In the weeks – and even months – leading up to the 2005 Southern Baptist Convention, the focus clearly has been on souls and the launch of the effort to baptize 1 million persons in the upcoming year.
In the weeks – and even months – leading up to the
2005 Southern Baptist Convention, the focus clearly has been on souls
and the launch of the effort to baptize 1 million persons in the
upcoming year.
But as messengers prepare for the convention’s
annual meeting in Nashville, Tenn., there is another “sole” issue on
the table as well.
Sole membership.
It is understandable if one is not familiar with the
term. Sole membership is a legal structure by which an agency makes the
convention the “sole member” – or single controlling member – of its
corporation.
In doing so, the convention’s ultimate – and
specific – rights are outlined. Essentially, those rights involve
electing and removing trustees and approving changes in the entity’s
charter and state of incorporation. Thus, an entity is preventing
from arbitrarily acting to distance itself from the convention.
In turn, the model recognizes that the trustees are responsible for management and operation of an entity.
Thus, the lines clearly – and legally – drawn.
Now, in a matter of days now, annual meeting
messengers will be asked to decide whether New Orleans Baptist
Theological Seminary adopts the sole membership model.
All other convention agencies already have adopted
the plan – and Southern Baptist leaders say it is a legally sound way
to tie the seminary to the denomination and specify the rights of both
entities.
However, seminary trustees and leaders have
hesitated – and while recommending the model this year, they also have
expressed formal reservations regarding the move.
So, what is the deal exactly?
The issue dates back to 1996, when the Southern
Baptist Convention chose to restructure. As part of that process, they
created a new agency – the Southern Baptist North American Mission
Board.
With the opportunity to start an entity from scratch, attorneys were asked to explore the best approach.
They latched onto sole membership. Under that
structure, the corporation would be formed with a single controlling
member – the Southern Baptist Convention.
Convention leaders and messengers embraced the
model. Leaders then began to consider use of the model with other
entities, especially after several state colleges acted to leave the
control of their state conventions.
Could not sole membership solve that problem?
On Sept. 5, 1997, SBC Executive Committee President
Morris Chapman wrote all entity heads, asking that they consider
amending their charters to embrace sole membership. By 2000, nine
convention entities had incorporated the model into their charters.
That left only one.
From the beginning, New Orleans Seminary trustees
expressed concerns about the sole membership model. Still, they
undertook a study of the issue.
By 2001, the issue began to heat up behind the
scenes. There ensued a string of letters and meetings between seminary
and Executive Committee leaders.
A vote came in the fall of 2003 – and seminary
trustees declined to adopt sole membership. At the same time, they
pledged allegiance to the convention.
Executive Committee leaders responded by meeting
with seminary trustees and leaders in February 2004 regarding the
matter. However, the seminary board declined to take action during that
session.
Days later, the Executive Committee approved a formal request that the seminary adopt sole membership.
At their April 2004 meeting, seminary trustees
responded by approving a motion to bring a pair of options to the 2005
meeting – sole membership and an alternative.
However, the Executive Committee countered by asking
messengers to the 2004 Southern Baptist Convention to approve a formal
request that the seminary adopt the sole membership model.
In October, seminary trustees agreed, approving the
change – but also voting to express reservations to the move to
messengers at the 2005 convention. Weeks later, the seminary released a
four-page statement of concerns.
Resolution of the matter now falls to SBC messengers.