JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (ABP) — Missouri Baptists may never know the specific reasons why their executive director was fired April 10, other than a few vague details released by a special committee April 16.
Members of an ad hoc investigative committee recommended 4-1 that Missouri Baptist Convention executive director David Clippard be discharged from the top post on April 10 for “lack of confidence.” In a four-hour closed session, MBC Executive Board members split 44-7 to affirm the committee's recommendation.
MBC's legal counsel Michael Whitehead released a sanitized version of the committee's report on April 16, which listed six findings in the Clippard case.
The fourth item comes closest to identifying a specific problem. It notes that Clippard “acted unwisely in managing the settlement of a lawsuit against the convention, the Executive Board and himself.” The finding is a reference to a lawsuit former MBC controller Carol Kaylor filed against Clippard and the convention in 2004.
Kaylor filed a discrimination complaint with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in June 2003. Clippard had terminated the controller in April. She withdrew the EEOC action in October 2004 to file civil action in state court. The case was later moved to federal court. According to a press release at the time, the parties settled the lawsuit in December 2004.
The ad hoc committee's finding noted that Clippard had provided the committee “insufficient information” about the case and the settlement's terms. The report also charged that the former executive director asserted authority by signing the settlement “without adequate knowledge or approval by the Board.”
The committee's report indicated Clippard lost his job due to the “risk of future lawsuits or liabilities” being brought against the MBC, but did not provide specific claims.
The committee found Clippard as a cause of low morale among Baptist Building staff. And the report claims that his “conduct and comments” have painted Missouri Baptists' reputation as unprofessional.
Clippard's response to the board “when confronted on various issues” also was criticized. The committee charged that he had “not always been sufficiently forthright” and found that he “demonstrated” a “divisive” spirit toward the committee.
Clippard was not allowed in the closed-door session or to attend the open portion of the April 10 meeting.
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