Outrageous! (Updated)

The Board of Trustees of the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist convention has wrapped up its meeting in Tampa. Thank God! There's no telling what other outrageous actions the board would have taken if the meeting had not adjourned. The best firsthand summaries of what happened can be found on the following blogs:

SBC Outpost (Marty Duren)
Big Brother--Tampa, Part 1
Smoke and Mirrors--Tampa, Part 2
Merry Go Round--Tampa, Part 3
This Is Dedicated to the Ones I Love--Tampa, Part 4

Grace and Truth to You (Wade Burleson)
Wise Heads and Warm Hearts
My Last Post as an International Mission Board Trustee?
Decisions
Ten Terrific Things Tied to Tampa

The Road We Travel (Rick Thompson)
Reflections on Our IMB Meeting (Everyone Stay Calm)
Resolutions I Am Making Coming Out of Our Last IMB Meeting

I cannot understand how anyone can read about what transpired at the IMB Board meeting and not be outraged. The board has declared that once they have made a decision that no trustee can express public disagreement with that decision. Apparently the board wants to make sure that all of us ignorant Southern Baptists are never again tipped off about some bonehead decision made by the board so that we will never again have the audacity to dare express our opposition to such a decision. It would not surprise me if the board's next move would be to attempt to move all matters of substantive business to executive session so that independent observers (whom the board cannot silence) would have nothing to report on. That way the board could exercise absolute control over all information about its proceedings, which seems to be the direction it wants to move toward.

I can't figure out for certain whether the primary force behind this new policy is arrogance or ignorance. Arrogance in the sense that the trustees are saying, "This is our board! We don't have to answer to anyone except ourselves!" Ignorance in the sense that the board seems not to realize that this action will erode what's left of any trust that a number of Southern Baptists, especially us younger ones (but many others as well), might have had in the board. It appears that the majority of trustees can't get it through their heads that this push to enforce conformity is one factor that is causing a number of younger people to reevaluate whether or not the SBC is the place for us. We value transparency, openness, and the free exchange of ideas. We understand that there is a difference between uniformity and unity. We are more interested in right being done than in procedure being followed. We are willing to fellowship with and cooperate with others with whom we disagree on certain issues. And we don't see the recent actions of the board as reflective of these values.

After reading about this new policy, my first instinct was to advise Wade and other likeminded trustees to resign as a matter of principle. But upon further reflection, and after reading a comment from one of our missionaries asking who would be their voice, I concluded that these trustees need to remain on the board so that someone on the board can be a voice for our missionaries. Sadly, it seems that too many of our trustees really don't care what our missionaries think about policies and strategy; at least that is the perception of many current and former missionaries, and it seems to be a valid perception. Even more disturbing is the fact that there is such an atmosphere in the IMB that many missionaries feel that they cannot openly share their views without suffering some sort of reprisal. Why doesn't the Board of Trustees work on creating an environment where our missionaries feel free to speak out on issues that directly affect them instead of imposing policies to shut the mouths of those trustees who would speak out about many of the concerns our missionaries have?

Another appalling aspect about this meeting was the way that some of the trustees attacked IMB President Jerry Rankin. One trustee engaged in a petty squabble because Rankin had not given him a copy of a video that he asked for, even though Rankin showed the video to the entire board. Others accused Rankin of trying to undermine the authority of the trustees. (Hmmm, what about trying to undermine the authority of the president?) And at least one trustee basically accused Rankin of lying. Such actions only confirm suspicions that some of the trustees are seeking after power and control.

In spite of all of this, Wade and Rick both gave a generally positive assessment of the meeting. Of course, the new policy does not allow for any other type of assessment. But still, their positive remarks are genuine; had they not truly believed that some good things happened, they would have remained silent. Both of them pointed to the unanimous vote to rescind the motion to remove Wade and the adoption of a new policy that prohibits trustees from publicly disparaging other trustees or IMB staff. Rick talked about the overall positive demeanor of the meeting as a good sign. Wade had quite a bit to say about the increased interest in the work of the IMB and its board as evidenced by the attendance of about 20 young SBCers and the volume of correspondence the board has received in the past few months. Both are optimistic about how this situation will ultimately turn out. I wish I could share that optimism, but at this moment I simply cannot be optimistic. It is hard to be optimistic about the IMB when any trust I had in its board has been wiped away by that board's actions. I can only hope that their position as insiders gives them some real cause for optimism that we on the outside cannot see.

UPDATE! Marty has also indicated that some good things happened at the meeting but has not had the opportunity to discuss this in detail. He was very complimentary of Tom Hatley's leadership of the meeting. Hopefully he will say something that will generate a little optimism. I would love for someone to prove me wrong (and I don't say that very often).