November 13, 2007 | Read Time: 1 minute
Should the board member of a charity write a blog?
That question is being raised after last week’s decision by the
trustees of the Southern Baptist International Mission Board to
suspend one of its members for, essentially, writing critiques of the
organization on his personal blog.
The Richmond, Va., group, which oversees the Southern Baptist
Convention’s missionary and relief work abroad, temporarily suspended
a trustee, Wade Burleson, pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in Enid,
Okla., for violating the trustees’ code of conduct, reported the
Baptist Press.
The censure motion said Mr. Burleson failed to follow rules that trustees
“refrain from public criticism of board-approved actions” and
“scrupulously avoid either the fact or the appearance” of having
disclosed information or private conversations from board meetings,
according to the Press.
Since 2005, Mr. Burleson has written critiques of the International
Mission Board on his blog, Grace and Truth to
You.
In a posting written after the trustees voted, Mr. Burleson said that
he continues to support the organization and its leadership, but
questions the reasoning behind the suspension.
“I will always speak, and have always spoken, in positive and
supportive terms of the mission and people of the IMB, both
missionaries and trustees. I do agree that I have sometimes, not
often, spoken critically about actions of our board, but I have a hard
time understanding how a trustee can be supportive of board actions
that he does not personally support,” he wrote.
What do you think? Do you agree with the censure against Mr. Burleson?
Should board members be allowed to voice their opinions — and
criticisms — on their blogs? Click on the comments link below this
post to share your thoughts.
