FRANKLIN — It’s never the wrong time to do the right thing.
And the right thing was done Monday, July 17, when Baptist Press reported on the actions of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee’s (EC) presidential search team.
The search committee’s update, the promise of a future update and Baptist Press’ story were three important steps taken in the direction of restoring the EC’s credibility.
The EC has been on a search for its next president for nearly 19 months, since the resignation of former EC President/CEO Ronnie Floyd, and the EC’s credibility and transparency was severely criticized in an editorial by the Baptist and Reflector in April when Texas Pastor Jarred Wellman was recommended to the full board to succeed Floyd by the then search committee.
However, numerous questions arose about how Wellman went from being the board chair and ex officio member of the search committee participating in the interview process of all candidates, to quietly stepping away from the search committee, to resigning as board chair, to emerging as the search committee’s recommended candidate, all without Baptist Press offering any reporting on such significant events. Ultimately, the full EC board overwhelmingly voted against Wellman 50-31 two days after the Baptist and Reflector’s editorial released.
That vote was the first step toward restoring the EC’s credibility which has taken serious hits over the past two years, primarily for the way it has handled issues related to sexual abuse cases in Southern Baptist churches.
But now, the Executive Committee, the search committee and Baptist Press should all be commended for taking three more steps toward restoring the credibility Adron Robinson, EC board member and former chair of the EC search committee, once said the board would pursue.
The first step was this current search committee offering an update on the search process. Following the Wellman vote, the previous search committee was dissolved, and a completely new committee formed. The new committee is now up to full speed following June’s annual Southern Baptist Convention meeting in New Orleans and the first order of business is to consider McLaurin’s future. McLaurin had been a finalist for the position and Robinson told The Baptist Paper as recently as the board’s February meeting that McLaurin remained “a viable candidate” for the position. However, it was a surprise weeks later when McLaurin was out, and Wellman was announced as the candidate.
In its Monday announcement reported by Baptist Press, search committee’s chairman, Neal Hughes (Ala.) stated, “Considering the many endorsements from pastors, state convention leaders and national entity heads, and considering an overwhelming sense in our hearts that we are being obedient to the Holy Spirit, your present search team decided that we should continue where the former search team left off by doing our own due diligence and interviews with Willie McLaurin, interim president/CEO of the SBC Executive Committee.”
The second of the three recent steps toward restored credibility is that the news release also reported the search team is planning another update within the next six weeks. In a second editorial, the Baptist and Reflector offered two “fundamental expectations” of members of both the full EC board and those who comprise the search committee. The first was that a clearly defined and transparent process be established – which Hughes did in his statement regarding McLaurin – and the second was that the committee would provide “informed updates through the convention’s news agency.”
And that’s the third step toward restored credibility the Baptist and Reflector mentioned as an expectation. While Baptist Press was rightly criticized for its lack of reporting the events of the search committee regarding Wellman, it should rightly be commended for its timely reporting of the committee’s statement and consideration of McLaurin. Southern Baptists deserve to have business conducted by their denomination’s entities reported in a timely manner through the denomination’s press agency, and this time it was.
That’s four consecutive positive steps the EC’s board has taken in the right direction: the vote regarding Wellman in April, transparency in the current process with a timely update, the promise of more updates and Baptist Press reporting the search committee’s actions. An organization’s credibility is often as tenuous as a breath and can dissipate in a heartbeat. Restoring credibility can be a laborious slog that takes time and conscious effort. The SBC Executive Committee board of trustees and its search committee are on the right trajectory toward restored credibility.
It will remain on that trajectory if it remembers it is never the wrong time to do the right thing.
