December 30, 2002
___ Missouri agencies file countersuit. Two of five institutions being sued by the Missouri Baptist Convention have filed counter-lawsuits against the state convention. The convention seeks to force the institutions to continue accepting trustees elected by the convention. The institutions have amended their charters over the past two years to avoid control by fundamentalists who now run the state convention. Missouri Baptist College and the Missouri Baptist Foundation in their countersuits contend the state convention's nominating committee violated its constitution by creating new guidelines for nominations not approved by convention messengers.
___ Missouri exec hires convention president. One of the first staff hires by the new executive director of the Missouri Baptist Convention is the president of the state convention. Kenny Qualls, 39, has resigned as pastor of Springhill Baptist Church in Springfield, Mo., to become associate director of church and family equipping on the state convention staff. In joining the staff, he will step down as president of the convention, a role from which he has helped direct sweeping changes in the convention that resulted in the resignation of the previous executive director, Jim Hill. Qualls was hired by David Clippard, who recently came to the executive director's post from Oklahoma.
___ Southwestern awards 1,000th theology Ph.D. Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary celebrated a milestone during its 204th commencement ceremony Dec. 14. David Sung Hyon Yang of Abingdon, Md., became the 1,000th Ph.D. graduate from the seminary's theology school. He was among 287 students receiving degrees, including 224 master's degrees and 47 doctoral degrees. Eighteen students were awarded the first doctor of educational ministry degrees.
___ Pattersons' home wins Christmas award. Magnolia Hill, home of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary President Paige Patterson and his wife, Dorothy, captured top honors this year in the Town of Wake Forest Historic Christmas Tour of Homes. Magnolia Hill, built in 1928, won the first place prize for having the most developed Christmas theme and decorations. The theme throughout the 19-room Tudor-style home was "Williamsburg," and all the decorations were authentic to the colonial 1700s. A 10-foot Christmas tree in the sitting room showcased hundreds of homemade Williamsburg Christmas ornaments fashioned by seminary students and students' wives.
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