Professors were afraid to meet with trustees

Treatment of Russell Fuller and Jim Orrick was ‘Shameful’ and ‘Disgraceful’ says SBTS Trustee

Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) President Albert Mohler attacked John MacArthur and the Dallas Statement on Social Justice and the Gospel in conversations with faculty members, according to SBTS insiders. One former SBTS professor described one faculty meeting as a “tirade” against John MacArthur.

“When that (the Dallas Statement) first came out Al Mohler addressed that in a faculty meeting, and he was livid over that statement. He went into a tirade against John MacArthur,” Dr. Russell Fuller said in a broadcast of Conversations That Matter with Jon Harris.

SBTS Trustee Tom Rush said Mohler was “defensive” about the Dallas Statement. Rush said that a professor told him that Mohler forbade signing the Dallas Statement on Social Justice and the Gospel.

“A particular professor who, I will not call by name because I promised him confidence, one of the things that he said to me is that it was his understanding…that no professor at Southern would be allowed to sign the statement on social justice,” Rush said. “Now I asked Dr. Mohler about that directly, and he said, ‘Well now, we don’t want our professors signing anything but our official documents which would be the Abstract and the Baptist Faith and Message.’”

Fuller verified this account. He said Mohler pressured faculty not to sign the Dallas Statement. According to Fuller, Mohler told professors anyone signing the statement was agreeing with “all the racist stuff.” Fuller said it was clear that “if you signed it that you were in trouble.”

Mohler’s intimidation of faculty included fears that faculty talking to trustees could result in a professors termination. SBTS Trustee Tom Rush said that a professor requested a meeting off campus over fears of retaliation.

“I got a call from a professor who heard that I might be looking into this (Critical Race Theory at SBTS), and he wanted to meet with me privately and off campus,” Rush said. “I thought that was a little odd but I agreed to do so and when I asked him why he wanted to meet that way he said, ‘Well I don’t want to be seen talking to a trustee. I could get fired.’”

In the interview, Rush praised both Dr. Fuller and Dr. Jim Orrick for standing up to the SBTS administration.

“What great courage that Dr. Fuller and Dr. Jim Orrick had in standing against the administration,” Rush said. “They put their jobs on the line….these men were treated shamefully and disgracefully and quite frankly, the Board of Trustees at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary should be ashamed of themselves.”

There is so much more in this discussion with three whistleblowers. Be sure to watch.