Three allies of former seminary present agree to ban from leadership in any Texas charities or Southern Baptist entities.
This week, Southwestern Seminary and Baylor University settled a lawsuit with a charitable foundation that restructured its leadership and took control of millions in funding following the firing of Paige Patterson, former president of Southwestern, in 2018.
The two Texas Baptist schools sued the Harold E. Riley Foundation last year, alleging a “secret coup” to divert gifts away from them, despite being designated as the sole beneficiaries of the foundation.
The parties settled in a Tarrant County, Texas, court on Monday, with four leaders from Southwestern and Baylor replacing the board members accused of trying to “seize control of the Foundation and its assets.” Harold E. Riley, the late benefactor and namesake, had set up the organization to fund his alma maters.
The resigned board members—Mike C. Hughes, Charles Hott, and Augie Boto—agreed not to hold any leadership positions or employment at charities in Texas or at any Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) entities. They are not able to serve in “any fiduciary capacity, whether as an officer, director, or trustee,” per the terms of the settlement.
Hughes had been Southwestern’s vice president for institutional advancement under Patterson (2006–2017), and Boto had been a longtime SBC Executive Committee member, serving as executive vice president and interim president two years ago.
Colby Adams, an incoming board member and Southwestern’s vice president for strategic initiatives, told CT he could think of no other instance in which leaders had been subject to such restrictions across the denomination, but “we believe this is a just result, given the inappropriate actions of the persons involved in this ...
from Christianity Today Magazine
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