For educational purposes only.
Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
Board of Trustees Dismisses President,
Cites Inappropriate
Anger
By HELEN T. GRAY - The
Kansas City Star
Date: 09/14/99 22:15
The board of trustees of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
voted Tuesday to dismiss the president, Mark Coppenger,
citing problems he has with anger.
The vote at a specially called meeting was the climax of a
two-month investigation by the board's executive committee into allegations
that Coppenger had inappropriately expressed
anger with other individuals, including members of the seminary staff.
Twenty-nine of the board's 35 trustees attended the meeting at the Kansas
City Airport Hilton.
The Rev. Carl Weiser of Lynchburg, Va., the board's chairman, said: "After
hours of agonizing discussion and interviews with Dr. Coppenger and (seminary)
vice presidents, a majority of the board concluded that the expressions of
anger admitted to by Dr. Coppenger had irreparably damaged his ability
to lead the seminary."
The board and the Midwestern family "have suffered an enormous hurt as the
result of the board's action today," Weiser said in a prepared statement
that commended Coppenger for "his four years of outstanding innovation,
creativity and dedication to the Lord's work."
Coppenger, 51, said simply as he walked to his car: "God is in control, and
I am looking forward to the next thing. I wish the best for Midwestern, and
I will be cheering from the sidelines."
He commented that he had received calls, letters, faxes and e-mails of support.
The board appointed Michael Whitehead, the seminary's vice president of business
affairs and assistant professor of church and law, as interim president.
He said he was feeling a "grief similar to the death of a friend" and expressed
concern for Coppenger.
Midwestern, with about 700 students, is one of six seminaries owned and operated
by the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination in
the United States. An estimated 80,000 Southern Baptists live in the Kansas
City area.
The Rev. Jay Sparks, president of the student body association, said he was
in shock, adding there had been a lot of support for the president.
Weiser said at a news conference that personally he felt "it's a difficult,
gut-wrenching time for all of us."
Coppenger had expressed repentance for "misappropriation
of anger" in a meeting with the executive committee July 30. The
committee was to report back to the full board at its regularly scheduled
meeting in mid-October, but more than a dozen trustees asked for the
special meeting to deal with the issue.
In July, Coppenger told the executive committee: "I'm contacting folks
who've been stung by my anger, and I'm seeking reconciliation. I
think God will use this in his work of revival here and beyond."
He has taken exception to what he called "unfair criticism" and questioned
allegations from unnamed sources in a Baptist publication.
Trustees had unanimously elected Coppenger as the third president of Midwestern
four years ago. He had been a pastor, a philosophy professor, executive director
of the Baptist Convention in Indiana and vice president for convention relations
with the Southern Baptist Convention executive committee.
A theological conservative, Coppenger had vowed that the seminary at 5001
N. Oak Trafficway would stand on the inerrancy of the Bible. He also has
emphasized evangelism and spiritual development.
As word of the board's decision spread throughout local Southern Baptist
circles, many expressed sadness.
"This is a huge tragedy, a shame," said the
Rev.
Paul Brooks, pastor of First Baptist Church of Raytown, whose son, Mark
Brooks, is a Midwestern student. Coppenger, he said, "had done a very fine
job. The school had grown, and fine professors had come in."
Nodell Dennis, executive director of the Blue River-Kansas City Baptist
Association, said, however, that if what he had heard and read about
Coppenger's directing his anger toward people and
"dehumanizing people"
is true, then "he did need to
be dismissed."
"But I'm sad that you would find that in any religious
institution."
All content © 1999 The Kansas City Star
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