Published: January 15, 2006 11:20 pm         

Rev. Burleson speaks to congregation on International Mission Board difficulties

By Robert Barron

Staff Writer



It has been a difficult week for the Rev. Wade Burleson, pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Enid.

Burleson is a trustee of International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. IMB board chairman Tom Hatley, pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in Rogers, Ark., issued a three-paragraph statement Wednesday following a trustee vote the previous night in executive session in Richmond, Va., to terminate Bur-leson’s four-year term.

If he is removed it would be the first time in the history of the Southern Baptist Con-vention for such an occurrence.

Burleson explained to his congregation what happened at the mission conference, and was interrupted several times by applause, including one standing ovation.

During the sermon he told his congregation:

He is bound by conscience to resist new policies of the IMB related to baptism and a private prayer language for missionary candidates. The new policies violate scripture and go past the Baptist faith and message. “My conscience is bound to God’s word,” he said.

Because the trustees approved the new policies, he took them to the SBC membership at large by beginning a Weblog, or blog. This apparently upset some of the trustees, since many of them had never heard of a blog. Those trustees thought Bur-leson was opposing them and not the policies.

The allegations against him seem to be an attack against his character, but he told the church his soul is at rest, because he is living by a principle.

“The principle for which I am fighting is as follows:

Conservative Baptists should cooperate in missions and evangelism even though we may disagree with each other over minor doctrines,” he said.

Burleson addressed his church Sunday referring to Galatians 1:10. “Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or God? Or am I trying to please men.” If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ”

A news release from the IMB stated that in taking the action the trustees addressed issues involving broken trust and resistance to accountability, not his opposition to policies recently enacted by the board.

When Burleson was appointed to the mission board by the Southern Baptist Convention he was contacted by a group who wanted him to be like-minded with them. Before he attended his first meeting he was asked to join a group with an “agenda” for the missions board, he said.

It is a violation of policy for any group to meet outside the board. All decisions are to be made by the full missions board, Burleson told a packed sanctuary Sunday morning.

That group introduced two new policies, which he opposed in what he described as vigorous debate.

One of those issues involves what was described as a “private prayer language.” Some refer to it as speaking in tongues.

The group wanted to prohibit anyone in mission service from having a private prayer language and a new policy stated missionaries could not pray in a language that is “unintelligible.”

Burleson considers that rule a violation of scripture and questioned it. He told the church Sunday he does not speak in tongues, nor does he know of anyone in his church who does.

“I don’t have a dog in this hunt,” he said.

The mission of the Southern Baptist Convention is to teach scriptures, he said.

“There can be differences of opinion about speaking in tongues,” he said. “Southern Baptists must cooperate together for the sake of missions around the world,” Burleson said.

A second issue requires missionaries to be baptized in a church that believes in eternal security.

Burleson knows and supports a missionary who was baptized in a pond, came to the United States and was educated and now is a missionary in his home country.

The mission board asked Burleson if he would re-baptize the man and Burleson refused, believing it is not necessary. Some members of the mission board suggested they may ask the missionary to associate with another church.

“I don’t care where they were baptized, in a pond, or in a river,” he said.

The group on the missionary board was attempting to create new policy and were successful with the full board.

Burleson opposed and some others felt as vehemently as he.

Burleson felt so strongly about the changes he started a Weblog, or blog discussing it.

Burleson’s membership in the missions board will be voted upon during the Southern Baptist Convention in June.

Burleson sees the move as an attempt to force everyone to see all issues the same way. If that is successful, he predicted it will be the death knell of the Southern Baptist Convention.

“This isn’t about speaking in tongues and baptism,” he said.

The move to remove him from the board came as a shock to him. Burleson said he heard “grievous things” the night before the motion, but he would not discuss them.

He accused a group of trustees of conducting business in violation of policy.

“The recommendation broke my heart. The recommendation was made in executive session but was announced in plenary session, then a news release was issued. Between the session and the issuing of the news release, numerous attempts were made to get him to resign.

He said resigning would admit he is wrong, and that he will stand on principle.