Local news
Enid Pastor Burleson faces ouster from Southern Baptist Convention’s International Mission Board
By Scott Fitzgerald
Staff Writer
Pastor Wade Burleson of Emmanuel Baptist Church said he will visit with his church clergy Sunday to explain further what he described as “a complicated issue.”
Reached by telephone Thurs-day, Burleson, an admittedly outspoken, charismatic Baptist and civic leader, faces being ousted from the Southern Baptist Con-vention’s International Mission Board (IMB), which he was elected to during the SBC’s 2005 annual meeting in Nashville, Tenn.
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 Burleson’s four-year term.
Hatley said in his statement “trustees addressed issues involving broken trust and resistance to accountability, not Burleson’s opposition to policies recently enacted by the board,” in their recommendation to have the Enid pastor removed.
Any recommendation to have an IMB board member removed must be done during the Southern Baptist Convention, which will be held in June in Greensboro, N.C.
Burleson declined on the telephone to further explain his position or issues that are in disagreement with the board.
His viewpoints, analysis and response are self-explanatory and accessible on his online Weblog —kerussocharis.blogspot.com.
At issue is Burleson’s disapproval of specific missionary policies, enacted by the board during its November meeting, that center on prayer language.
He alleges also some IBM board members are holding private meetings and caucuses to develop and craft IMB motions and policies violating board guidelines.
Burleson served as president of the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma from 2003-05.
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