Citing a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision, the Southern Baptist Convention’s North American Mission Board (NAMB) has asked the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for a hearing by the full court in order to reconsider a ruling in a lawsuit filed by a former executive of the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware. Last month, a three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit remanded the case to a district court , reversing a dismissal decision from April 2019 that stated the court could not consider Will McRaney’s claims because of First Amendment legal precedent protecting churches and religious organizations from government interference. McRaney was the executive director of the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware from 2013 until June 2015. He filed suit in 2017 , alleging that NAMB had intentionally defamed him and wrongly influenced his termination after a dispute over collaborative missions efforts in the region. Hiram Sasser , executive general counsel for First Liberty Institute, which is representing NAMB, said the Supreme Court’s decision last month in Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru “made it clear that the Constitution protects religious organizations’ independence and their right to choose their own leaders and ministers.” “There should be no doubt that […]
