Whereas, the Executive Board of the Louisiana Baptist Convention recommended
to the messengers to the 2002 Louisiana Baptist Convention annual meeting an
initial plan of action designed to return oversight..
Whereas, the Executive Board of the Louisiana Baptist Convention recommended
to the messengers to the 2002 Louisiana Baptist Convention annual meeting an
initial plan of action designed to return oversight and employment of the directors
of missions to the respective associations of churches, and
Whereas, the messengers to the 2002 Louisiana Baptist Convention annual meeting
adopted the Executive Board proposal, and
Whereas, Dr. Dean Doster, acting in his capacity as executive director of the
Louisiana Baptist Convention and chief fiduciary steward of the Cooperative
Program budget for the Louisiana Baptist Convention subsequently made the discovery
that the adopted proposal, though well-intended, was financially and functionally
unfeasible, and
Whereas, Dr. Doster, after seeking counsel from various leaders in the Louisiana
Baptist Convention, communicated his concerns with the Executive Board prior
to its January 2004 meeting, informing them that he had taken action to correct
this financially and functionally unfeasible situation and further asked the
Executive Board to support him in his action, and
Whereas, the Executive Board, in its January 2004 meeting overwhelmingly adopted
a motion to support Dr. Dosters action in principle, forming an ad hoc
transition committee to see that the action to return oversight and employment
(along with funding) of the directors of missions to the respective associations
of churches be undertaken in a timely manner with as little hardship as possible
on all parties involved, and
Whereas, the Executive Board believes that this action will ultimately prove
to be in the best interests of all Louisiana Baptists for the expenditure of
our energies and resources in Empowering Kingdom Growth, and
“Whereas, it is the desire of Dr. Doster, this Executive Board and many
people from across the Louisiana Baptist Convention to remove any appearance
that the will of the convention has been usurped, abrogated or otherwise ignored
in the action taken by Dr. Doster in his capacity as executive director of the
Louisiana Baptist Convention;
Be it therefore resolved that we, the Executive Board of the Louisiana Baptist
Convention do recommend to the messengers at the annual meeting in November
2004 the adoption of this resolution as an expression of support for the decision
to return oversight and employment (along with funding) of the directors of
missions to the respective associations of churches, and
Be it further resolved that we express our appreciation to the directors of
missions who labor among their respective associations of churches in the Louisiana
Baptist Convention, commending them for their tireless efforts to promote the
cause of Jesus Christ in so many ways among the churches, and
Be it finally resolved that the Executive Board calls upon all Louisiana Baptists
to redouble our efforts as we focus our energies and resources to labor together
to win the lost to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ across this state, throughout
our nation and around the world.