By Will Hall, Baptist Message executive editor NEW ORLEANS (LBM) – The North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention has received another setback with regard to a lawsuit filed by Will McRaney, former executive director of the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware, and the decision sends the case back to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi for consideration on three key points. BACKDROP Previously, a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals voted 3-0 against NAMB, ruling that McRaney’s lawsuit was wrongly dismissed by the lower federal court. NAMB subsequently asked the full federal appeals court to uphold the dismissal – now denied by the 9-8 vote. Consequently, the district court will receive, again, McRaney’s case that alleges NAMB President Kevin Ezell played a role in McRaney’s termination from the state convention and in his being “uninvited” from speaking at a conference in Mississippi. The ruling specifically instructs the lower federal court “to determine (1) whether NAMB intentionally and maliciously damaged McRaney’s business relationships by falsely claiming that he refused to meet with Ezell, … (2) whether NAMB’s statements about McRaney … [Read more...]