Wellman nod fails, so search starts over Robinson respects decision, but SBC rumor mill is a problem

Adron Robinson is disappointed with the failure of his search team’s nomination to win SBC Executive Committee approval, but he’s content with the outcome. “I’m glad it’s over. It’s been 16 months of hard work, of intense work,” the Chicago area pastor said. “I’m disappointed in how it all ended, but I trust in God and his sovereignty.”

Robinson chaired the search committee seeking a replacement for Ronnie Floyd who resigned as EC President and CEO under a cloud in October 2021. And when word leaked their nominee would be Jared Wellman, a 36-year-old pastor from Arlington, Texas who was serving as EC Board Chair, the nomination ran into strong headwinds from the well-connected and social media active.

EC trustees voted down Wellman’s nomination 50 to 31. That had never happened before.

“We did our job and the board did its job and I’m fine with that,” Robinson said.

But an active rumor mill which produced plenty of negative comments before the nomination was officially made public was a factor in tanking the nod. Another was the popularity of the Interim EC President and CEO Willie McLaurin.

‘Hot mess’

In a May 1 meeting held behind closed doors in Dallas that was described by some in attendance as “a hot mess” of argument and criticism, the 81 EC members present heard the search team’s reasoning for presenting Wellman and his vision for the EC. Wellman was a key figure in demanding that the previous EC leaders be held accountable for their handling of sexual abuse claims in the denomination. And he succeeded California pastor Rolland Slade as EC Board Chair, with South Carolina pastor David Sons as his vice chair.

After the EC’s February meeting, where several controversial announcements were made, a groundswell began forming.

In that meeting, it was reported that the search team was not ready to present a candidate. The possibility was stated that a subsidiary of the controversial Guidepost Solutions company was likely to be employed to create and operate a database of credible abuse accusations, despite complaints about some Guidepost employees’ public support of LGBTQ causes.

It was also reported that the EC had lost half its $12.2 million in assets in the past year, raising questions about leadership, future financial cuts, and the possible sale of EC properties to cover losses, which was suggested by the auditors.

That audit has not been made public yet. It will be up to Board Chair Sons and Interim CEO McLaurin to explain it all to messengers in New Orleans.

Wellman recused himself from the search team Jan. 26, then stepped down as Chair in a confidential letter to EC leadership April 17; then Sons assumed the Chair. The Board learned about it two days later.

ERLC urges border action

The SBC’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) urged Congress to take action quickly to end the immigration crisis at the southern U.S. border. Congressional efforts to enact a comprehensive measure to address the problem have repeatedly failed.

Leatherwood pointed to the work of Baptist churches and conventions in border states, and the NAMB’s Send Relief. He quoted from a 2018 SBC resolution that called for immigration reform that includes “an emphasis on securing our borders and providing a pathway to legal status with appropriate restitutionary measures, maintaining the priority of family unity, resulting in an efficient immigration system that honors the value and dignity of those seeking a better life for themselves and their families.”

Sills files second suit

Rumor mill

In online debate ahead of the May 1 vote on Wellman, McLaurin’s popularity was raised. Some asked why an African American was not being nominated, when McLaurin, in his interim capacity has been the only minority to lead an SBC entity, and none permanently.

“The board had heard so much other information with so many narratives going around, we wanted to make sure we answered all their questions and gave them the information they needed to make a decision,” Robinson said.

“Some people have their narrative and they’re going to believe what they believe. That’s part of the culture influencing the church,” he said. “People assume the worst.”

Robinson has seen it firsthand through this process. Confidentiality in the search process was nearly impossible, as Robinson received contacts from people asking about the candidates. “Some of their lists were out in left field, but others were exactly correct,” Robinson said. Such violations of confidence in the search process make it hard to get quality candidates.

Most of the differences between the search team and the Board were over the process of arriving at Wellman’s nomination. “It’s the search team’s job to find a candidate they believe is best suited for the position and present that candidate to the board. But it’s the board’s job to elect the candidate—or not,” Robinson said. “I trust the decision of the board.”

Illinois’s other trustee, Sharon Carty of Carlinville, is also satisfied with the outcome. “I can honestly say, I did not know who the candidate was until he was announced as was the proper protocol we were given.

“I searched for God’s answer,” she said. “I know in my heart God heard the prayer of the EC.” While respecting the process, Carty also contends for greater transparency. “Transparency is absolutely necessary for strong leadership and stability within the EC.”

With a new search team selected immediately as required by EC bylaws, Carty hopes “we will have new permanent leadership sooner than later.”

Former Southern Seminary professor David Sills and his wife, Mary, filed suit May 11 in Nashville, Tenn., against various SBC Entities and leaders and Jennifer Lyell, the woman who claimed Sills abused her. An earlier suit was filed in Alabama because former SBC President Ed Litton of Mobile is one of the defendants. Filing in a Tennessee court, which covers the SBC offices, Lifeway, and others, was expected. The suit says claims by Lyell which were repeated by those named in the suit including the SBC Executive Committee are untrue. It alleges defamation, conspiracy, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and negligence.

The EC publicly apologized to Lyell in 2022 for not taking seriously her claims four years earlier and for failure to report her accusations against the seminary professor. Sills says the abuse never happened.

McRaney, NAMB seek court interdiction

Both parties in a lawsuit involving the North American Mission Board (NAMB) have asked the court for summary judgments prior to an August 7 trial. NAMB petitioned to have the entire case dismissed, while the plaintiff, former executive director of the Maryland-Delaware Baptist Convention Will McRaney, is seeking to have two of NAMB’s six defense claims dismissed. McRaney claims that actions by NAMB negatively impacted his separation agreement with his state convention, thereby impeding his subsequent income.

A dispute between McRaney and NAMB personnel escalated into a suit that has continued for six years. As reported by The Baptist Paper, “…while NAMB officials do acknowledge NAMB personnel referred to McRaney as ‘delusional,’ ‘nutcase’ and ‘liar’ in private communications, it contends McRaney was the one who chose to publicize the comments.”

The case was first dismissed in April 2019 on First Amendment grounds. That dismissal was reversed in 2020. A U.S. District Court in Oxford, Miss. will hear the case, since one of the parties cited in the suit who lived in Maryland at the time of the alleged claims later moved to Mississippi to pastor a church. – summarized from Baptist Press

Largest SBC membership drop in 100 years

Nashville, Tenn. | For the second straight year, baptisms and giving increased among Southern Baptist congregations. In-person worship service and small group attendance also rebounded, but total membership and the number of congregations slid.

The Annual Church Profile (ACP) compiled by Lifeway Christian Resources paints a complicated picture for the SBC but contains some positive news. In 2022, baptisms increased by more than 16%, in-person worship attendance climbed by more than 5%, small group attendance grew by 4% and giving to SBC churches ticked up by almost 2%.