I read an article today from the International Mission Board(IMB) of the Southern Baptist Convention that gives a good lesson about what we should and should not write in our blogs.
The article explains the IMB trustees censure of fellow trustee Wade Burleson of Oklahoma for what what posted on his blog. The purpose of the censure stated that Burleson was:
(a) Making public private communications with fellow trustees;
(b) Speaking in a way that reflected poorly on fellow trustees; and
(c) Publicly criticizing board approved actions instead of speaking in positive and supportive terms as he interpreted and reported on actions of the Board of Trustees, regardless of whether he personally supported those actions.
The code of conduct for trustees states that:
1. Individual IMB trustees must refrain from public criticism of Board approved actions.
Common courtesy and Pastoral confidence require that we keep private conversations private. The trustees have plenty of legal ground for the censure.
In the world of ideas, we must actively share our voice respectfully. Burleson states:
“I respect my fellow trustees and humbly accept the censure and pray they understand I cannot violate my Baptist distinctives, particularly the freedom to dissent. I am an IMB trustee but for a season. I am a Southern Baptist for a lifetime. I am a follower of Jesus Christ for eternity.â€
Freedom from dissent is ok–just don’t do it in public where you agreed not to. If you must be a voice of dissent and you can not live up to the code of conduct then stop being a trustee. How hard is that?
This is my point. We must be very careful about what we put on the blogosphere. Everyone sees it and we must blog with respect and with wisdom. Keep private what must be private. Expose only what you are allowed to expose. If you signed a document saying that you will not discuss certain things–don’t discuss them. For Burleson, he must decide whether he wants to be a blogger or a trustee.Â
We in the blogoshere should take note and be careful what we say.
Rob Slagle says
Wade voted against the policy guidelines, he didn’t agree with them.
And the freedom to dissent has been part of Baptist Identity for centuries.
You fail to mention that Wade repented and apologized for items (a) and (b).