Wade Burleson's Motion Going to the IMB Board

Last night's business session regarding the Wade Burleson motion went nothing like I expected. I had already been thinking about what I was going to say in opposition to the recommendation to refer the motion to the IMB Board of Trustees when Wade approached the microphone to speak regarding the recommendation. To my absolute surprise, Wade voiced his support for referring his motion to the board for action. Even though the board has had more than 6 months to deal with these issues but has failed to reach a solution, and even though there is a potential conflict of interest whenever there is an internal investigation, Wade expressed support for this course of action. I was not thrilled, but since Wade supported it I thought it would be awkward to voice my opposition.

Having thought about the issue and discussed it with others, including Wade, I believe this may have been the wisest course to follow. First of all, there is a possibility that the motion would have been defeated if it had come up for a floor vote. Secondly, this forces the IMB Board to report on these issues to the convention itself next year. There are two possible results: 1) The IMB Board will resolve these issues to the convention's satisfaction, and the matter will be ended in San Antonio, or 2) The IMB Board will not reach a satisfactory resolution, and these issues will automatically be brought back before the convention next year. What this referral means is that for the next year there will be continued intense scrutiny of the IMB Board. While this investigation will undoubtedly be conducted behind closed doors (which in a case like this is proper, provided that there is full disclosure following the investigation), we will be watching for any signs of reconcilitation or of continued hostility toward Wade. These could provide clues as to how the process is working itself out.