Sadly, another Montana pastor has had to resign his post after his calls for the MTSBC leadership to repent have gone unheeded. There are more than just a handful of pastors who have privately and publicly called for Dr. Fred Hewitt’s repentance or his removal, although each time they are defeated and ignored they are systematically attacked by Dr. Hewitt’s surrogates and further castigated. More often than not, they choose to withdraw from Southern Baptist life (if not officially, then in spirit and in giving). The biblical mandate of “two or three witnesses” against Dr. Hewitt’s character has been reached several times over, and yet ignored. How very sad indeed.
Also, please note that this pastor – who sat on the Executive Board – verifies that when the Executive Board met to hear the concerns of the Big Sky Baptist Association they made the decision and had already written the affirmation of Dr. Hewitt the night before. This is the type of respect that is given to Montana Southern Baptist pastors by the state convention. They listen to concerns (although Bruce Speer, a member of said committee, told us we were “wasting everyone’s time”), but make up their mind beforehand. Each and every member of the Administrative Committee owes apologies for handling their accountability of Dr. Hewitt so poorly. They have not served as good stewards of the responsibility given them to govern the executive director.
As has been documented in the public record and in the minutes of the Montana Southern Baptist Convention Administrative Committee, Pastor Bruce Speer has repeatedly been Dr. Hewitt’s surrogate in attacking – and falsely maligning – those who have called for him to repent (testified by multiple pastors of the MTSBC). Speer has recently been elected as the president of the Montana Southern Baptist Convention. It appears that his dirty work at the request of Dr. Hewitt has paid off, and the coalition to insulate a man from repentance has grown stronger by design. We can only hope that the concerns articulated by this pastor will be listened to over time.
The pastor’s words should be more carefully read and given more thoughtful consideration than what was given him by Dr. Hewitt and by those to whom he is accountable.
