Rank-and-file Texas Baptists are sad and angry about the financial scandal in the Rio Grande Valley that has marred their reputation, but most say they still trust their leaders—including executive director Charles Wade—to correct abuses and restore confidence in the Baptist General Convention of Texas.
That was the message that emerged from the BGCT's annual meeting Nov. 13-14 in Dallas, as messengers turned back several attempts to take the matter out of the hands of Wade and the convention's Executive Board.
“I think Dr. Wade is going to come out of this alright, and I think he should,” said Lou Balenton, pastor of New Trinity Baptist Church in Plainview, as he left the convention hall. “He's a man of integrity. I believe there should be some reprimands for staff members, but not for Dr. Wade.”
An investigative team hired by the Executive Board reported Oct. 31 that more than $1.3 million in start-up funding and monthly support was given to three Hispanic pastors in the Rio Grande Valley who reported 258 church starts between 1999 and 2005. Investigators presented evidence that up to 98 percent of those churches no longer exist—and some never existed except on paper—raising the possibility the three pastors pocketed most of the money.
Other revelations suggest that an alleged pattern of deception by one of them—Otto Arrango—was repeated south of the border—in Mexico and even South America—where he also peddled his church-planting expertise and training materials. Other organizations besides the BGCT donated to the work of Arango's church-planting institute.
The BGCT investigation also revealed the convention's staff was aware of some of those allegations years ago but ignored or downplayed them, prompting some critics to accuse Wade and others of a cover up. Two staffers already have resigned. Some BGCT insiders expected the scandal to force Wade to announce his retirement sooner than planned—perhaps even at this year's convention.
But most of the messengers to the Dallas convention accepted the apologies offered by Wade and the remedies initiated by him and the Executive Board. Wade asked Texas Baptists for a chance to “fix what has been broken,” and he promised, “Your trust will not be breached.”
“I believe Charles Wade is a man of principles and integrity,” said Nancy Pannell of Denton after hearing Wade speak to the issue. “He trusted these people, and his trust has been betrayed. … He has already started what needs to be done to rectify the situation and make it right.”
“I think he's going to try to make the best of the situation,” added Mark Anthony, a student at Truett Theological Seminary in Waco. “I trust his leadership, and I trust that they will discern the right course of action.”
Unconvinced was David Montoya, a blogger and pastor who has led the chorus of critics against Wade.
Montoya asked the convention to amend its constitution to give messengers the authority to terminate the executive director without Executive Board approval. And he called for the BGCT to pursue immediate legal action and criminal charges against the church-planters who allegedly falsified reports and benefited from the diverted funds.
“In a crisis like this, it should be the will of the convention that is heard,” said Montoya, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Mineral Wells. He said the Executive Board was biased and guilty of shielding Wade. “The Executive Board is intended to be a tool that exists for the body, but through this scandal we see it seems as if the body exists for the will of the tool.”
According to the original investigation, in 2000 the FBI explored fraud allegations in connection with church-starting in the Valley, but the agency dropped its investigation because the aggrieved party—the BGCT—did not pursue it.
Montoya accused Wade of being “a possible accessory to an attempted cover up” and “a personal friend of the main player in this scandal”—church-planter and accused ringleader Otto Arango.
Michael Bell, BGCT president and presiding officer of the session, stopped Montoya in the middle of his speech and ruled him out of order.
“That's not appropriate,” said Bell, a pastor in Fort Worth. “We are Christians and don't do personal attacks. Thanks for sharing your heart in the spirit of Christ, but you are attacking an individual. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that. In the opinion of the chair, the motion is out of order.”
Bell also ruled out of order Montoya's motion for the convention to initiate immediate legal action in the case. The Executive Board has asked for more time to examine those options.
Since the investigation was initiated by the Executive Board, the convention cannot take it out of the board's hands, Bell said, citing the advice of BGCT parliamentarian Bart Tichenor. “The Executive Board is the entity with the sole authority to act in the interim [between annual meetings],” Bell said. The board's investigation “has pre-empted any action by the convention.”
Not all messengers were satisfied with that interpretation, however.
“Are you saying the convention does not have authority to act independently of the Executive Board?” asked messenger Joe Caldwell.
Bell did not answer the question but referred Caldwell to the parliamentarian for an explanation.
Throughout the debate, people on both sides voiced concern for Baptists in the Rio Grande Valley, who reportedly were embarrassed and felt tainted by the scandal.
“I was personally damaged as a Christian by Otto Arango,” said Eloy Hernandez, one of the people listed by Arango as a pastor of a BGCT-funded church start, even though he was not. “My church was humiliated,” said Hernandez, pastor of Iglesia Bautista Gethsemani in McAllen.
Hernandez briefly addressed messengers before Bell ruled his comments out of order. He later told a reporter the scandal already is hurting the reputation of Baptists in the Valley. “We're not able to witness because [people] laugh in our face,” Hernandez said.
He and others were disheartened when their warnings about Arango went unheeded by the BGCT. “It's wrong these people don't want to hear from pastors in the Valley,” he said. To help repair his and the church's reputations, Hernandez urged Wade to come to Iglesia Bautista Getsemani and make a public apology.
“I forgive Charles Wade and Otto Arango…,” he added.
Other messengers sympathized with Baptists in the Valley. “The Lord will see us through, but we must not dismiss these Valley pastors,” said Jack Hulsey, pastor of Woodlake Baptist Church in San Antonio. “This has already done damage to the BGCT.”
Rene Lizcano of McAllen, a former pastor and retired police officer, was one of the whistleblowers who says he was ignored. During a five-year period, he said, he tried to track down many of the new churches claimed by Arango and the others.
“I had information of families that I had interviewed, that their homes were addressed as churches, but those guys had never seen any [church-starting] money,” Lizcano told the Monitor, a newspaper in McAllen.
He took his findings to the Rio Grande Valley Baptist Association in 2002, he said, but was told there would be no investigation of so-called “phantom” churches.
“Man, that was like a dagger to my heart,” Lizcano told the newspaper. “It's like me being a cop and watching a child getting raped and not being able to do anything about it.”
While many Texas Baptists are ready to put the Valley scandal behind them, others fear more revelations will follow, particularly if law enforcement and tax officials get involved.
“I don't think this investigation has ended—it's going to continue,” Hiram Shore of Levelland told Associated Baptist Press. “They'll find more things. More things will come out.”
But Shore said he is willing to trust Wade and the Executive Board to get to the bottom of it.
“I think that Wade can be trusted. Some people let him down. Accountability was built into the system, but it failed. … You can't micromanage an organization that big, at least successfully. Charles Wade didn't do anything wrong. People below him did, and they have resigned.”