Missouri convention appeals suit dismissal_50304

Posted: 5/03/04

Missouri convention appeals suit dismissal

By Robert Marus

Associated Baptist Press

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (ABP)–Attorneys for the Missouri Baptist Convention have appealed the dismissal of a lawsuit against five breakaway institutions, and state convention messengers will be asked to authorize the use of Cooperative Program funds to pay for the ongoing lawsuit.

Lawyers representing the convention and a group of convention-affiliated churches filed a notice of appeal to the Missouri Western District Court of Appeals in Kansas City. The appeal will challenge Cole County Circuit Judge Thomas Brown's March 11 dismissal of the suit against the agencies, as well as three related rulings.

In the March dismissal, Brown ruled the convention's Executive Board and the six churches had no standing to bring legal action against Missouri Baptist University, the Baptist Home retirement-home system, the Missouri Baptist Foundation, Windermere Baptist Conference Center or the Word & Way newspaper. Brown concluded the convention legally consisted only of individual messengers rather than churches or elected representatives.

Brown later re-affirmed that ruling and denied the convention the opportunity to amend its lawsuit to include a group of individual messengers as plaintiffs.

In 2000 and 2001, trustees of all five agencies changed the organizations' charters to begin electing their own successors. Previously, the institutions' trustees had been nominated by an MBC committee and elected by messengers to the convention's annual meeting.

The charter changes came after a successful campaign by fundamentalist leaders to gain control of the convention's nominating process and thereby steer institutions in a more conservative direction.

Leaders of the breakaway institutions cited the political issues, as well as liability concerns, in making the decision to switch to self-perpetuating boards.

Convention messengers voted in 2002 to sue the institutions, demanding the agencies' trustee boards be returned to convention control. Because the MBC itself is an unincorporated association under Missouri law, convention leaders decided to name the MBC Executive Board and six sympathetic MBC-affiliated churches as the plaintiffs.

Messengers removed funding for the agencies from the convention budget. However, the MBC Executive Board voted April 13 to place the five institutions back in the convention's Cooperative Program budget for 2005. The new budget proposal will be presented to convention messengers for final approval at their annual meeting in October.

According to a column posted on the convention website by Executive Director David Clippard, “These budget dollars will be given to them for operations needs only upon their return” to convention control.

And, despite previous promises from convention leaders that Cooperative Program receipts would not be used to fund the lawsuit, Clippard also said the money could be used in the interim “to fund (the agencies') return.”

The proposal, according to the convention-supported Pathway newsletter, would include $1.2 million in the first year.

The convention already has spent about $1 million on the lawsuit. Funding for the legal fees initially came from convention reserve funds.

At their 2003 annual session, convention messengers approved a $1 million line of credit to continue funding the lawsuit, as well as establishment of a Missouri Baptist Agency Restoration Fund separate from the convention's budget.

The fund was intended as a place for individuals and churches to contribute designated gifts for waging the legal battle over and above their regular convention giving.

But according to a document distributed at the April board meeting, only $3,779 had been contributed to the fund in the first three months of 2004.

Also at the April 13 meeting, reporters representing Word & Way–which had been the official MBC newspaper for more than 100 years before it removed itself from convention control–were ejected from a second Executive Board meeting.

At a previous meeting, convention President David Tolliver excluded Word & Way from covering the open meeting, citing the fact that the paper and the convention were involved in litigation.

By the April 13 meeting, the convention's lawsuit had been dismissed and the convention had not yet filed its appeal.

According to Word & Way Editor Bill Webb, that meant, in his determination, that Tolliver's rule no longer applied.

Webb agreed to leave under protest.

Robert Cox, chairman of the newspaper's board, later sent a letter of complaint to convention officers.

“It would seem your rationale for exclusion was without merit for this meeting,” Cox wrote.

Cox also noted the Word & Way staffers are members of Missouri Baptist Convention churches and thus should never have been excluded from otherwise open Executive Board sessions.

“The governing documents of the Missouri Baptist Convention assure that Executive Board meetings are open to any Missouri Baptist who wishes to attend,” he wrote.

“If for no other reason than this, the Word & Way staff should be entitled to be present.”