Midwestern trustees pull funds from Missouri Baptist Foundation

by Stacey Hamby                                                                                           Vol. XVI, No. 4, April 2003

[Introduction: The spiritual battle between biblically conservative and liberal Southern Baptists continues in Missouri. Readers may recall that as conservatives continued to win elections in MO by following the state convention’s constitutional procedures, liberals – who had controlled the state for many years – decided that honest elections weren’t good enough. Conservatives kept winning and would soon control the boards of all the state’s entities. So, while liberals still held a majority on various entities’ trustee boards, five boards voted unilaterally (and apparently illegally; there are court cases pending) to remove trustee selection from control of the Missouri Baptist Convention. One of the entities is the Baptist Foundation of Missouri. The following article brings us up to date on a significant action just taken by the SBC’s Midwestern Seminary trustees. TCP]

Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary trustees voted unanimously March 10 to remove about $877,000 in funds from the Missouri Baptist Foundation. The funds will be invested through the Baptist Foundation of Oklahoma. "We are convinced the Baptist Foundation of Oklahoma is committed to be an integral, responsible part of the fellowship of Southern Baptists," Midwestern President Phil Roberts said. "They have a vital and acceptable relationship with the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma. This makes the partnership workable for Midwestern and satisfies our bylaws."

Midwestern's bylaws state that seminary funds must be invested through a Southern Baptist foundation. No state foundation is directly affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, but trustees determined that foundations affiliated with state conventions in cooperation with the Southern Baptist Convention were eligible to receive Midwestern's funds.

Seminary trustee David Tolliver, pastor of First Baptist Church in Excelsior Springs, MO, said the seminary did not need to wait for the outcome of the court action to determine whether to remove funds. "It would take too long, perhaps more than a year," Tolliver said. "It's the principle. The Missouri Baptist Foundation felt they should go self-perpetuating and didn't wait to go before the convention for approval, so why should we wait? The Missouri Baptist Foundation is not part of the Southern Baptist Convention through an affiliation with the Missouri Baptist Convention, and by our bylaws, we have to have our funds invested in an SBC entity. We are making a clear statement."

Trustees left open the possibility of moving seminary funds back to the Missouri Baptist Foundation if it becomes affiliated with the Missouri Baptist Convention again. [BP]