Kelley says he was misquoted by Texas chairman
___By Mark Wingfield & Trennis Henderson
___The president of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary believes he was misquoted at one point by a Texas Baptist seminary study committee chairman but nevertheless stands by his assertion that all faculty must endorse the revised Baptist Faith & Message.
___In a Sept. 11 letter to Bob Campbell, chairman of the Texas study committee, Chuck Kelley disputed a comment attributed to him by Campbell in verbally reporting on the
committee's six-month study of the six Southern Baptist Convention seminaries.
___Kelley's assertion of the one misquote is the only factual error so far cited by any seminary leader. No factual errors have been attributed to the 102-page report. The six seminary presidents earlier issued a statement saying they do not believe the Texas committee made a fair study, but no other factual errors have been publicly cited.
___In explaining the concerns the Texas committee found at the SBC seminaries, Campbell quoted Kelley as having told New Orleans Seminary faculty members they could not criticize the revised Baptist Faith & Message anywhere at any time, "even in a private conversation at an off-campus party."
___That comment never was said during conversations between New Orleans administrators and the Texas committee, Kelley asserted in a letter to Campbell. "No one in our group can recall anyone on either side making any reference to 'a private conversation at a party off-campus.'
___"What we recall is this. Your committee asked if we would require all faculty members to teach in accordance with the Baptist Faith & Message 2000. Of course, I said yes. As you know, affirmation of the Baptist Faith & Message is a long-standing policy predating all of us who currently serve as seminary presidents.
___"Your committee proceeded to probe with several questions to determine if there were loopholes that would allow faculty members to both sign their name as a pledge to affirm and teach in accordance with the statement but disagree with and criticize the statement. To those questions seeking loopholes, I said no."
___Campbell responded to Kelley Sept. 18. "I am sorry I caused you grief by misquoting you," Campbell wrote. "I did not do so intentionally.
___"I thought you made the statement when you were giving an explanation that was a bit longer than your letter indicated. I quoted from remarks that you allegedly made in a faculty meeting around the middle of July. One of the remarks I stated was, 'Outside of class, Kelley told the faculty that they must not demean, ridicule or belittle the document in any way--in public appearances or in writing.'
___"I remember that you said, 'That is true,' and then you went on to explain in detail what you meant."
___Although Campbell thought Kelley made the comment about private conversations at a party in that context, other members of the Texas study committee "corrected my error and reminded me that it was sent to us in a communication we had with another person. That person alleged that you made that statement during the faculty meeting in mid-July. We did not ask you about it during our visit."
___Campbell contacedt the Baptist Standard, in which the article originally appeared, to report the misstatement.
___However, removing that one statement does not change the substance of the Texas committee's concern about how the SBC seminaries are using the Baptist Faith & Message, Campbell added.
___"What bothers our committee greatly is the fact that under no circumstance can that document be analyzed in search of truth, clarity, accuracy of interpretation of Scriptures or accurate reflection of all Southern Baptist thought," he wrote Kelley. "The 2000 Baptist Faith & Message is not holy Scripture and should be subject to investigation and criticism in the academic setting. Under your proclamation, you have made (the document) inerrant, and I submit that is heretical."
___Kelley acknowledged in his letter to Campbell that he and the Texas committee obviously disagree on "the importance of doctrinal accountability for faculty in a confessional seminary."
___During the SBC Executive Committee meeting in Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 19, Kelley was asked about the misquote by a reporter for Kentucky's Western Recorder.
___Kelley reasserted his claim of being misquoted but did not explain in what circumstances a faculty member could then question the Baptist Faith & Message.
___Faculty members are free to express diverse views about "complex theological issues," he said. However, seminary faculty should be "people who in good conscience can affirm the Baptist Faith & Message statement and are not looking for loopholes," he added.
___Although he would not fire anyone for failing to endorse the revised faith document, he said, "We would have encouraged them to find somewhere else where they could serve in good conscience" and given them ample time to relocate.
___Kelley quoted Milton Ferguson, the former president of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary who was nudged into early retirement because of his failure to fully support the so-called "conservative resurgence" in the SBC. Ferguson once said "his role was to find a faculty who would teach voluntarily and joyfully in accordance with and not contrary to the Baptist Faith & Message," Kelley explained. "That's what we're expecting" at New Orleans Seminary.
___Kelley drew a distinction between a professor's comments in the classroom and a professor's comments in other scholarly forums.
___"Scholarly forums are great places to look at complex theological issues," Kelley said. But "teaching in a classroom and scholarly development are two different things."
The Baptist Standard
Contents/ Masthead / Why We're Here / Links / Archive / E-mail us/ SUBSCRIBE!
|