Southern Baptists Unable to Control Missouri Attack Dog

Thanks to Harold Phillips for calling my attention to the article in yesterday's Saint Louis Post-Dispatch on "Baptist leader's firing suggests conflicting conservative agendas."

Years ago the fundamentalists who took over the SBC unleashed the human equivalent of a Rottweiler attack dog on Baptists who opposed their takeover. They used to laugh and cheer the vicious attacks by the Missouri Baptist Layman's Association on moderate Baptists.

Now, as Rottweiler's have been known to do, their attack dog has gone for the jugular of one of their own. Here's a quote from David Clippard about the reasons that were given for his termination as Executive of the Missouri state convention associated with the Southern Baptist Convention:

"I specifically asked if any of their charges included anything they found which was immoral, unethical, unbiblical, financially mismanaged or inappropriate," he wrote. "Their response was, 'No.'"

When the newspaper reporter inquired about the reason for Clippard's dismissal, he got a familiar response:

While Whitehead characterized Clippard's downfall as a management issue, other Baptist pastors say the crisis over Clippard's leadership is actually the result of a political clash over control.

"This is a battle between conservatives about who rules the roost," said the Rev. Gerald R. Davidson, pastor emeritus of First Baptist Church in Arnold and a former president of the Missouri Baptist Convention. "This is a matter of a struggle for power."

It is a little late for Fundamentalists to be concerned about putting a muzzle or a leash on their attack dog. They let this hound get a taste for blood when he was chewing on moderates. Now that the moderates are gone, he's got nothing left to bite except the hand that feeds him.