KANSAS CITY, Mo. (ABP) — Despite a public conflict with the chairman of his trustees, the president of a Southern Baptist seminary managed to escape a board meeting Oct. 16.
According to a press release from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, trustees agreed, during the two-day meeting, to “affirm” both president Phil Roberts and board chairman Gene Downing as well as “the overall direction and mission of the seminary.”
But the statement, released through the denomination's news outlet, also noted “recent concerns and criticisms made public.” It said board members had “rallied to address these concerns and to affirm seminary administrative leadership and the quality-assurance processes of the trustees.”
The statement said the seminary had experienced rapid growth in recent years and that its finances “are in good condition.” However, it added that “the processes and procedures of the seminary needed to be commensurate with the positive financial condition of the school.”
Tensions among the seminary's leaders first made their way into the news when Associated Baptist Press reported Sept. 21 on the resignation of the college's chief financial officer, David Hodge, after a disagreement with Roberts.
Downing, an Oklahoma City businessman, said at the time that he and other trustees were concerned about Roberts' “leadership” and the reasons Hodge resigned.
According to Downing and other sources close to the seminary, Roberts placed Hodge on administrative leave Sept. 20 after Hodge declined to give Roberts a copy of a confidential financial analysis. Hodge, who had left a bank presidency in Wichita, Kan., just six months earlier in order to take the position at Midwestern, prepared the analysis at Downing's request.
In a subsequent Kansas City Star story, Downing said the analysis “substantiated the lack of administrative skills on Dr. Roberts' part.”
Downing continued, “I'll put it this way. He's a great preacher, a great family man. He represents the seminary well. But he's lacking in administration and people skills. And in order for the seminary to grow, you have to have these things.”
Roberts and his trustees have been in behind-the-scenes conflict in recent months over his leadership style as well as alleged financial “irregularities,” according to sources close to the seminary. Some expected an attempt to oust Roberts to materialize at the meeting. However, the factions appeared to have papered over their differences during the trustee meeting.
Nonetheless, the statement made it apparent that some trustees were dissatisfied with Roberts' administration of the school.
“With the rapid growth of the seminary in recent years in terms of 1) student body enrollment, 2) the addition of an undergraduate degree program through the creation of Midwestern Baptist College, 3) the expansion of the faculty and staff, and 4) with increased financial contributions, the seminary trustees acknowledged that its policies and procedures must be as up to date and as effective as possible,” it said.
The statement concluded by noting that Roberts and Downing “overwhelmingly affirmed their desire to work together for the good of the college and seminary, promising to apprise the trustees of the steps taken to improve the processes and procedures of the school as a result of several trustee directives issued during the two-day meeting.”
According to Baptist Press, the Southern Baptist Convention's news outlet, trustees spent almost all of the meeting in “executive session,” meaning the sessions were closed to the media and the public. They twice excused both Roberts and Downing from the meetings.
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Read more:
Midwestern Seminary factions reportedly square off in battle over president's fate (9/28)
Trustees question Roberts' leadership after VP resigns from Midwestern (9/21)