Office of Public Relations
Missouri Baptist University
One College Park Drive
Saint Louis, Missouri 63141-8698
314.392.2307 / fax 314.392.2265
www.mobap.edu / pr@mobap.edu
For Immediate Release
RE: Court Rules in Favor of University: Convention Has No Membership
Court Rules in Favor of University: Convention Has No Membership
November 11, 2003
The Missouri Baptist Convention is not, and has not been, a member of Missouri Baptist University, ruled Judge Thomas Brown on November 10, 2003, after hearing oral argument on the University’s motion for summary judgment.
The Convention had claimed it had membership rights that were violated in 2001 when the University’s trustees amended the University’s corporate charter. Cole County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Brown ruled against the Convention on its claim, and entered judgment for the University.
This is a significant judgment in favor of the University, and disposes of a significant part of the Missouri Baptist Convention’s suit. Other motions that will be argued at a later date are directed to all of the remaining issues.
During the hearing, University counsel Clyde Farris emphasized that the Convention does not, nor has ever, owned or operated the University, a fact the Convention’s representatives have admitted during their depositions. "Missouri Baptist University hasn't changed, the convention changed," Farris noted to reporters following the ruling.
The University has historically communicated with the Convention in the selection of trustees, and the Convention traditionally donated funds to the University in scholarship support for Baptist students. In 2001, the University's board of trustees updated their charter to reflect changes in trustee selection, and the Convention withdrew nearly $1 million in funding - about 6.4 percent of the University's budget that year.
"The University continues to serve all Missouri Baptists that seek a quality Christian education. Our mission is the same and we will remain steadfast in our calling to higher education," noted Bill Houk, University board chair.
In August of 2002, the Executive Board of the Convention and six Missouri Baptist churches sued the University along with four other Baptist institutions. The institutions sued include the Missouri Baptist Foundation, Word & Way newspaper, Windermere Conference Center, and The Baptist Home.
The Convention has reportedly spent $1 million in their suit against the institutions. As recent as last week, the Convention sought bank loans to secure another $1 million, attempting to use the Baptist building in Jefferson City as collateral. The majority of the defendants' legal expenses are covered by insurance.
Missouri Baptist University has offered a renewed Covenant agreement to the convention, and continues to welcome discussions for reconciliation to end the legal proceedings.
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Missouri Baptist University is a premier Christian university in Saint Louis, offering graduate and undergraduate studies in over thirty specialized fields and nine degrees. MBU's education and fine arts programs are nationally known in addition to business, religion, administration of justice, and more. MBU is one of the fastest growing higher education institutions in Missouri with an enrollment of over 4,500 students at five locations in the bi-state region — West County, Lincoln County, Jefferson County, Franklin County and the new Illinois extension at Lewis and Clark Community College.
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