NASHVILLE (ABP) — Prominent Southern Baptist pastor Jerry Sutton likely will retire early from Two Rivers Baptist Church in Nashville, following a year-long period of turmoil within his congregation.
In an e-mail to church members, John Levesque, chair of Two Rivers' human-resources team, outlined terms of a proposed retirement package. The 57-year-old Sutton will be offered the package if the congregation approves it in a vote scheduled for July 27.
If the proposal passes, Two Rivers would pay him the equivalent of 22 months' salary — one month for each year he has served as the church's pastor — spread over five and a half years. The church would pay a portion of Sutton's medical and long-term disability coverage until he accepts a position elsewhere or reaches age 62 — whichever comes first. Two Rivers also would continue to contribute to his retirement account for 24 months.
Three church committees — human resources, trustees, and building and finance — developed the package.
Sutton, 57, was receiving about $150,000 in salary and benefits annually, according to the Nashville Tennessean. He was to receive $67,285 in base salary, $79,999 as housing allowance and $3,600 as car allowance in 2008.
Last year, the former Southern Baptist Convention officer came under fire from a vocal group of Two Rivers members. They accused him of misappropriating church funds for personal use, including an alleged use of $4,000 for his daughter's wedding.
In September 2007, more than 70 then-members filed a lawsuit alleging Sutton had illegally concealed church records that would prove their charges.
Sutton survived an October ouster vote, and a judge dismissed the lawsuit in January. In April, he requested that the plaintiffs be dismissed from membership "because of the damage done to the witness, reputation, and welfare of Two Rivers Baptist Church."
On May 4, Sutton supporters failed by four votes to gain the super-majority necessary to withdraw fellowship from those who had filed the lawsuit. On May 11, the church reversed itself, voting to discount the ballots cast by the members in question. The action removed them from the congregation's rolls.
The three church teams held an informational meeting about the retirement package July 20. Another was set for July 23.
Two Rivers is one of the most prominent congregations in the SBC, which is headquartered in Nashville. Many of the denomination's top leaders attend the church.
According to SBC statistics for 2007, Two Rivers claimed 6,900 total members, with 1,621 as average worship attendance. The church recorded 106 baptisms for the year and $4.4 million in total receipts. Those numbers have declined in recent years.
Sutton served as SBC first vice president in 2005-06 and is the author of three books. He was a prominent figure among the denomination's conservatives in their successful struggle to take control of SBC agencies from moderates in the 1980s and '90s.
He was nominated for the SBC's presidency in 2006 and had the support of many of the denomination's conservative power-brokers, but lost in a three-way race to a candidate backed by a reform movement in the denomination.
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Sutton, prominent Baptist pastor, safe in Nashville pulpit for now (10/9/2007)
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