Seminary Considers Removal of Charismatic Trustee Over Misconduct
The Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary board may remove a trustee whose recent conduct may be in violation of the board's policy.
Months after the seminary's trustees overwhelmingly voted not to endorse charismatic practices and neither to employ those who promote such practices, the Rev. Dwight McKissic was recently asked to privately discuss "concerns" that the board has regarding McKissic's possible violation of the policy manual of the seminary trustees.
SWBTS Board Chairman Van McClain told the Southern Baptist Texan, news agency of the conservative Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, that he was not optimistic disagreement between the board and McKissic could be settled to the satisfaction of both parties.
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"He has not worked with us in a way that gives many hope that there will be reconciliation and redemption,” said McClain. “I’ve tried to work privately through correspondence and he’s made that private correspondence public. He quotes me out of context and does not give the full context of our conversation, so he slants the conversation however he wants to.”
The controversy began in August when McKissic spoke of experiencing private prayer language at the seminary's chapel service. Debates erupted within the Southern Baptist Convention over the varying stances on charismatic practices such as speaking in tongue.
There had been no dialogue of the dismissal of McKissic over the issue, but McClain highlighted that the trustee's actions since the vote to not endorse the charismatic movement have been "detrimental," according to the Southern Baptist Texan.
"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,” said McClain. “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.”
McClain noted that McKissic had made private correspondence and confidential information sent to him as a trustee public before the board's meeting last October. No confidentiality policies exist, but McClain noted that in the past, there was no problem in this area and "people understood the need for confidentiality."
Clarifying that the trustee board is committed to "openness," McClain mentioned there are appropriate forums for stating disagreements. Other more public means, however, such as blogs, may be harmful to the institution, he indicated.
Since fall, McKissic has written to SBC President Frank Page and Executive Committee President Morris Chapman to adopt a clear stance on spiritual gifts, noting that the current Baptist Faith and Message does not specify any position. Page, however, had acknowledged the varying views within the SBC and believes it is "okay to believe one way or the other."
Later in December, McKissic had hosted a roundtable where Southern Baptist leaders backing the trustee approved a resolution that affirmed "free expression" in public and private worship and opposed attempts to "narrow the parameters of cooperation" within the denomination. He also plans to host a Baptist Conference on The Holy Spirit at Cornerstone Baptist Church of Arlington, Texas, in April.
McKissic said that he would agree to meet with trustee officers on March 26 or a later date upon certain conditions, including a list of specific allegations of misconduct in writing by March 12, the presence of two trustees of the SWBTS board who are not on the Executive Committee and of McKissic's choosing, and the ability to audio record the entire meeting - conditions that McClain said would no longer make the meeting private.
The Rev. Wade Burleson, pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Enid, Okla., responded in a blogpost on Monday, "The above conditions are a protection for both the board and Dr. McKissic." Burleson had also faced possible removal from SBC's International Mission Board last year around the same issue of private prayer language. IMB bans missionaries from speaking private prayer language. The board's trustees later backed down from plans to remove Burleson and instead limited his involvement with the board.
Burleson is confident that McKissic will not be removed.
McClain indicated that if no agreement is made between the board officers and McKissic, they may recommend to the SBC annual meeting in June that he be removed from the board. In an earlier e-mail correspondence, McClain had asked the Arlington pastor to resign. The chairman clarified that McKissic said he would resign if asked to but when approached with the request, McKissic decided not to resign, according to the chairman.
The Cornerstone church pastor called the effort to remove him "nothing but a 21st-century lynching of an independent-thinking black man who has demonstrated strong support for the Southern Baptist Convention," according to the Associated Baptist Press. "Because I will not join the 'good old boys club,' I’m subjected to removal as a trustee."
Nevertheless, McKissic says he is "unwavering" in his support of SWBTS. "I am resolved to walk prayerfully and sensitively through these troubling times."
No trustee has ever been removed from a Southern Baptist agency board in SBC history.
