More on language policy in prayer

[Harold F. Schiffman]

>>From Florida Baptist Witness,

IMB president speaks candidly on a variety of issues

Part I: Rankin on new baptism and prayer language actions, leadership

By JONI B. HANNIGAN
Managing Editor

Published: April 27, 2006

EDITORS NOTE: This is part one of a two-part series based on a March 31
interview with International Mission Board President Jerry Rankin. Part
two will appear in the May 4 print edition of Florida Baptist Witness.
Both parts will also appear online at: www.FloridaBaptistWitness.com.
MARIANNA (FBW)A week after the trustees of the Southern Baptist
Conventions International Mission Board met in Tampa and hammered out how
they would handle disagreement in the future, IMB president, Jerry Rankin,
told Florida Baptist Witness the boards actions were healthy, though the
mission entity cannot be distracted by controversies, perceptions and
conjecture. In a wide-ranging interview March 31 in Marianna, Rankin spoke
readily about his submission to the board despite his disagreement with
recent decisions about baptism and private prayer language; his leadership
style;  blogging and the news media; his relationship with other SBC
entity heads and inspiration for ministry; and his views on goals and
retirement.

International Mission Board President Jerry Rankin charges newly appointed
missionaries to flee, follow and fight in a message from 1 Timothy 6:11-12
during an appointment service in Glen Allen, Va. The 12 new missionaries
join more than 5,100 IMB workers around the world. Rankin, 64, became
president of the IMB in 1993. The IMB by the end of last year had grown to
include over 5,000 missionaries worldwide, and this year operates with a
$282.5 million budget. It is the largest evangelical mission-sending
agency in the world. In 2005 there were a record 607,132 baptisms reported
and 99,495 overseas churches listed, with church membership overseas in
2004 at a record 7.4 million.

RANKIN, THE BOARD AND ITS POLICIES

Pledging to stay focused on the task of the IMB, Rankin said the trustees
of the board have issues that impact the agencys work, but that he refuses
to be distracted. If there are issues, if there are controversies, they
need to be confronted and discussed openly and thats healthy for the
board, Rankin said. But until decisions are made and policies we cant
start projecting and making conjectures of whats going to happen and so
forth. We just keep pushing forward to win a lost world. Trustees of the
board March 20-22 overturned their action in January to recommend that the
messengers to the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention remove
trustee Wade Burleson of Oklahoma. In January, IMB trustees said Burleson's
removal was needed due to issues involving broken trust and resistance to
accountability. Burleson had posted comments on his weblog disagreeing
with a recently passed guideline and policy concerning baptism and private
prayer language applied to missionary candidates.

Rankin answered questions about the trustee boards actions in a Feb. 17
question-and-answer session with Baptist state paper editors. Rankins
comments were made at a breakfast meeting hosted by the IMB for editors
attending the annual meeting of the Association of State Baptist Papers in
Banff, Alberta, Canada. In Marianna, Rankin said people have been
speculating about the controversial new guideline and policy, which he
said were two years in the making, and have wondered what impact each will
have. Referencing his report to the trustee board in Tampa, Rankin said,
some are seeking to justify the policies by saying there are doctrinal
problems among our missionaries in the field that made these necessary. In
the two years the new requirements were in the making, however, Rankin
said he has asked for verification that such problems exist, but that no
one has ever produced evidence in order to justify the policies enacted.

The point I was making is, if there are issues, we have policies in place
and an administration responsible for dealing with them, Rankin said. The
point I was making is that there are not widespread problems that are not
being dealt with or [that] we don't [already] have the means to deal with.
Rankin said there are currently no situations being investigated that are
related to either the baptism guideline or the policy on private prayer
language and that there is no evidence that we have missionaries that are
not doctrinally sound [and] solidly Southern Baptist, [who are] starting
Baptist churches. Calling any concern of widespread problems among the IMB
missionaries rumors [and] innuendoes, Rankin said although he believes he
knows the source of the negative attention he is receiving, he does not
know the motive behind those he believes aim to discredit him as a leader.

I would prefer not to comment on where its coming from, but I've had to
deal with this as long as I've been president, for whatever reason, Rankin
said. I realize I serve at the pleasure of the board and the day could
come when they feel that I'm not the one to lead the International Mission
Board; but until that day comes, I'm not going to be threatened or
intimidated or suspicious. Citing a recent performance review he said was
positive, Rankin said he believes the trustee board and the IMB
missionaries support the mission strategy and methodology he has promoted.
More has happened in advancing and penetrating lostness in the six years
of the 21st century than all the last decade previously, he added. Airing,
again, his disagreement with recent guidelines and policies, Rankin said
there is an incongruency in the more restrictive baptism policy, calling
it contrary to what most of our churches believe and practice.

Neither the guideline nor the policy will have a dramatic effect, he
predicted, however, and pledged he and the board will keep moving on
because of what he might be a negligible proportion of missionary
candidates who would be impacted by the policies. Its just not worth
making an issue of, Rankin said. Rankin agreed, however, he himself had
disagreed with the guideline and policy and had spoken of his disagreement
in a public forum to state Baptist newspaper editors and to IMB staff and
missionaries in a Feb. 1 chapel service at the IMB headquarters in
Richmond that was also distributed via videotape and shown to IMB trustees
in Tampa. If given the opportunity, he would do it again, maybe even a
little more strongly, Rankin said.

You cannot violate integrity, said Rankin on why he decided to publicly
talk of the guideline and policy after they were instituted. We lobbied
against it, we worked with our board and made it clear [where we stood]. I
cant then pretend to be in agreement with them when I don't feel its in the
best interest of our work, our objectives, of reaching a lost world. Nor
do I feel like it represents what Southern Baptists have expressed as our
doctrinal position. Its not like I can just flip-flop and say, I'm in
agreement with it, Rankin continued. The message that needed to be dealt
with, I think to assert leadership, is to say, we have disagreements, but
that doesn't contradict [our obligation] to respect the decisions that have
been made, to comply with it and to move on. And I felt like our staff and
our missionaries need to hear that. Because they're confused and they're
upset, so they need a clear signal from leadership.

It might have been a risk, but I thought that was what I needed to do,
said Rankin. It was a spontaneous, heart to heart sharing with staff who
were demoralized, who were confused by the controversy its generated. It
just needed to be made clear how we stand relative to our board, to the
convention and to minister to them, to encourage them to follow biblical
principles, to do whats right. Its not a violation of integrity to comply
with those under authority and though I was speaking to staff, I knew this
message would get out to our missionaries, too. Its so hard to communicate
with them. I never dreamed of sharing it with the board or others, but
then when the board began to get wind that I said some things relative to
this, I said, I don't have anything to hide. I needed to be open with it.
And I got a lot of commendation from board members. Until his sharing with
the editors and delivering his chapel address, Rankin said he had not
really aired the differences between him and the trustees with IMB staff
or missionaries, but said board members knew their new guideline and
policy directly contradicted the position he had presented to them.

It wasn't a matter of emphasizing disagreement as much as [telling staff
and missionaries], this is how the Bible tells us to deal with [each other]
when we disagree with those in authority over us, Rankin said. And so that
was the whole point I was making. It wasn't to emphasize the disagreement.
On whether it will cause him a personal crisis of conscience to continue
serving as IMB president given the scenario that belief about baptism is
central to the church planting efforts of IMB missionaries on the field,
Rankin said he does have personal feelings about the doctrine of baptism.

I'm very comfortable with the Baptist Faith and Message and my contention
is that [it] should be the doctrinal statement of the IMB, Rankin said,
referring to the BF&M as Southern Baptists doctrinal confession of faith.
This is what we have said about baptism and nothing more. The second thing
is, baptism is a church ordinance. We recognize the authority of the
church to baptize and to authenticate ones baptism and I don't think we
have the spiritual biblical authority as a denominational entity to now
tell a church what they have said is authentic and is biblical, is not.
And thats what we are doing, Rankin continued. Acknowledging that many
members of the board are preachers themselves who have knowledge of
doctrine and of church polity, Rankin said its their opinion about baptism
that they're imposing.

Again, the issue that I'm making is, OK, you can believe that about baptism
and I might go so far as to say, every church ought to practice and
believe what that policy dictates, but we don't have the authority of
telling churches that this should be their [theo baptism] when it may not
be. Rankin said he had been in three churches following the boards action
on the baptism guideline and he watched as people joined each church by
statement that they had been scripturally baptized by immersion on
profession of faith. There was no question asked about the church that
baptized them, what that church believed in people were accepted by
statement, Rankin continued.  And I daresay 75-80 percent of our churches
do that.

Claiming he was not surprised by what he experienced, Rankin said he
believes the practice is the same in most Southern Baptist churches. And
so thats why it concerns me that we have that mandate to assist Southern
Baptist churches, and yet, were making the distinction between the
churches we can serve and the churches we cant. About the boards new
policy on a private prayer language, something Rankin admitted he has
practiced for more than 30 years, he said he's not sure the policy will be
revisited but called it very confusing and very divisive. Despite the
boards claim a private prayer language is not glossolalia [speaking in
tongues], Rankin said the explanation accompanying the policy is aimed at
explaining what people believe about glossolalia. The result is just a lot
of confusion and misunderstanding, he said.

RANKIN TALKS ABOUT HIS LEADERSHIP

Despite a comprehensive and positive evaluation Rankin said he received
this year about his effectiveness as IMB president, he acknowledged there
have been rumors for years that he is viewed by some as autocratic and
authoritarian, basically a petty dictator. That is interesting and I just
continue to be perplexed with that, Rankin laughed. You know there even
was some comments about micromanaging. My staff just laughs at that
because every one of my vice-presidents is fully empowered to fulfill
their responsibilities. I'm a vision caster and, but, I can understand
where that comes from because a leader with a vision might be like a
megachurch pastor. I mean, what megachurch pastor has built a great church
by relinquishing leadership to his staff, to his deacons, succumbing to
group decision-making? I wouldn't call it dictatorial, I would call it
vision and confidence to inspire and motivate.

Commenting on New Directions, a fairly new strategy employed by the IMB to
do missions Rankin said although some were against it, most took a wait
and see approach. Citing a renewed passion for the task, Rankin said he
believes IMB missionaries are going to the edge in reaching out. In his
view, going to the edge has been universal among IMB missionaries. If
thats strong leadership, and somebody wants to use the term micromanaging
and dictatorial I would just like to think it reflects Gods leadership and
a God-sized vision, Rankin said. As for the trustees, Rankin said he
doesn't believe they have overstepped their bounds either, despite a
reminder to them in Tampa that according to Southern Baptist Convention
bylaws, the trustee board is to provide general oversight, but not to
insert itself into the daily operations of the missions agency.

Given the context of a sole trustee who claimed Rankin improperly limited
his access to a videotape which was consequently shared with the full
board during a plenary session in March, Rankin said there is frequent
discussion of whether trustees are being overly intrusive. They always
feel like they're rubberstamping and we always feel like they are
micromanaging, Rankin said. So, theres a gap in perception there that
you're never going to fully resolve. In Tampa, Rankin said the point that
was more pertinent is that we are always responsible to the board,
collectively, meeting as a board. That doesn't make us under the authority
or responsible to any individual who happens to be a member of the board.
Rankin also responded to allegations that he has been directing workers to
make witnessing connections with people of Islamic faith by saying the
Allah of Islam is the same as Jehovah God.

Absolutely not, Rankin retorted, saying he has provided a board report and
written documentation concerning this issue. None of our missionaries
believe that. We don't advocate that, we don't teach it. No ones believes
that the Allah of Islam and the God that we worship and proclaim is the
same. It is a distorted impression of simply using the name Allah for God,
which is the Arabic word for God and its in every translation of the Bible
in Muslim countries. The word Allah for God predates Islam, [and] was used
by Christians and Jews in the Middle East. How can you witness to a people
[without using their word]? Rankin asked rhetorically. Its like going to
Spanish countries and you cant use Dios for God. So, have they got to
learn another language to hear about God? That is the word for God.  Of
course, no one can know God except through Jesus Christ. So, theres no
contradiction with our witness to use the linguistic word for God as we do
in every culture, Rankin said.

http://www.floridabaptistwitness.com/5826.article