McKissic Sermon Censored in 2006 is Restored at SWBTS

[Sandy]

The interim administration at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary has restored a sermon preached by then SWBTS trustee Dwight McKissic to its video archives. The sermon was censored by the former president because he disagreed with its content. In the message, Dr. McKissic stated that he personally prayed "in tongues" acknowledged a belief that all of the spiritual gifts mentioned in the Bible are active in the church today and was critical of denominational policy which seemed to dictate a specific belief or practice related to spiritual gifts. Southwestern had, up to that point, included all chapel sermons in their video archives and made them available on line. Though Dr. McKissic was a trustee at the time, the president censored his message and kept it from being posted. Dr. McKissic, who was pastor of one of the largest African American SBC congregations in Texas, in the same county in nearby Arlington, eventually resigned from the board, a staggering loss to Southwestern.

I didn't know who he was, or much about his church prior to this incident but not long afterward, he hosted a conference on "Baptists and the Holy Spirit" which I attended.

Southwestern has turned a corner and is now in a position to recover from some very dark years. As an alum, I wish them much success. Restoring their relationship to Texas Baptists like Dr. McKissic and his congregation is a good start and a necessary one if the school is ever going to gain ground and have a chance at restoration and recovery.
http://texanonline.net/archives/6103/

[Rvaughn]

Interesting. I don't agree with Dwight McKissic on this topic, but censoring a trustee's sermon out of the video archives seemed a very odd move indeed.

[Sandy]

Censoring his views is odd, given that there are a lot of Southern Baptists who do agree with Dr. McKissic on this topic. It should have been a red flag that the seminary was not being operated in accord with the wishes of the Southern Baptists who owned it when a trustee was pushed to resign by the institution's president who was making sure the board was stacked with those who were his supporters. That's the flaw in the SBC's trustee system, that individuals who promote themselves and their name gain positions of prominence based on favors owed and the influential people known, rather than being a representative body of the membership of the churches of the convention. It's been that way for decades.

[Rvaughn]

[Haruo]