Seminary President pulling strings at the IMB?

[T. D. Webb]

Today, Wade Burleson revealed evidence that implicates the President of a Southern Baptist Seminary and a professor in another SBC Seminary in a coup de'Etat in the IMB as part of a campaign the President directed to eliminate "heresy" ". . .regarding the gifts, ecclesiology and women in ministry." In the process, a critical breach of confidentiality occurred which could have jeopardized many missionaries' identities in a very dangerous part of the world. . .all for the sake of "purifying the IMB". Read Burleson's article at:


In His Grace and Peace,

[Jonathan]

[T. D. Webb]

[William Thornton]

Burleson has dangled some secrets on his blog since May, I think. Glad to see him go ahead and put out what he has, which is that some attempt to influence IMB policy. Shocking! What he has that is of concern is something that has been dropped on some of the blogs for some time: some imb personnel have been asked to forward 'problems' in their training or instruction to their former prof. I may have some of the details wrong but the sense of it is objectionable. Let the imb investigate and address it.

Some other comments on Burleson's latest blog:

1. Why can't my pistol-packing preacher pal (that would be Wade B., read the comments on his blog) just answer the guy's question about packing heat in the Big Easy? What's the problem with that yea or nay? Makes one wonder why.

2. Note very carefully that Burleson does not indicate any conversation with the two folks he accuses of serious meddling: a seminary prez, unnamed, and a seminary prof, Sargent. Why? When asked, twice, deflections. Why? Why not be able to say, 'I attempted to contact these fellow Christians, my brothers in Christ, but they didn't return my calls'...or some such.

3. We still have just one side of this...Burleson's. He may be right. He may be the voice we need to hear. Let's hope he has enough wisdom not to keep himself as the focus.

4. Note the difference between the former and present chairman. Burleson obviously got Hatley's goat, still does. Tom ought to take a vow of silence. [Note also Burleson's pal Ben Cole saying that "...you can't spell Tom Hatley without H-A-T-E." Peach of a guy.]

5. We still have no debate on the substance of the policies in question. It may well be that the imb has good reason for their actions on these policies. When will we get that debate?

6. One has to wonder if the great majority of imb trustees have gone awry on all this and Burleson, alone or with few supporters, is on the right track. B: "Trust me, guys, I'm right and all of them are either wrong or afraid to speak up." Is that the true picture, or is it more complicated than that?

Developing...

[T. D. Webb]

[Jonathan]

[T. D. Webb]

[William Thornton]

[Wade Burleson]

[William Thornton]

[T. D. Webb]

[Neil Heath]

[Wade Burleson]

William,

I know you think I talk too much (you have said as much on multiple occasions), but stop asking me questions if you don't want a response .

The details of the trip to Mississippi are provided below in an email sent the day after Hurricane Katrina. This email was sent to my mother who forwarded it on to people who serve on my dad's non-profit Vital Truth Ministries Board. I did not even keep a copy of itthe email, but tonight my mother graciously found her copy and forwarded me a copy when I told her that a pastor was asking if I was armed going into the hurricane zone. Wiiliam, here is your answer. I don't know how you feel about me being armed, but frankly, I don't care .


From: Mary Burleson <___>Date: Sat, 03 Sep 2005 05:16:43 -0500To: VTM Board Members

Subject: <b>Story From Katrina</b>

Hey,Following is a pretty long e-mail. Believe it or not, I did condense it andtook the personal stuff about the grandkids out. This is a "live" report from Wade who went into the area of Mississippi hit by Katrina. Thought you might be interested. However, if you detest long e-mails and don't like toread them, stop now and hit the DELETE button. (I report, you decide! LOL) Mary B.

<b>[E-mail from Wade sent Friday, September 2, 2005] </b>

I returned last night from Mississippi. One of our members, Jeff Gwinn, the Vice-President of Atwoods Corporation, called and asked me to help him get his mother out of Diamondhead, Mississippi. Diamondhead is the place, according to the New York Times, that was Ground Zero of Hurricane Katrina. His 71 year old mother had a heart condition and he did not know if she was dead or alive but she lived in Diamondhead. Her neighborhood was featured in the aforementioned newspaper and at first he feared she might be dead (they couldn't convince her to leave before the Hurricane). However, they did get secondary word that she was alive, but trapped in Diamondhead. She needed heart medication rapidly.

I got my staff to fill in on two funerals I was supposed to lead (the families gave their consent for me to go to Mississippi) and we left Thursday morning at 6:00 a.m. I needed to go because only law enforcement personnel were being allowed into the Ground Zero area. Jeff is a pilot and we took off in his Cessna 210 single engine plane enroute toMeridian, Mississippi. His plan was to drive from Meridian to Diamondhead (on the coast), but I soon realized it would take us 8 hours to drive.

When we landed in Meridian, Mississippi (we had camping gear, supplies, flashlights, etc . . .), the Highway Patrol at the airport confirmed that it would take us 8 hours to get to the coast by car. I called a friend of mine who is in the Mississippi Legislature named Philip Gunn. Philip will be running for Governor in two years (they already call him "Governor Gunn"). He was a quarterback at Baylor when his entire family (mom, dad, sisters) was killed by a drunk driver. He was also the chairman of the pulpit committee that tried to get us to move to Mississippi. He is a great guy and with his law firm's help I got through to the FAA and got clearance for us to fly through the TFR all the way to Gulf Port, Mississippi.

TFR is Traffic Restricted Airspace. It is the kind of zone over the White House, Crawford, Texas, and other highly sensitive areas. Jeff is a fairly new pilot and scared to enter the TFR, but I told him we had to if had any hope of getting to his mother quickly. The problem with this air restriction was that because of the hurricane there was no radar, no traffic control, and above all, absolute chaos in the air because of the military and rescue planes and helicopters. We had to fly visually while talking to an AWACS plane circling above the ground. It was about an hour of pure hell (the haze was so bad it was hard for us to see), and by the grace of God we made it into the Gulfport Airport (it was closed to everyone but the military, and in essence we lined up with other emergency planes and helicopters, crossed our fingers, and dove toward the runway).

Once we landed we found a parking space on the tarmac that was riddled with wood, nails, metal and other objects. The National Guard had set up their Forward Command Center for Hurricane Katrina at this airport. My job was to try to sweet talk the National Guard to be given a truck to transport us to Diamondhead, Mississippi (25 miles away). A guardsman took me to the Command Center and I explained that we needed to deliver supplies to Diamondhead Baptist Church (a church that had set up a rescue center in the center of Diamondhead) and medivac a woman back to Oklahoma. The chain of command was incredible. I began with a private who took the requisition and went through six offices until I was talking with the general in command. I explained that Philip Gunn in Jackson, Mississippi (the National Guard is under state control) would authorize the needed vehicle. In addition, Michael Brown, FEMA director, had assisted us with clearance through the TFR and we needed to get the woman out quickly.

Diamondback is in Hancock County, different from Harrison County where Gulf Port is located. The general said Special Forces were in charge of Hancock County and they would go look for Barbara in a Search and Rescue Mission and bring her back to Gulfport. I explained that we had supplies for the people in Diamondhead and it would be better if the Guard took us there and brought us back. He looked at me kind of funny, and then, to my surprise --- said ok. So . . .

Two National Guard trucks with 10 troops escorted us first to Pass Christian and then Bay St. Louis (totally gone) and finally to Diamondhead. The National Guard driver of the vehicle I was in asked if we had military police support. I said "What for?" He said word was getting back that when supplies were being delivered into Ground Zero shots were being fired and looters were taking over. I said, "Are you guys armed?" He said, "No."

I couldn't believe it. The federal government had only armed M.P.s, and the Guard were demanding either MP or police backup in the delivery of supplies because of the shootings and robberies taking place. An order had been given to go ahead and arm the guard, but the rifles had not yet arrived. I was the only person in the Guard truck carrying a gun (a ninemillimeter on my belt, with a knife on my left leg and my badge exposed promininently on my belt as well). The National Guardsmen, including the captain in charge, all told me that they were glad I was armed. By the way, at 5:30 that morning when I walked out of the house Rachelle said, "Wade, I don't you to wear your gun!" and she asked me to take it off. I didn't think twice about doing that, and I can say without hesitation, we got to where we needed to go BECAUSE I was armed, and I believe you will see policy change for the Federal Government. In the future, at any calling out of the National Guard for natural disasters, every soldier will be armed as a result of the problems associated with relief and recovery from Hurricane Katrina (the Guard is armed in every other scenario but natural disasters).

Anyway, we got to Diamondhead, spent an hour or two asking questions and found Jeff's mom at a shelter. She had not eaten, bathed, or had anything to drink but water for 3 days. We gave her some food and she promptly threw up. Before we got her out of Diamondhead we went by her house and took photographs. She was one mile from the beach, but the water covered her home. The entire interior of her home looked as if itwas a dollhouse that had been shaken up and destroyed. She lost everything. We got some medicine out of her house and left to go back to Gulfport.

By the time we got back to the airport it was 3:30 p.m. Thousands of troops were beginning to pour in and we wanted to get out as rapidly as possible. We loaded up on the tarmac and had a pleasant surprise when wetook off --- the army had set up a temporary air traffic control facility (in preparation for the President's arrival Friday morning),and so we left the Gulfport/Biloxi International Airport without incident.

We stopped in Fort Smith, Arkansas for fuel and food (Jeff andI had nothing to eat or drink all day) and we landed back in Enid at 10:00 p.m. We took some pictures. If I get a C.D. I'll send some to you. You WILL NOT BELIEVE the damage. Houses, boats, cars on top of each other closeto two miles from the coast. Jeff's mom is doing great. She is back on her heart medicine and glad tobe out. She will not be going back to Mississippi for anything. Insurance will pay what they pay, but she said nothing is worth going back to get. Anyway, sorry for the long email, but I thought you might be interested.

Wade

[David Flick]

[Sandy]

[Wade Burleson]

[Sandy]

[William Thornton]

[Wade Burleson]

William,

I will answer your question about Dr. Floyd once you answer this one.

Is your question about a cheap shot regarding Dr. Floyd couched in a cheap shot yourself?

"<i>Wade you do talk too much in certain arenas but feel free to say all you wish here."</i>

Two thoughts William:

(1). To which arenas do your refer I talk too much? My blog? If so, just as you administer this site, I administer my blog, abiding by every guideline and principle of the IMB trustee guidelines. If there is another arena to which you refer, I am interested in knowing of it since I have never met you and to my knowledge you have never even been in a meeting that I have attended (except possibly the Southern Baptist Convention).

(2). I realize your comment has a "smiley face" but if you go back and read a few of your other comments you say the same thing without a smiley face and with what seems to me to be a tad more hostility, though I may be misreading your statements.

I sometimes find communication and compromise very difficult with people who, for whatever reason, make assumptions as if they were fact, without any firsthand knowledge. I do not desire you to take offense, I am just pointing out that healthy communication happens when people choose to refrain from taking cheap shots (obviously I am giving you an indication that I disdain cheap shots and by no means do I believe I have ever given one to John Floyd).

Once you answer the question, whether it be in the positive or the negative, I'll be happy to give you some very clear rationale why Dr. Floyd should never have been elected to the Board of Trustees in the first place as it relates to corporate ethics and conflicts of interest.

By the way, the rationale has nothing to do with John as a person. As usual, it is a principle that I am addressing. I think John and Helen Floyd are a delightful couple who not only love the Lord Jesus Christ, but are easy for all of us to love as well.

Wade

[T. D. Webb]

[William Thornton]

[T. D. Webb]

[Wade Burleson]

[William Thornton]

Wade, thanks for the lengthy response to my question about John Floyd and the ethical and policy questions you raised back in May about his chairmanship.

You have maintained repeatedly that you do things deliberately, understanding that many people read your blog. Good for you.

My question was in part why you have not commented in your blog on Floyd's recent words concerning the questions you raised concerning his chairmanship. I've asked that twice. With my questioning you have, after the elapse of over two months, provided your reasoning to a few dozen on this forum but not to the few thousand who read your blog. Why? It looks like you are willing to deliberately dangle issues prior to substantive deliberationa and discussion in a manner that is destructive to personal relationships among the trustees and to their work.

You recently asked your blogging supporters not to take up your causes. Your friend Ben Cole said this week (I can't get his blog up right now, perhaps he has taken it down) words to the effect that "You can't spell H-A-T-L-E-Y without H-A-T-E." Is this what you had in mind? Is that worth a comment on your widely read blog?

[Wade Burleson]

William,

I strongly disagree with John Floyd when he says there is no conflict (reread my post above). His comments, as quoted in Baptist Press, implied he would recuse himself on issues related to his retirement pay and his choice to no longer draw an insurance supplement. That has nothing to do with why he should not serve on the Board (again, see my post above). But rather than disagree with his comments on my blog, I chose to say nothing, and give our chairman some space on this issue. You seem to want to press. I believe that sometimes silence is better than a disagreeable spirit -- yes?

Second, your issue with the comment about Hatley is with Ben, the author of the comment, not me. You are starting to sound like others who wish to hold me accountable for what other people say and do. I am accountable for my actions, nobody else's.


Wade