.
McClain said trustee leaders tried to meet privately with McKissic to discuss their concerns about his behavior. But McKissic insisted on bringing outside witnesses and tape recording the meeting, McClain said, adding that would make a private meeting impossible.
McKissic said he was simply asking for those measures to protect himself and to make sure there was an accurate account of the meeting.
It was not reported how the two resolved the disagreement over the terms for the meeting, but they did and it is now set for sometime prior to the April 2 board meeting.
"This is not a question about the issue of private prayer language; he has the right to believe whatever he wants about private prayer language," McClain told the Southern Baptist TEXAN. "He has the right to influence the convention however he wants about private prayer language. This is about his conduct as a trustee of Southwestern Seminary."
In a statement March 5, McKissic denied he has broken any rules of confidentiality.
"In the past months, I have asked Brother McClain to provide me with copies of any confidentiality policies governing trustee material," he wrote. "I have not received any copy of such policies, and I have been told by Brother McClain that no confidentiality policies exist."
The chairman told McKissic that a lack of reconciliation prior to the April meeting could lead to a vote by the board to recommend that messengers to the SBC’s annual meeting in June remove the pastor from the board. (ABP)
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