On June 8, 2015 Sandy and I received the shock of our lives. I was blindsided with termination as the Executive Director of the MD/DE Baptist Convention, and sadly Dr. Kevin Ezell, as the President of the North American Mission Board, influenced this action against me. This was without cause and in the midst of Sandy and I developing many good relationships with pastors and wives, along with our staff and Convention making remarkable progress under my leadership. These webpages reflect an effort to communicate truth with friends and our Southern Baptist family on matters which need to come into the light Eph. 5:6-11, since more direct methods were met with denial and resistance.
All human behavior is purposeful. A wise mentor shared that when something does not makes sense, look behind the scenes because it made sense to someone. How could the officers of the MD/DE Convention and its Board take such an action against me. In one hastily thrown together meeting in violation of their own governing documents, I was terminated. Since then several pastors did a thorough exploration of how in the world this happened and discovered many short-comings of men and processes in MD/DE. However, they were dismayed to discover Dr. Ezell had made hidden threats through the MD/DE Conv. President to withhold committed financial resources from their MD/DE Convention as long as I remained as the Executive Director. Many documents support this claim, some are found throughout these pages and in the Supporting Documents.
Our spiritual enemy is active and seeking to distract and destroy, yet the attack went through the hands of a few men we trusted and who know Christ. The National and select MD/DE Baptist leaders involved were entrusted with positions and influence, but engaged in acts of selfish ambition, bitter envy, lies, threats, and operated in the dark in keeping with James 3:13-16 and 2 Tim 2:24-26. Like King David, it is possible for good men to go astray.
In my “Letter of Concern” to NAMB trustees on February 3, 2016, I voiced concerns regarding the NAMB leadership, specifically Dr. Kevin Ezell, regarding his unbiblical actions, his role in my termination as the Executive Director and his interference with the affairs of the MD/D Convention. After denial letters from both the NAMB trustee officers and later the NAMB attorneys, it was apparent that neither had investigated my assertions and both were zealous in their denial of wrongdoing.
As a family member, long-term friend, Maryland/ Delaware pastor and wife, or a part of our larger SBC family, you should know what transpired surrounding our termination and Dr. Ezell’s actions against me and the MD/DE Convention. As a result these webpages and attached documents were developed in response to denials by the officers and attorneys for NAMB regarding my “Letter of Concern”. Below are a series of Open Letters to you, our family, friends and our larger SBC family. On the sidebar are important links related to these unfortunate matters.
God is sovereign in His ways. We are yielding to Him through our lives which have unfolded in ways we never dreamed, yet we press on serving Him. May He get glory and we as His children be pleasing to Him in this and all matters.
Letter to Family and Friends
Sandy and I have been in a season of major transition and challenge in our lives and ministry. In this letter to you we reflect back on what happened, share what we are currently doing, and take a peak into possibilities for the future for us. And, we update you on the girls.
Letter to Friends in Mid-Atlantic Baptist Network
Sandy and I were not afforded the opportunity to say thank you and goodbye properly, which hurts us deeply. In this letter to you, we reflect on our times and ministry among you. We also share some details related to both our call to join you and our sad departure. We really miss you!
Letter to Our SBC Family
In this letter, I address alarms Southern Baptists should be sounding with our dramatic declines in mission effectiveness. Through the seen and the unseen we are experiencing failures in methods, failures in relationships with partners, and failures in character. You will find an exploration of the factors contributing to our current shortcomings and future challenges and how some of those are connected to our NAMB President.
Letter to Our SBC Trustees to NAMB
In this open letter to you, I express my appreciation for you. I cover why the NAMB responses necessitated taking these matters to the larger SBC family, and overview the damages Dr. Ezell’s behavior is having on me and SBC mission efforts. Finally, I provide you an Executive Summary of the linked “Statements of Facts” to address the challenges to my assertions about Dr. Ezell’s actions contained in my “Letter of Concern”.
As a Southern Baptist, if you have concerns or questions, you can …
- Contact one or more members of your trustees who are there to provide oversight to NAMB
- Contact one or more of your Executive Committee members
- Consider contacting the Executive Director of your state convention
- Consider asking your state paper editor to investigate these matters and write their findings
These gentlemen and ladies are there to serve you and the larger mission advance through the SBC.
Important Links:
- David and Good Men Gone Astray
Description of how King David went astray and returned to God with parallels to how Dr. Ezell interacted with the MD/DE Convention and McRaney as their Executive Leader - Select Questions and Concerns re: NAMB
McRaney answers 8 possible questions readers may be asking as or after they review these matters related to Dr. Ezell’s actions on behalf of NAMB - Supporting Documents
Links to documents organized alphabetically and by category