What the average Southern Baptist needs to know about the firing of conservative professor David Allen by the Woke administration of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (SWBTS).
SWBTS threatens conservative professor, rejects severance package.
Adam Greenway said he read David Allen’s emails from a decade ago in huge admission about the paranoia driving SBC leadership.
David Allen says Adam Greenway’s actions are ‘defamatory, insulting, demeaning, and completely unbecoming.’
SWBTS President Adam Greenway behaved in an unchristian and unethical manner toward one of the most respected men in the Southern Baptist Convention, according to conservative Professor Dr. David Allen. Dr. Allen is the Distinguished Professor of Preaching, the George W. Truett Chair of Pastoral Ministry Director, head of the Southwestern Center for Text-Driven Preaching at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. So, David Allen’s firing is major news as Woke leaders continue their takeover of the Southern Baptist Convention. Here is what you need to know. Dr. Allen’s firing by Greenway and SWBTS was first reported Thursday.
SWBTS President Adam Greenway behaved in an unchristian and unethical manner toward David Allen
According to a letter form Dr. David Allen to SWBTS leadership, “Your action to cease my full-time employment, which is clear from your letter, is by definition, termination. There is simply no way around this logically, legally, or otherwise. Thus, while you continue to assert “Seminary policy” as a justification for your decision to force my retirement, it is that very policy that demonstrates your decision as outside the scope of the authority afforded your office in this instance. For these reasons, I consider your actions toward me to be unethical, illegal, and frankly, unchristian.”
The letter was first reported by Servants and Heralds.
Dr. Greenway justified his unchristian actions based on Romans 12.
Dr. Allen responded, “Dr. Greenway, when I asked why in the world you would want to ‘honor’ me with Senior Faculty status in light of your many concerns, you responded, ‘Romans 12, the text that was just read in our graduation ceremony.’ Given the content of Romans 12, it is obvious you consider your actions as an exercise in Christian love toward someone whom you feel is undeserving of such based on your interpretation of their actions. Perhaps you will understand why I found it incredible and inexcusable for you to say that my query of why I’m being forced to retire demonstrated one of two things: ‘a desire to get me [Dr. Greenway] to say something that could be used by those who wish to hurt this Seminary, or an incredible lack of self-awareness on your [David Allen] part.’ You 6 stated you wanted to ‘lovingly caution’ me as to what I might say to you in response, given the things you had said to me to that point. That statement alone was a blatantly unprofessional and baseless threat that was inappropriate.”
SWBTS fired David Allen and then lied about it
David Allen was fired. SWBTS lied and said he retired. This is not a discrepancy but a deliberate decision on the part of SWBTS to mislead the average Southern Baptist because they know the average Southern Baptist church and pastor will not get the real information. They pursued the same strategy against Dr. Robert Lopez. Lopez was fired because the ERLC trashed him—and we know this because Dr. Lopez was smart enough to record his conversation with the provost at the time. Lopez even appeared on the Eric Metaxas Show exposing the Leftist infiltration of Southern Baptist seminaries because of his courage.
Here is the truth: David Allen was granted a sabbatical and then a Machiavellian Adam Greenway decided (after Dr. Allen preached at a Bible Conference during the sabbatical that featured former SBC Presidents including Jerry Vines and others) that Dr. Allen was not loyal to SWBTS.
In a letter to SWBTS Dr. Allen said, “When I was granted sabbatical by the Board of Trustees in their April, 2021 meeting, I understood that I would be returning to my full-time role at the Seminary. At no point did I receive indication to the contrary from anyone until April 5, 2022, when I was informed by the Provost, Dr. Skaug, and the Dean of the School of Theology, Dr. Wills, of the decision to terminate my full-time employment as Distinguished Professor and move me to retirement status with the new title ‘Senior Faculty’ effective August 1, 2022. He indicated the administration deemed this action in the best interests of the Seminary.”
And again, Dr. Allen made clear he refused to resign.
He said, “You attempted to frame the issue as to whether I will accept your offer of retirement and enter the status of Senior Professor or resign. That demand is enclosed as well. Let me be clear. I will do neither. I have no intention of resigning. I have been informed by you in writing on April 22 my position of Distinguished Professor will cease July 31. You have already taken action and put a date on it. This is an act of termination. Therefore, the option of resignation is inapplicable. Moreover, you are attempting, contrary to Seminary policy, to unilaterally appoint me to Senior Faculty status. This action cannot be used as a cover for a termination, nor do I consent to your efforts to do so.”
SWBTS attempt to force retirement is against Texas Law
Dr. Allen said SWBTS attempted to force him into early retirement against the SWBTS Faculty handbook and Texas law.
Dr. Allen said, “Senior Professor is a retired position per the Faculty Manual. I was given no choice in the matter. No notice; no previous warning; no opportunity for discussion; no disclosure, no time to prepare financially or otherwise was offered to me. Such treatment is unkind to say the least, especially toward someone with 30 years of service under his belt. It is also unethical and improper on at least two counts. Forced retirement is not an option afforded you in the Bylaws and/or Faculty Manual of SWBTS, as any cursory reading demonstrates. Moreover, in Texas forced retirement is illegal.”
SWBTS threatened Dr. Allen that if he did not take forced retirement, he would face action (presumably legal) to force his repayment of his sabbatical salary
And as if Dr. Greenway’s attempt to force Dr. Allen into an early, involuntary retirement was not enough, the SWBTS president attempted to intimidate Dr. Allen with forced repayment of his last year’s salary.
“You (Dr. Greenway) subtly impugned my integrity as to the source and content of some of the leaks; explained that my being offered the status of ‘Senior Professor’ should be viewed as an honor; shackled me with unrealistic and unenforceable restrictions as a retired faculty member; then topped it off with the audacity to claim that if I did not fulfill two additional years of service in retirement, I would owe the Seminary one year salary and benefits to pay back my sabbatical. In fact, in your two-page letter, you mentioned this final point no less than six times,” Dr. Allen said.
SWBTS denied Dr. Allen a severance package
Dr. Allen offered a plan for his departure from SWBTS that would include a severance package. Greenway rejected it.
“In response to your statement in our May 6 meeting that if I desired to propose a pathway forward that would help us to address the situation in a way that would be mutually beneficial, you would be open to considering it, on May 21 I proposed a four-point plan which included severance. A copy of that correspondence is also attached. You rejected any notion of a severance by email, a copy of which is attached as well,” Dr. Allen said.
SWBTS attempted to saddle Dr. Allen with additional burdens
According to the email exchange, SWBTS attempted to restrict Dr. Allen’s activities in forced retirement that would include approval of any and all outside work.
According to the emails Dr. Allen would be required to seek “presidential approval for the providing of any recurring and/or ongoing personal services—such as coaching.”
Dr. Allen called this bullying.
David Allen said, “The letter smacks of the proverbial bully pulpit. Such a posture is at face value unkind, unconscionable, and unchristian. I hardly think you are the longsuffering party here. Essentially, what you have done is fire me, proposed to turn around and re-hire me under a new title and in a role of retirement, yet obligate me to faculty service as if I were full-time, and all for the pay an adjunct faculty member receives for teaching on a contract basis. That you consider such an arrangement respectful, equitable, or even Christian, is beyond me. For these reasons, I must decline your offer to move to Senior Faculty status at Southwestern. I cannot accept a retirement position because I have not chosen to retire. Likewise, I will not resign and do not believe that your actions are in the best interests of the Seminary, the SBC, or the Gospel.”
Greenway read David Allen’s emails from many years ago
In one of the more bizarre but revealing revelations, Dr. Greenway admitted he read emails from the time Dr. Allen was an SWBTS trustee.
“During the May 6 meeting, some comments made to me by you were especially insulting. I simply inquired, in light of my faithful service to SWBTS for 30 years, why you were attempting to unilaterally move me to retirement status against my will.
“In response, to be told that ‘email correspondence exists’ between the former president of Southwestern Seminary and myself as his Dean; that ‘email correspondence exists’ from me or about me, during my tenure as a member of the Board of Trustees of SWBTS in Ken Hemphill’s presidency, and then to be told that you had ‘read every one’ of them, in a word, left me flabbergasted. Such statements are inappropriate, an invasion of privacy, and unethical. The very fact that you brought up these emails which have no bearing on my present employment status is hugely problematic. Your comments were certainly intended to intimidate me by bluffing that some problematic or inappropriate document exists. The problem is, no such materials exist. To imply otherwise is defamatory, insulting, demeaning, and completely unbecoming.”
Why was the SWBTS president reading emails from decades ago?
Is this the level of paranoia that the SBC Cooperative Program funds?