Part 1 - On Power and Protection

This is the first post of what is likely to be a 3 part series. My next post will likely be after Sunday (I hear the Town Talk, the newspaper of the Alexandria/Pineville area, will publish information Sunday morning that might require further comment). As a reminder to those who have kept track of this ongoing issue, I have the unsigned copy of the most recently distributed “confidentiality” document given to the Trustees. Even though I have not signed it, I take seriously the responsibility I have as a Trustee and to this point have not divulged any information that has been presented in our Board’s Executive Session meetings (although I’d love to share some of that info and may be forced to do so at a later date). The only time I will openly speak about issues related to my Trusteeship is when I find unfair treatment or what I perceived to be untruths being presented to the public. At this point I offer the following: it appears to me the only reason for the recent reignition of issues related to Louisiana College is due to the inability of the LC administration to move on from what was a deeply divisive and contentious issue which had quietly retreated into the past. Clearly, some people are more concerned with continually flaunting an ego-driven, and arguably non-existent “exoneration” than they are seeking unity and peace for the greater good of the Kingdom of God. As my granny would say, “this is what happens when people don’t leave well-enough alone.” My hope is that certain audio recordings (which I understand to exist but have not heard their content) would be released to the public. If that happens, many, many questions will finally have answers and there will be an exoneration… for me and those who have been maligned.

Today, I would like to point attention to the role of the Executive Director of the Louisiana Baptist Convention (LBC) as it relates to his interaction with Louisiana College (LC). This is a long post but I beg your patience, attention and contemplation.

Part 1 – On Power and Protection

On Monday evening, November 11^th I offered the following motion to the Louisiana Baptist Convention meeting in Alexandria, Louisiana:

Resolution Addressing the Role of the Executive Director on the

Boards of Trustees of the Louisiana Baptist Convention

Submitted by Jay Adkins on the floor of the LBC

November 11-12, 2013

     WHEREAS Article IV, Section Ten (10) of the Bylaws of the Louisiana Baptist Convention state, “No salaried employee of this Convention and its boards and committees shall be eligible for election as a voting member of boards or committees of this Convention except as provided in the constitution of the Convention or these bylaws,”

     WHEREAS Article III, Section Nine (9) of the Bylaws of the Louisiana Baptist Convention state, “The Executive Director of the Executive Board of the Convention shall serve ex officio [sic] as a member and as secretary of all standing committees of the Convention; however, he may be assisted in this task by members of the Executive Board staff,”

     WHEREAS Articles II and III of the Bylaws of the Louisiana Baptist Convention clearly delineate a distinction between 1) Standing Committees of the Louisiana Baptist Convention and 2) Boards of Trustees of the Louisiana Baptist Convention, noting seven (7) Standing Committees and four (4) Boards of Trustees,

     WHEREAS these terms are not used interchangeably but are in reference to either the Standing Committees (committees) or the Boards of Trustees (boards),

     WHEREAS these Bylaws bestow upon the Executive Director ex officio status (to serve as secretary) of all Standing Committees, they do not permit the Executive Director to be seated as a voting member of any of the four Boards of Trustees of the Louisiana Baptist Convention;

     WHEREAS Article II of the Louisiana College Bylaws: Revised and Amended 1996, formerly identified no position for the Executive Director, when it presented, “The Board of Trustees shall consist of thirty-three persons elected by the Louisiana Baptist Convention plus the President of the Louisiana Baptist Convention. The President of the College also shall be a member of the Board of Trustees, ex officio [sic] and without vote,”

     WHEREAS for over 100 years, from the founding of Louisiana College, the Executive Director had no voting position on the Louisiana College Board of Trustees, until changes were made to the Louisiana College Charter and Bylaws in 2008 when the Restated Articles of Incorporation of Louisiana College, Article IV, 4.2 was amended to read, “The Board of Trustees shall be composed of thirty-three persons, each of whom shall be a member in good standing of a Baptist church in Louisiana cooperating with the Louisiana Baptist Convention and a resident of the state of Louisiana, plus the President and the Executive Director of the Louisiana Baptist Convention. The President of Louisiana College shall be a member of the Board of Trustees, ex officio, [sic] and without vote,” (emphasis mine)

     WHEREAS the absence of a voting member position for the Executive Director on the Boards of Trustees could be understood to have been a deliberate action on order to guard against 1) the clear conflict of interest arising from the Executive Director’s influence over the convention budget, 2) a privileged tenure due to an undefined and unexpiring term and 3) the powerful voice of the Executive Director and his positional influence in larger Convention life,

     WHEREAS Article IV, 4.2 of the Louisiana College Restated Articles of Incorporation is in direct contradiction with Article III, Section Nine (9) and Article IV, Section Ten (10) of the Bylaws of Louisiana Baptist Convention,

     WHEREAS Louisiana College does not have the authority to supersede the Constitution and Bylaws of the Louisiana Baptist Convention by placing on its Board of Trustees a salaried employee of the Convention;

     WHEREAS Comprehensive Standard 3.2.4 of the Council on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) states: “The governing board is free from undue influence from political, religious, or other external bodies and protects the institution from such influence,”

     WHEREAS being found out of compliance with such Comprehensive Standards might result in further sanctions or even denial of reaffirmation by the accrediting body;

     THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED the Louisiana Baptist Convention meeting in Alexandria on November 11-12, 2013 clarify that the Executive Director of the Executive Board of the Convention is not a voting member of any the four (4) Boards of Trustees of the Louisiana Baptist Convention,

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, regarding Louisiana College, the Louisiana Baptist Convention meeting in Alexandria on November 11-12, 2013 formally requests the Board of Trustees of Louisiana College to amend their Restated Articles of Incorporation to comply with the Louisiana Baptist Convention’s Bylaws by removing “and the Executive Director” from Article IV, 4.2 of the Restated Articles of Incorporation,

     BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED this action does not prohibit the Executive Director from interacting with Louisiana College in his role as Executive Director of the Executive Board of the Louisiana Baptist Convention, who may be invited to attend any open meeting of the Board of Trustees for purposes of information and encouragement.

     Yup, that’s a mouthful. It is cumbersome and a bit tedious but the verbiage was important in order to cover all the bases I hoped to address. Granted the last two “Whereas” statements are not necessary as to the flow and purpose of the resolution in toto, but I felt it was important to express my concern about how this relationship (specifically between the Executive Director and Louisiana College) could be misconstrued by our governing body (SACS).
     Another Louisiana pastor, Lewis Richerson, expressed similar concerns. He too presented a motion at the LBC meeting. His motion dealt with the definition of ex officio and whether or not the Executive Director’s position should be voting or non-voting. This is an important question (and one that needs to be addressed) regarding whether or not the Executive Director should be a voting member of the Standing Committees, however, my contention is that the question is moot in regard to the four Boards of Trustees, since according to our constitution, the Executive Director has no seat thereon.
     After my motion, and during a time of discussion and a point of order that I offered, Dr. David Hankins, the current Executive Director of the LBC, was allowed to speak to the matter. The following is a direct transcript of his address:
            Thank you Mr. President,

     Ah, the point of orders are raised is that this convention has been, for some number of years, in violation of its own bylaws, ah, when it has adopted all of the charters, which it’s done so recently, of all of its entities, as well as sustaining the rules under which the Executive Board operates. The bylaw under reference says that no salaried official of the convention is eligible for election. That means that the nominating committee or the committee on committees may not put forth the name of a salaried person, ah to serve on one of the committees or boards of this convention. However, ex officio members are not under that rule. The President that’s elected each year and the Executive Director by name, serve on the boards according to the charters of, that have been approved by this convention. This convention is not in violation of its own rules.

     I would further demonstrate that in that Mr. Richarson’s motion, tried to change the language from election to service, which then would put the convention’s rules in conflict with the current charters. And so I would encourage the messengers to sustain the motion to refer this very complex motion, ah, some of which is out of order on other rules. And so I hope that the body would allow the Executive Board to study this and bring you a report at a future convention. (David Hankins addressing the Louisiana Baptist Convention, November 12, 2013.)

     Ironically, and in what can only be looked at as comedic relief, my motion, about the influence of the Executive Director, was referred to the committee that is under the direction of… wait for it… the Executive Director. The fact remains, the Convention is violating its own rules and here is why.

     Clearly, the Executive Director has been serving on the Boards of Trustees (and it does seem as though the Board charters have been changed to allow for this) but the LBC Constitution has not been changed to allow for this. Further, the Executive Director has been a voting and very vocal member of at least one of the Boards. I rarely heard the Executive Director speak up in years past. In fact, I seem to recall whole meetings that passed where he didn’t say a word. That has not been the case over the last two years. Although the Executive Director has apparently been serving on each of the four Boards of Trustees, I only have experience with his interaction with the Board on which I serve, the Board of Trustees of Louisiana College. Thus, the motion I offered was specifically in relationship to Louisiana College and therefore I will only address what I have experienced.

     The Executive Director mentioned the following in his response:

“The bylaw under reference says that no salaried official of the convention is eligible for election. That means that the nominating committee or the committee on committees may not put forth the name of a salaried person, ah to serve on one of the committees or boards of this convention. However, ex officio members are not under that rule. The President that’s elected each year and the Executive Director by name, serve on the boards according to the charters, of, that have been approved by this convention.” (his emphasis)

     Clearly, in this statement the Executive Director is pointing to a particular word as the basis for that office to have a seat on the Boards. He is specifically emphasizing one word which he apparently assumes allows him a seated position on the Boards. He even vocally emphasized that word during his response. The word in question is “election” (anyone want to chase down the irony here… ;) sorry, inside joke).


On the Changing of a Word
     Here is what you might not know… before 2007 the article in question said the following…

Article IV, Section 10 (pre 2007) – Bylaws of the Louisiana Baptist Convention

“No salaried employee of this Convention and its boards and committees shall be eligible for service as a voting member of boards or committees of this Convention except as provided in the constitution of the Convention or these bylaws,” (emphasis mine)

     During the 2007 LBC meeting a change was proposed to that article… a change of one word. I can not find where a floor discussion took place regarding this change, but the amended language was apparently adopted (however, conspicuously and unlike all the other Book of Reports which I possess, the Constitution and Bylaws were not included in the 2008 LBC Book of Reports). After 2007 the article now reads…

Article IV, Section 10 (post 2007) – Bylaws of the Louisiana Baptist Convention

“No salaried employee of this Convention and its boards and committees shall be eligible for election as a voting member of boards or committees of this Convention except as provided in the constitution of the Convention or these bylaws,” (emphasis mine)

     In other words, from the time the article was first adopted the idea was that “no salaried employees could serve on the boards or committees of the convention.” Why was this word change made? I am admittedly assuming that the Executive Director had something to do with this change. Clearly by his own statement he thinks simply changing one word in the constitution would grant the office such a seat (in fact, the Executive Director acknowledged as much when he noted that if the language was “service” rather than “election” then the convention’s rules would be in conflict with the current charters). However, to suggest that any one-word-change now allows a spot for the Executive Director on the Boards of Trustees could not be further from the truth. In fact, it is quite naïve.

     Let’s examine why…


On the Spirit of the Rule:

     As already noted, Article IV, Section Ten (10) (found on page 78 of the 2013 Book of Reports) articulates, “No salaried employee of this Convention and its boards and committees shall be eligible for election as a voting member of boards or committees of this Convention except as provided in the constitution of the Convention or these bylaws.” Clearly, the idea of improper or undue influence and/or conflict of interest is the implicit concern of this passage. In fact, most of the sections of Article IV deal with the very issue of guarding the entities against this type of influence citing areas of term limits, rotating trusteeships, etc (Sections, 1-4, 8-10). Inasmuch, the use of the term “elected” (changed from “service”) in this article, is irrelevant to the question of who should or should not be seated. In his statement the Executive Director admitted that only these two ex officio positions are in question and I would posit that this particular section (10) is really only dealing with the office of Executive Director since the Convention President is not a Convention employee. Furthermore, who wields more authority in Baptist in Convention life than the Executive Director? What is implicitly being espoused by the Executive Director in arguing for a spot for that office is that the Executive Director should have an on-going, term-limit free, permanent vocal and voting position on the very boards that receive monies from the Convention budget, of which he has oversight. In light of Section One (1) of the same article (Article IV), which declares, “The Convention affirms its adherence to the policy of periodic rotation of the membership of its committees and boards,” to argue that the Executive Director should hold a permanent position, ad infinitum, is a serious breach of this particular rule as well as transgresses the sprit of the rule from Section Ten (10).

On Ex Officio Positions:

     Now, let’s compare the two ex officio offices and what our guiding documents actually allow…

The service of the LBC President: On Both Standing Committees and Boards.

The yearly elected President of the Convention DOES INDEED, upon election, have a spot on both the Convention committees and boards. Note Article VIII, Section Four (4) of the Articles of Incorporation of the Louisiana Baptist Convention (found on page 71 of the 2013 Book of Reports). This article identifies that the President of the LBC, “shall, by his election, become an ex officio [sic] member of all Convention committees and boards.” Thus, upon election, the President of the Convention does serve on both the Convention Standing Committees and the Boards of Trustees. That’s the President. Now let’s look at what is allowed for the Executive Director. (emphasis mine)

The service of the LBC Executive Director: Only on Standing Committees.

Compare the previous allowance of the elected President’s responsibility (and the clear and distinct language used there) to the limitation placed on the Executive Director in Article III, Section Nine (9) of the Louisiana Baptist Convention Bylaws (found on page 77 of the 2013 Book of Reports). This article states, “The Executive Director of the Executive Board of the Convention shall serve ex officio [sic] as a member and as secretary of all standing committees of the Convention; however, he may be assisted in this task by members of the Executive Board staff.” (emphasis mine)

     I’m not sure how much more clear this can be. The Executive Director IS NOT GIVEN MEMBERSHIP ON THE BOARDS OF TRUSTEES.

    

Let’s look into this a bit more closely, shall we…

     The terms “committees” and “boards” are not used interchangeably in our guiding documents. They are in reference to either the Standing Committees (committees) or the Boards of Trustees (boards). The distinction in the language is noted throughout all the articles of both the Bylaws and Incorporation. This taxonomy is most precisely articulated in Article II of the Bylaws of the Louisiana Baptist Convention (found on page 75 of the 2013 Book of Reports). There is a sharp and unquestionable distinction between 1) Standing Committees of the Louisiana Baptist Convention and 2) Boards of Trustees of the Louisiana Baptist Convention. This article lists the following:

(7) Standing Committees

1. Committee on Committees

2. Committee on Nominations

3. Committee on Order of Business

4. Committee on Credentials

5. Committee on Resolutions

6. Committee on Moral and Social Concerns

7. Committee on Louisiana Baptist History

...and the following:

(4) Boards of Trustees

1. Louisiana College

2. Louisiana Baptist Children’s Home

3. Louisiana Baptist Foundation

4. The Baptist Message

     It is quite clear that these Bylaws bestow upon the Executive Director ex officio status (to serve as secretary) of all Standing Committees… but they certainly do not permit the Executive Director to be seated as any type of member (ex officio, voting or not) of any of the four Boards of Trustees of the Louisiana Baptist Convention. Furthermore, since he is to serve as a secretary only, he is arguably not even explicitly given a vote on the Standing Committees. In the end, one cannot identify a place in either the Bylaws, or Articles of Incorporation of the Louisiana Baptist Convention where the Executive Director is allowed to be seated on the Boards of Trustees of the Convention. Thus, and in light of the spirit of Article IV, he is, I would argue, in actuality, prohibited from serving on anything other than the Standing Committees. There should be no question on this matter. Our Bylaws are clear.

     The crux of the overarching issue may be broken down into the following simple questions and answers:

          1. Where in the Constitution and or Articles of Incorporation is the Executive Director given ex officio membership? Article III, Section 9 of the Bylaws.

          2.  In that bylaw, what allowance is afforded him? He “shall serve ex officio [sic] as a member and as secretary of all standing committees of the Convention;…”

          3.  Where in the Bylaws is the elected Convention President given ex officio membership? Article VIII, Section 4 of the Articles of Incorporation.

          4.  In that bylaw, what allowance is afforded him? He “shall, by his election, become an ex officio [sic] member of all Convention committees and boards.”

          5. The Executive Director is given ex officio membership on the 7 standing committees in Article III, Section 9 but where in the Constitution or Articles of Incorporation is the Executive Director given a position on the Boards of Trustees of the Louisiana Baptist Convention as is made available to the President of the Convention in Article VIII, Section 4 of the Articles of Incorporation? He is not given such a role and is in fact prohibited from such as seat from a concise reading of Article IV, Section 10 - “No salaried employee of this Convention and its boards and committees shall be eligible for election as a voting member of boards or committees of this Convention except as provided in the constitution of the Convention or these bylaws.” As we have noted there is no provision for such a seat bestowed upon the Executive Director.

          6.  What is the spirit and purpose of the rule in Article IV, Sections 1 and 10 of the Bylaws? Clearly, to keep at bay the possibility of undue influence.

          7.  What person has more influence in Convention life than the Executive Director? No One.

          8.  Finally, is it even appropriate for the Executive Director, who arguably has an inordinate amount of influence over the Convention budget, to be given what amounts to a permanent, voting position on the Boards that subsequently receive monies from that very budget? I argue that it is not… but although pertinent, that is discussion for another time.

On Undue Influence by the Executive Director:

     So why this motion at this time? Simply stated… Because I have witnessed, first hand, what I and others believe to be undue influence of the Executive Director on the Board of Trustees of Louisiana College in regard to the President of LC.

     Be assured, I have not said anything about the role of the Executive Director in public that I have not said to him face to face. In fact, I actually drafted a resolution to censure the Executive Director after witnessing what I believed to be moments of undue influence and political maneuvering in Board matters. I prayerfully held that resolution through three meetings and ultimately did not present it (although I did tell him about it). A few other board members knew I had such a motion however I chose not to offer it to the body after I saw the clear lines that were drawn and where the numbers were (at that point there was no need in exacerbating an already divided Board). I expressed my extreme disappointment with him and his action. Presently I do not feel it is appropriate to share the text of my resolution to censure since it deals with a number of things that happened in Executive Session during Board meetings.

     Let me also take a moment to be transparent here. I was angry with what I saw. So much so that I am ashamed to admit that it was anger to the point of sin. Sitting in my office one day another pastor in the state (who also had been dealing with similar feelings) called to challenge me. He noted his frustration and told me that God had convicted him over his anger. He confronted me by asking me if I had prayed for the Executive Director. With tears in my eyes I admitted I had not. I repented at that very moment and asked God to help me with those untoward feelings. I am so thankful for a fellow pastor who cared enough about me to call me out on the subject. You know who you are and you’re a blessing to me, friend. Although I can admit my bad attitude and have long gotten over my anger regarding these issues, the fact remains I still have a fiduciary responsibility to Louisiana Baptists (until November of this year when I rotate off the Board) and to myself (as a Pastor and man who tries to function in integrity) to point out where I see a large and looming problem in our Convention.

     Regarding the last two years of turmoil at Louisiana College… the fact of the matter is that the Executive Director has had all of the information that the Board has had. All of this information that is now being leaked, the vast majority of which the Board had been given (whether or not they looked at it or investigated for themselves is questionable), was also available to the Executive Director. Further, the Executive Director had even more information than the rest of us since he was appointed to the small committee of Board members who “looked into” the whistleblower allegations (who as I understand, interviewed no one). So as you come in contact with more and more leaked information, take note that it was known and it was steamrolled-over.

     The following is my opinion (although some would agree and some would disagree) and I take responsibility for it without offering it in malice or anger. I firmly believe that the current President of Louisiana College would no longer be in that capacity were it not for the protection of the Executive Director of the LBC. As is now finally being proved, there was never a “Calvinist Conspiracy” that demanded attention… Not from the faculty nor from the Board (this allegation, which I continue to hear paraded around to engender support from the anti-Calvinist lot, is absolutely laughable considering that there were only two of us on the board who identify with Reformed Soteriology… TWO of 35 members). The only reason the issue was directed at Calvinism was so that the Executive Director could rid the school of reformed leaning professors. If he could identify Calvinism as the strawman and then extol the LC President as protecting the school from such a “takeover” then numerous uninformed and uneducated people (including some board members who much like the President couldn’t articulate a definition of Calvinism if you made them) would be misdirected enough to rally around the President and subsequently disregard the preponderance of information regarding the clear lack of leadership or at least the bungled nature of so many things coming out of Louisiana College… exempli gratia: Facilities in disrepair, SACS issues, failed Law School, failed Medical School, failed film school, loss of donors, unreasonably high turnover of Vice President’s of Academic Affairs, high legal fees from litigation, etc.

     There you have it friends. I welcome anyone who would rise to challenge me on what I have said here. I have audio recordings to back me up and would be more than happy to comment if provoked.

Semper Reformanda…

Soli Deo Gloria!

-Jay Adkins

     Part Two will look further into the conflict between the LBC bylaws and the Restated Articles of Incorporation of Louisiana College. Part Three will likely be a bit of commentary on the role of the Trustee and the current topics being leaked to various media outlets (But that will depend of the stories that are coming out over the weekend).

     I am appreciative that Kelly Boggs of the Baptist Message has finally engaged some of the Board members to investigate one of the particular stories that have been leaked (its only one aspect, but it’s a start). My hope is that he does a thorough and actual investigation on the subject. However, and this is no reflection on him at all, I remain unconvinced that such a probe will come to fruition.

     Guess who sits on the Board of Trustees of the Baptist Message… well, I’ll let you figure out that one yourself.


Amendment: I earlier had posted what I now know to be a misstatement. I was under the impression that the Baptist Message was under the office of the Executive Branch of the LBC. I have since, found out that is not the case. Although it was something that Dr. Hankins tried to bring about after becoming the Executive Director (which is why I thought it had happened), that movement failed. My apologies to Kelly Boggs and those at the Baptist Message.