CARY, N.C. (ABP) — Woman's Missionary Union of North Carolina has voted to remove itself from the North Carolina Baptist Building — and from the state convention executive director's attempt to assert authority over its staff.
The dramatic move culminates 16 months of tension between WMU and the rightward-shifting Baptist State Convention of North Carolina.
Conflict between the missions-promotion group and BSCNC has simmered since April 2006, when the WMU leadership voted to change the term that described its relationship with the convention from “auxiliary” to “cooperative partner.”
At that time it also assumed final authority in its own personnel matters, although it committed to stay aligned with Baptist State Convention personnel policies. At issue was who could make the final call on potential new hires, a responsibility claimed by the BSCNC executive director-treasurer because each state WMU staff member is a BSCNC employee.
However, the WMU staff positions are mainly funded through a state missions offering promoted by WMU.
Several meetings took place between WMU-NC and BSCNC leadership to resolve the issues, but they reached an impasse when neither side would budge from their position on ultimate authority in hiring WMU-NC staff.
WMU-NC board members approved the move via conference call Aug. 16 and communicated results to BSCNC executive leadership Aug. 21. WMU-NC reported that 25 of the WMU-NC executive board's 30 members were on the call and 23 voted in favor of the move, with one voting to oppose it and one abstention. The board's executive committee had earlier recommended the change.
The decision to relocate offices “should not be interpreted as a departure from the organization's commitment to supporting and promoting missions through the BSCNC, nor as a lack of appreciation for the mutual partnership the organizations have enjoyed in the past,” Ruby Fulbright, WMU-NC executive director, said in a written statement.
BSCNC executive director Milton Hollifield said in a prepared statement that he was “grieved that the longstanding relationship between the BSCNC [and] WMU of NC has moved to this level of consequential uncertainty.”
“We have participated in more than 16 months of dialogue, and it was my hope that this process had helped move us forward together,” Hollifield said. “However, BSCNC leadership was not given the opportunity to discuss this surprise vote by WMU-NC. Anytime we are faced with the desire of an entity to separate from BSCNC it is a terribly unsettling circumstance. I am saddened to see that our long standing relationship of trust and accountability has eroded.”
Fulbright noted that Hollifield has taken a more active role in hiring matters. She said that in previous BSCNC administrations, WMU-NC was wholly responsible for hiring and managing its staff and that the BSCNC executive director merely signed paperwork to enter new WMU-NC employees into the payroll system.
Hollifield was elected to his position in 2006. Conservatives supportive of the rightward shift in the Southern Baptist Convention solidified their control of the North Carolina convention — long a moderate bastion — in the years just prior to Hollifield's appointment.
WMU-NC wants to resource other Baptist entities in mission education and involvement, Fulbright said. That includes assistance to churches that affiliate with other denominations and with bodies such as the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and the Baptist World Alliance.
Hollifield said such an intention was “a clear departure from the historic focus of the mission and ministry of WMU of NC.”
WMU-NC has asked the BSCNC for a nine-month financial transition to deal with insurance and payroll issues, although it might move out of the Baptist Building sooner. Fulbright said the WMU-NC staff will all resign employment from BSCNC and remain with WMU-NC.
WMU-NC also wants to continue receiving funds through the North Carolina Missions Offering (NCMO), an annual state-wide offering that provides funds for WMU-NC, North Carolina Baptist Men, church planting, and a variety of other projects.
Hollifield said the 2007 NCMO distribution must follow the allocation percentages already approved by messengers to the last convention annual meeting. But he also said he would not speculate about either the BSCNC Executive Committee's willingness to continue transition funding or about future NCMO allocations.
Meanwhile, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina — which already provides some financial support to WMU — established an emergency fund to help the group and called for churches to assist WMU-NC in the transition with a special offering.
“WMU of North Carolina has been the missions backbone for Baptists in North Carolina for over 120 years,” said Larry Hovis, CBF of North Carolina's coordinator. “CBF of North Carolina wants to help ensure their legacy of missions leadership and empowerment will continue in the future and stand with them in a special way during this critical time of transition.”
Robert Marus contributed to this story.