That Was Great, Bob. Now Get Out!

The North American Mission Board will have a new leader soon. The former leader, Bob Reccord, resigned after a report was published that highly criticized his leadership. According to the reports, Dr. Reccord used questionable judgment in many of his expenditures. For instance, he spent several thousand dollars of cooperative program funds so that he and his family could see the opening of Chronicles of Narnia in London. He also spend over $10,000 promoting himself to get on CNN. The report also questioned his heavy handed tactics. It claimed that Dr. Reccord created an atmosphere of intimidation which made it hard for others to do their job.

I have a mixed opinion of Dr. Reccord. I truly love to hear him speak. He is a great communicator. He is very capable at using technology to further the Kingdom. He is a true visionary, and his style will be missed at the board. That being said, I have a major issue with the way he directed his most important activity. Dr. Bob Reccord, and those who worked with him, have done a ridiculously sorry job in the field of church planting. I spend a lot of time in this area of ministry, and I haven't been pleased by much that NAMB created. I think my next blog will be written on this topic.

So Dr. Reccord is gone. I write this blog not to be critical, but to laugh at the process. Dr. Reccord resigned under a cloud of issues. Yet, there is a need within the Southern Baptist Convention to act like Dr. Reccord did nothing wrong and this was a happy day for everyone.

A few years ago, I watched a church get rid of their pastor. The reason the church forced their pastor out was due to the fact that he married someone too soon after his wife's death. They didn't think he mourned long enough. So they stopped tithing. When he resigned, I did not see any of the Deacons running around saying this was a good day for everyone. For the truth was, this was a bad day for the pastor, and an even worse day for the integrity of the church.

It appears to me that the higher up you go, the better the send off you get. Dr. Reccord resigned in disgrace. We can polish it up all that we want, but he is no longer the President of NAMB because of his poor leadership. I guess admitting the truth is awfully hard for some of us.

According to Baptist Press, dozens of SBC leaders have signed a letter praising Dr. Reccord's integrity. It is my belief that Dr. Reccord will be just fine. He will land on his feet, and will continue to have speaking engagements all over the country. I just wish these same SBC leaders would right a letter for the pastor that lost his job because his church ran him off without a legitimate reason.

I hope NAMB will look outside of itself for its next leader. This position is one of the most important positions in our Convention. My hope is they will choose a Pastor that has impeccable character. I know one that lost his job several years ago because his church thought he married to soon. I am sure he would be open to an interview.