Belmont may sever ties to Baptist Convention

Belmont wants to add non-Baptists — Methodists, Catholics and other Christians — to its board to better reflect what it describes as a broader Christian mission, according to Jason Rogers, vice president for administration and university counsel.

Less than one-third of Belmont’s nearly 4,300 students identify themselves as Baptists and the university is known more for academic programs in areas such as music business than for its Baptist ties, officials said.

“The university’s vision is to be a Christian community of learning and service,” Rogers said. “The Board of Trustees feels it can best fulfill that vision if the board is representative of the broader Christian faith.”

The TBC’s executive board rejected a Belmont proposal this month to lower the representation of Southern Baptist trustees on its board from 100 percent to 60 percent, with the other 40 percent to be drawn from other Christian denominations. The executive board overturned its education committee’s recommendation to approve Belmont’s plan.

James Porch, the convention’s executive director, called the situation “an identity issue” and said the executive board was worried about diluting Belmont’s governing body.

“The identity of Baptists maintains that you have Baptist trustees,” Porch said. “Any time you have non-Baptists, the identity has to be called into question.”

However, he said Belmont’s resolve on the diversification issue doesn’t necessarily mean the school’s relationship with the convention will end.

The two sides will be talking before the TBC’s annual meeting in Clarksville in November, Porch said, and the need for a discussion at that meeting “depends on what’s done between now and then.”

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On the Net:

Belmont University: http://www.belmont.edu

Tennessee Baptist Convention: http://www.tnbaptist.org