Texas pastor Dwight McKissic, who has been at the center of a debate in the Southern Baptist Convention over speaking in tongues, has resigned as a trustee of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

Christian Century, July 24, 2007

Texas pastor Dwight McKissic, who has been at the center of a debate in the Southern Baptist Convention over speaking in tongues, has resigned as a trustee of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. McKissic, the pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Arlington, told the trustee board chair in a June 20 letter that his role as a trustee was a "huge distraction" from his ministry priorities.

McKissic told of his personal use of tongues during a chapel sermon at the seminary last August. Two months later, the seminary trustee board--with McKissic dissenting--voted not to hire professors or administrators who promote charismatic Christian practices, which include speaking in tongues. McKissic said he was "exhilarated" by a recent study indicating that 50 percent of Southern Baptist pastors believe "the Holy Spirit gives some people the gift of a special language to pray to God privately."