May 13, 2002
Missouri agencies dispute MBC's legal opinion
___By Bob Allen
___Associated Baptist Press
___JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (ABP)--Five Missouri Baptist agencies are disputing a legal opinion that they broke the law by distancing themselves from the Missouri Baptist Convention.
___The convention's Executive Board recently made public a legal opinion, written by lead lawyer Michael Whitehead, that the state convention has the legal right to control the Baptist Home, Windermere Baptist Conference Center, Missouri Baptist College, Missouri Baptist Foundation and Word & Way newspaper. Therefore, the opinion continued, those institutions must recognize trustees duly appointed by the state convention and rescind earlier votes allowing their respective trustee boards to elect their own successors.
___In a joint open letter released April 26, however, leaders of the five institutions took issue with several points in the Whitehead opinion. Whitehead is a former vice president and former interim president of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and is former counsel for the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission.
___"After researching the law, our attorneys have concluded that the Missouri Baptist Convention does not, in fact, have membership status standing in any of the five institutions," leaders of the five agencies countered.
___Their open letter said representatives of the various institutions have sought to meet with convention leaders to resolve concerns and had requested but not been granted copies of legal opinions from three law firms Whitehead reportedly consulted in compiling his report.
___The various entities have said they changed their leadership-selection processes in part to shield them from convention politics, but mainly for fiduciary and liability concerns.
___"The decisions reached by our various boards were made only after much consideration, prayer and legal advice," the letter said. "To ascribe evil or ulterior motives to these Missouri Baptists is untrue and harmful to a healing process."
___The agency representatives said when similar disputes have erupted in other states, leadership was able to find a compromise solution. They criticized both the legal opinions and "inflammatory rhetoric" in the Whitehead report, however, which they said would undermine such efforts.
___"Each board of trustees had independent legal counsel from highly respected Missouri law firms," the letter continued. "These firms were unanimous in their recommendations that the boards were following their advice in all actions taken.
___"These are complicated issues with multiple ramifications. To characterize these legal issues as they were in the Whitehead report is legally superficial and extremely harmful to Missouri Baptists."
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