If you have ever subscribed to the Word & Way and you still live at the same address, chances are you received a paper last week. Anyone that has been on the Word & Way mailing list received a FREE issue! I have a few friends who have not received one of these papers for over 5 years now and then suddenly after 5 years of silence a newspaper shows up at their door. Why, you ask? I was asking myself the same thing. At first I was simply surprised that I had received a copy of this paper, and then it struck me as being very strange. Word & Way is one of the five institutions who decided to slip out of the accountability of the Missouri Baptist Convention by changing their charters to make their trustee’s a self electing board. On March 11, 2004 Judge Thomas Brown ended the lawsuit the Missouri Baptist Convention filed against these five institutions on the basis that the Executive Board and the six convention-affiliated churches do not have the legal standing to file the lawsuit. He ruled in this manner because the convention charter states that the convention is made up of messengers and not the executive board or churches. As soon as this happened the Word & Way immediately jumped on the opportunity at hand. They published several articles and letters dealing with the convention and then mailed the finished product to almost everyone who has ever been on their mailing list. The newspaper has a special little note on the back that basically says, we want to bring Missouri Baptists up to date on new developments in the convention so examine this paper carefully and if you like what you see we also included a subscription form…
This whole thing sounds fishy to me, but I “carefully examined this issue” anyway. Here’s what I found:
The first thing you set your eyes on is the front page article which is titled “Judge dismisses MBC lawsuit.” This is a very informative article on what happen in the lawsuit and why the judge dismissed it. No problem with this article, until the end. At the very end of the article the Word & Way says the leadership of the 5 agencies has collectively said that they “just want to put the case behind them and focus on ministry.” Larry Johnson (the Baptist Home), R. Alton Lacey (Missouri Baptist University), Jim Smith (Baptist Foundation), and Frank Shock (Windermere) are quoted in this article, each one basically saying that they are glad the lawsuit is over so that they can focus on their jobs and ministry. I smell agenda. After just writing about how the task force of the convention is not going to quit they then write about how glad each agency is that the lawsuit is over so they can focus on ministry. It certainly makes the agencies sound like they are victims in this matter.
On the left side of the paper is a little box that explains, to the shocked and dumbfounded person who is holding the Word & Way, why they have received this issue. 1. “because it contains important news that effects Missouri Baptist life” - Apparently, Missouri Baptists, this is very important news. The Word & Way wouldn’t go to all of the trouble of spending extra money to print all of these extra issues and send them to people who are not subscribers for nothing! Just everyday, average Baptist news is not worth that, no this issue is special folks. Never mind the fact that we have our own newspaper, it is the Word & Way’s job to inform us of the latest information. Isn’t this odd? 2. “because we are interested in re-acquainting you with an old friend, the Word & Way.” What are you saying? Do you want more subscribers? Do you want us to see some changes you have made to the paper, see how much you cover, how balanced and fair you are, and come running back to you begging for forgiveness for ever leaving? Are you trying to make us feel guilty? Ok, so maybe I am being a bit extreme here, but I smell a rat!
The ‘letters’ section of the paper is clearly one-sided. One letter they published is about the “tragedy” of spending money on these lawsuits. Getting the word out to all Missouri Baptists that the convention is wasting money on lawsuits, and that money could be used for ministry. This person wanted to tell every Missouri Baptist to call the Executive Board and MBC officers to let them know that we don’t want to waste anymore money. Which is a good idea if the majority of Missouri Baptists believe that perusing this lawsuit is not a just cause… however, I believe it was the Messengers of the Missouri Baptist Convention who in fact voted for the spending of this money. So that is a great idea. Lets all call up and harass the Executive Board for doing something we told them to do. This letter ended with a plea for all Missouri Baptists to call their executive board to tell them to stop “persecution of these Missouri Baptists institutions.” Stop persecution? Once again, they are the victims.
The second letter dealt with some of the same issues, and is a voice from the CBF. “this period of unprecedented legal attack” The Fellowship Baptists claim that they have been unwavering in their support for the institutions while the convention has been attacking them. Once again, the agencies are the victims here.
Another thing I noticed about the Word & Way that was quite different about the paper from the last time I received one is the large articles written about the ministries of each of the 5 institutions. What better way to make these institutions look like victims than by showing how much wonderful ministry they are accomplishing while the convention is ‘attacking and persecuting’ them. Two half-page Windermere adds, two MBU articles, an article on the Baptist Foundation and a half-page add for the foundation, a large article on the Baptist Home with a picture of some smiling, happy seniors, and another half-page add for the Baptist Home. Maybe it is just me and I have been away from the Word & Way too long, but it certainly looks like they stepped up their coverage of these 5 institutions. In fact, the overwhelming majority of the paper itself is articles and adds dealing with these 5 institutions and articles dealing with the lawsuits against them.
Bill Webb, the editor of Word & Way, stated the paper’s mission, “We exist to provide Baptists with accurate, timely, relevant information with BALANCED reporting.” Excuse me Bill, but did you just say balanced? I don’t remember seeing any articles in the Word & Way that showed the Executive Board and the MBC official’s viewpoints. I don’t remember seeing any articles that sided for the conventions actions or offered any explanation from leaders of the convention. I don’t remember seeing any articles that reveal why the agencies changed their charters. I don’t remember seeing any articles that stated any of the good things the convention is doing. What exactly is your definition of balanced?
Folks,if the timing and content of this particular issue of the Word & Way doesn’t raise some red flags in your mind, then I don’t know what will. It seems to me that this papers is at the very least trying to raise concern and maybe even a little bit of confusion among Missouri Baptists, attempting to ’stir the pot’ if you will. I certainly don’t see them living up to their mission of ‘balanced reporting.’ If you received the issue of Word & Way I would encourage you to read it, but do so with caution. Remember to “Question everything. Hold on to the good.” - 1 Thess. 5:21-22
