ALLEGATION: SBC leader Kevin Ezell used racial slurs, defunded & fired minorities

Frank Shope alleges emotional, physical pain caused by Kevin Ezell & NAMB. Story fits with state executives recent bombshell allegations against Ezell as an abusive tyrant.

Dr. Frank Shope alleged that Kevin Ezell, president of the North American Mission Board (NAMB) of the Southern Baptist Convention and NAMB trustees caused him emotional and physical pain because of abusive and inappropriate action by Ezell. Dr. Shope alleged that Ezell used “bigoted statements” against women and minorities and used financial powers to “defund” these individuals.

“In several meetings Ezell defamed missionaries, Convention Staff and NAMB staff. He was especially cruel to women and minorities. Often, referring to them with unacceptable titles and bigoted statements. Additionally, he found ways to fire or defund individuals of color,” Dr. Shope alleged.

Note here that these allegations against Ezell are not made by Woke Social Justice Warriors. These are statements of conservative Christians. So, when one characterizes Ezell’s statements at “bigoted” and “cruel,” you can rest assured these are serious allegations and not hypersensitivity.

Also, note how this is typical of SBC Elites. Dr. Robert Lopez was part of a group of conservative minority faculty fired at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and then SWBTS hired several white professors all with ties to Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) and Albert Mohler.

And Ezell’s actions caused Dr. Shope years of physical and emotional pain.

“After ten years I continue to suffer from emotional and physical pain brought on by Ezell and NAMB trustees,” Shope said. “As Ezell began to destroy the Cooperative Agreements with the State Conventions he also set out to destroy lives.”

Previously, Shope penned a scathing letter exposing the problems in the Southern Baptist Convention.

In that letter, Shope detailed how he worked with a cooperative spirit as a regional team leader for NAMB and the New Mexico Baptist Convention prior to Ezell’s arrival at NAMB. However, when Ezell became president, everything changed.

“When Kevin Ezell became NAMB’s president, he set in place an agenda to dismantle state conventions and withdraw funding from each cooperative budget,” Shope said. “Ezell’s agenda was to remove all the funding from western state conventions. He stated that the state conventions “were ineffective and unnecessary.” To that end, in 2011, he required regional team leaders to inform the state conventions that by 2020 cooperative agreements would be a thing of the past, and NAMB would be in control of church planting.”

This mirrors complaints about Ezell’s actions that resulted in a full scale rebellion of at least six non-Southern state conventions—with threats that the state conventions could look outside the SBC since there is no cooperation. Also, a recent meeting between Ronnie Floyd and 12 non-Southern state convention executives resulted in even more bombshell allegations about Ezell’s alleged abusive behavior.

Shope’s experiences also verifies Will McRaney’s experience in Maryland-Delaware with the autocratic, insulting and prevaricating Kevin Ezell.

Shope urged Southern Baptists to replace Ezell and reform NAMB starting with a much needed audit.

“I do not expect change without an audit by SBC churches,” Shope said. He also said that the Southern Baptist Convention “cannot survive another ten years with Ezell at the helm!”