Having gone on record last year in the Religious Herald as being “optimistic” about the potential to be both a Virginia Baptist and a Southern Baptist, I must admit that my optimism is being greatly tested by the actions of the Southern Baptist Convention's International Mission Board. Regarding the editorial “Christian hardball?” [Feb. 22] I find myself in complete agreement with editor Jim White. The IMB was charged at last year's convention meeting with the task of investigating trustee behavior, but the IMB response reads to me like a weak attempt to sweep everything under the rug. Now comes news that the IMB is cutting funding to WMU.
First, let me say how proud I was at last years SBC meeting in Greensboro when the messengers defeated the recommendation to “invite” WMU to come under the control of the SBC. This cut in funding sounds like retaliation to WMU for their refusal to play the SBC game.
Retaliation is a mean, ugly word, and one that should never be used in talking about the behavior of Christian brothers and sisters. My hope is that the messengers of the 2007 SBC will hold the trustees of the mission board accountable for all of their questionable actions of the past several years. Perhaps then some optimism can be restored.
Michael A. Jordan, Buckingham