Seminary trustees to confront president over audit, management issues

[gb93433]

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (ABP) -- Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary’s board of trustees will meet Feb. 10 in a special session to discuss the leadership of President Phil Roberts, Associated Baptist Press has learned.

Trustee sources said the board’s executive leadership will recommend that Roberts be terminated for financial irregularities and his treatment of faculty and staff. Other trustees supportive of Roberts countered with plans to preempt his firing by voting out the current board officers and committee chairs en masse.

Roberts declined to be interviewed for this story. Trustee Chairman Wayne Lee of Southlake, Texas, who called the special meeting a month ahead of the next scheduled board meeting at the request of executive leaders, could not be reached for comment.

Ongoing questions about Roberts’ leadership took on a more serious tone recently when the board delayed completion of the school’s annual audit in order to conduct a “forensic audit,” a more detailed inspection of financial records by an outside consultant conducted to the standards of a court of law.

Trustees critical of Roberts have questioned the accuracy of his financial reports to the board, alleged misuse of government Pell grants for students and blamed him for a budget crisis. They call Roberts a “micromanager” who intimidates or fires employees who don’t agree with him, pointing out the seminary has had 11 chief financial officers during Roberts’ 11 years as president.

The rest of the story is at http://www.abpnews.com/content/view/7128/53/

 

[Zenas]

This problem has been simmering a long time, and where there is smoke you will usually fiind a fire.

 

[Baptist Believer]

I hate to hear about this. No matter what happens (or even what the truth is), Southern Baptists lose and the seminary loses credibility.

 

[mandym]

Good grief talk about an overstatement. The seminary does not lose credibility. The fact that it is being addressed prevents that. The President will be replaced should the concerns be true and everyone will move on.

 

[Baptist Believer]

Good grief talk about an overstatement. The seminary does not lose credibility.

I hope you're right. However, anytime there's a scandal or public fight at a religious institution it makes headlines and undermines the credibility of an institution that is supposed to represent Christ. Southwestern Seminary here in Fort Worth still hasn't recovered its credibility in front of the community nearly 17 years after the Dilday firing.

 

[mandym]

I hope you're right. However, anytime there's a scandal or public fight at a religious institution it makes headlines and undermines the credibility of an institution that is supposed to represent Christ. Southwestern Seminary here in Fort Worth still hasn't recovered its credibility in front of the community nearly 17 years after the Dilday firing.

The Dilday firing created no credibility issues outside of the far left wing.

 

[Baptist Believer]

The Dilday firing created no credibility issues outside of the far left wing.

Whatever... Just because I've lived in Fort Worth before, during and afterward, I must not know what I'm talking about.

Both Dilday and the trustees handled themselves poorly during all that mess. Ultimately, everyone lost credibility. The seminary hasn't recovered the esteem it once had in Fort Worth.

Apparently you can't believe I would sincerely regret that there might be a scandal in SBC life. That's a shame.

 

[Oldtimer]

Good grief talk about an overstatement. The seminary does not lose credibility. The fact that it is being addressed prevents that. The President will be replaced should the concerns be true and everyone will move on.

I beg to disagree. The secular world pounces on anything that can undermine Christianity. Any hint of scandal begets a ton of "See I told you, they are ..........". Satan uses it to maximum advantage amoung unbelievers, IMHO.

 

[glfredrick]

This may be part of a larger move to consolodate some of the SBC seminary activity. I would expect that New Orleans, golden Gate, and Midwestern will all be wrapped up into one of the other bodies for cost-savings and effectivity measures. This instance at Midwestern may be the perfect opportunity to start that process.

 

[go2church]

The Dilday firing created no credibility issues outside of the far left wing.

Could not be more wrong.

The firing of Dilday created a huge credibility problem as did the "resigning" of Hemphill that followed among solid evangelical academic institutions and the seminary community at large. Southwestern lost many highly esteemed professors and administrators during the the whole ordeal and has not recovered. Note, having Patterson as president has not helped remedy this problem, probably made it worse. It's not easy turning a first rate seminary into a second rate bible college, but by cracky, he seems to be getting it done.

Midwestern should have been consolidated years ago now this finally might be the chance. It has never really distinguished itself for much of anything except say the Genesis commentary reissue thing back in 1961(?)

 

[preachinjesus]

The Dilday firing created no credibility issues outside of the far left wing.

You continually prove that you're perspective only considers the extreme right wing and no one else. This statement is incorrect for the local DFW metro-plex, the national ministry of SWBTS, and the larger academic enviornment. All of which matter.

The Dilday (and resulting Hemphill) sitatuation was ridiculous and did much to harm SWBTS' credibility.

As pertains to the OP, I fear Midwestern is slowly sinking into obscurity. I know they've gotten some upstart faculty recently that have promise, but it is just dogged by institutional lethargy which is leaving it in the dust. The last president (before Roberts) brought all kinds of problems, and now this. Crazy. Sad.

 

[gb93433]

Both Dilday and the trustees handled themselves poorly during all that mess. Ultimately, everyone lost credibility. The seminary hasn't recovered the esteem it once had in Fort Worth.

It was amazing how the local paper and TV news noted that the trustees gave Dilday a good evaluation and then terminated him the next day with an offer of some money with the condition that he would not say anything against the seminary. If someone has nothing to be afraid of, then why would they want to offer money for someone to not say anything? If I remember right the chairman of the trustees was relieved of his duties when caught shacking up with two ladies in his church whom he was "counseling." I remember well the first time I met the former chairman it was "lights and sirens" that drew attention to his pride and arrogance. It is the lies and attempt at image building of the trustees that drew a lot of attention.

Surely SWBTS needed a new chapel and many more administrators especially during a down time in our economy. What a good deal the newly hired professors get so they can teach with a salary and no benefits!!! After all who wouldn't want to support a seminary that builds a new chapel, more than doubles the size of the president's home and offers newly hired professors a salary with no benefits. Gotta have those new buildings as an example of God's provision (as monuments to God's glory) but forget about the professors. Those professors are just all that important. It is extremely important to have new buildings and more administrators. Surely Lee Iacocca knew that when he turned Chrysler around.

What a time it must be to be able to tell the students how important evangelism is and send them out while at the same time build new buildings and get some additional administrators. Gotta make sure the evangelism budget is well spent on architectural evangelism. Gotta have buildings to be seen by everyone so at least they rival the Mormon Tabernacle.

 

[preachinjesus]

I think its probably germane to keep this conversation on track about Midwestern guys.

...thus says the eternal thread hijacker himself

 

[gb93433]

This may be part of a larger move to consolodate some of the SBC seminary activity. I would expect that New Orleans, golden Gate, and Midwestern will all be wrapped up into one of the other bodies for cost-savings and effectivity measures. This instance at Midwestern may be the perfect opportunity to start that process.

Is this a case of trying to fly under the radar as the trustees did in the Dilday case? Is this a case of lying on the surface with another agenda underneath?

Do they really think the people in the SBC are that stupid to think that it will never catch up with the leaders of the SBC?

 

[Baptist Believer]

This may be part of a larger move to consolodate some of the SBC seminary activity. I would expect that New Orleans, golden Gate, and Midwestern will all be wrapped up into one of the other bodies for cost-savings and effectivity measures. This instance at Midwestern may be the perfect opportunity to start that process.

What sort of consolidation do you think might happen?

It would be a shame to lose a seminary in the middle of the U.S., although it has been rather ineffective for the amount of money that has been spent.

Do you see the campus as becoming some sort of extension to the other seminaries with distance learning classrooms and professors traveling in and out for special sessions or do you see everything going away and prospective students directed toward the other seminaries?

 

[gb93433]

Already we are seeing courses being offered on DVD and online being taught by some very good professors. I believe that if they wanted the publishing companies could take over education in the U.S. They could employ professors to do courses online and DVD and have them publish books for their courses. So much work can be done online through access to databases. The universities are pushing for research and courses done online.

 

[mandym]

You continually prove that you're perspective only considers the extreme right wing and no one else. This statement is incorrect for the local DFW metro-plex, the national ministry of SWBTS, and the larger academic enviornment. All of which matter.

No one even talks about it except the extreme left who run around bitter and create obscure websites that no one reads bad mouthing it. The national ministry of the Seminary is just fine.

 

[gb93433]

No one even talks about it except the extreme left who run around bitter and create obscure websites that no one reads bad mouthing it. The national ministry of the Seminary is just fine.

There is no need to be bitter about it because some of the best faculty from the former SWBTS have started a new school at www.bhcti.org . I am sure God just loves what he sees in the political cesspool of politics without scholarship.

Those who are rowing the boat are not usually the ones rocking it. They are so busy working that they do not have time to engage in backbiting and telling lies. Billy Graham had the same problem in the early years of his ministry. There were those who sought to defame him by fabricating lies. We see where those people are today.

 

[gb93433]

No one even talks about it except the extreme left who run around bitter and create obscure websites that no one reads bad mouthing it. The national ministry of the Seminary is just fine.

Could you point out those websites because I am not aware of any?

 

[mandym]

Could you point out those websites because I am not aware of any?

Sure here is some

baptistlife.com/flick/Kingmaker%20Myth.htm

mainstreambaptists.org/mob4/baptist_center.htm