The following letter was written to answer concerns about an article published in THE NASHVILLE TENNESSEAN in December. Our computer suffered an untimely death and thus the delay for publishing this letter. I have had some health problems, not unusual for a 76 year old, but am feeling much better now. The reports by some of my demise are premature.
RMT
Editor
The Nashville Tennessean
1100 Broadway
Nashville, Tennessee 37203
Dear Mr. Editor,
The article of December 18, 2008 by Bob Smietana under the heading "SOUTHERN BAPTIST GROWTH PLAN TEETERS" was astoundingly erroneous in many ways. Here's hoping that your readers can know the opinion of one who was there when it happened!
The most appalling thing was the fact that he just could not leave Dr. Robert Reccord alone. He apparently gleaned his material from the latest hit article carried in the CHRISTIAN INDEX written by Editor Gerald Harris and Joe Westbury. The most despicable person in this whole affair is Gerald Harris. He has handled the whole matter in a very inept manner and obviously doesn't bother to get all the facts. Many of us doubt that he could understand the facts if he had them. I was privileged to serve as a Trustee of the North American Mission Board for 6 years during Dr. Reccord's administration and for 2 years after he left. I was there when he resigned. Mr. Smietana is wrong! Dr. Reccord did not clash with the Board over the direction of the agency. He clashed with some ill qualified and inept officers of the Board who had operated a crass political campaign to get themselves into position. They have bungled about everything that they have touched since they have been serving as officers of the Trustee Board. Barry Holcomb was Chairman of the Trustees when Dr. Reccord resigned. He was such a bungler that he left an Executive Session of the Board which dealt with personnel matters and went directly to the Press to tell them what had happened in the Executive Session. It was Holcomb, Bill Curtis and Tim Patterson who caused the problem. Barry Holcomb rotated off three years ago and Bill Curtis rotates off this year so at least we will be rid of them at last. It is hard to escape the conclusion that Curtis wants the job as President of the Board for himself even though he is totally unqualified. All three of that troika are like the proverbial "Bull in a China Closet".
So now they are worried about a "National Advertising" Campaign. The irony of it all is that Dr. Reccord had cultivated relationships with the media and kept lines of communication open to them. Southern Baptists often made the evening news in their Disaster Relief efforts but Dr. Reccord was criticized for these relationships. Two minutes on the evening news is worth a million dollars in paid advertising. I heard one of his critics refer to him as "Hollywood Bob", a very derogatory remark if there ever was one!
The INDEX criticized the Board because they "lost money" on some programs. That is how out of touch Harris and Westbury are. All the programs of the Board are ministries. The TENNESSEAN is absolutely wrong in the suggestion that many of the Board's programs have "fizzled". The Board presides over ministries. It is not a profit and loss operation. As a life long Southern Baptist I cannot remember a program that did not do some good for the Kingdom of God. When a Church conducts a service and no one joins, is that service considered a failure? Did it "fizzle"? Years ago an evangelist in Clay County, North Carolina conducted a revival and was depressed because only one young lad had responded to the invitation. But, that lad was George W. Truett one of the most beloved and effective pastors that the twentieth century ever knew. He pastored the First Baptist Church of Dallas for more than 45 years. He is the one who delivered the famous sermon on the Capital steps about church and state issues. Did Paul's sermon on Mars Hill "fizzle" because only a few responded? The whole idea is ridiculous.
Tim Patterson probably put his finger on the crux of the problem with Geoff Hammond when he said, "He listens to us". If he is listening to the likes of Patterson and his ilk he is doomed to fail! Trustees are there to set policy and call for accountability. They are not there to micromanage the Board. The Officers of the Trustee Board seem to be busying themselves trying to convince Southern Baptists that they did the right thing in destroying the ministry of Bob Reccord at the Board but it isn't working! Many exciting things were going on under the Reccord administration. We could mention the Strategic Cities campaigns. I was privileged to attend a Trustee Meeting in Las Vegas. It is a city in which a third of the economy is connected to the gaming industry and yet we have Southern Baptist churches in that city now ranging from 700 to 1,400 in attendance and there are a number of them. The North American Mission Board assisted most of those churches in their establishment and the building of their facilities! We could mention the tremendous work of the North American Mission Board during the 9/11 disaster. We could mention the tremendous help of the Church Loans Department of the Board in assisting churches with their building programs. There were many exciting things going on during the Reccord Administration but most of it was trashed after he left and the organizational structure of the Board can be described now only as a "terrible mess". If Geoff Hammond is to succeed he will need to quit listening to the Tim Patterson's of the world and discern the will of God through prayer and the seeking of God's guidance
It is a given that Geoff Hammond apparently doesn't have the gift of administration. It does not mean that he is not a good man. He has tremendous skills in the area of Church Planting. It is not the purpose of the President of the Board to "micromanage" the affairs of the Board. He has executive staff to take care of those day to day operations and they are accountable to the President. It is the job of the President to be out there among Southern Baptists representing the work of the Board to them and to the people of the Nation. It was under Dr. Reccord's leadership that the Board gained national recognition as the second largest disaster relief organization in America. Even the Red Cross depends heavily upon the North American Mission Board. When this Nation suffered two seasons of hurricane destruction that were "off the charts", it was Bob Reccord and the North American Mission Board that coordinated Southern Baptist efforts in that area and some volunteers are still working to help with reconstruction in the wake of the devastation left by Hurricane Katrina. Southern Baptists served 14.5 million hot meals, paid for by NAMB. They provided 103,000 hot showers. Approximately 8,000 children were kept in child care. 16,000 debris sites were cleared. Disaster relief contributions to NAMB during that period increased from 3.5 million dollars to almost 26 million dollars and that was through the efforts of Dr. Bob Reccord. No, that's not what I call a "fizzle". After Katrina hit, Bob Reccord was down there on the site working with the volunteers.
I noted the statement by Chuck Kelly that working with Southern Baptists is like trying to "herd cats". I have news for him; cats can't be herded but they can always be led. They will show up every time at the feeding dish if they are fed.
Since Dr. Reccord left the Board (NAMB) his ministry has been very, very successful and he has been instrumental in leading multiplied thousands of men to faith in Jesus Christ. Here's hoping that, perhaps, you are interested in hearing the "rest of the story".
Sincerely,
Willo'deane F. Tenery
NOTE: I realize that this letter has too many words to be used as a "Letter To The Editor" but it is impossible to address errors that are presented in such a long article with only 250 words. Perhaps, in all fairness to Dr. Reccord and the ministry of the North American Mission Board, you could use this as an "OP-Ed" piece to tell the "rest of the story". WFT
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