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<\/source><\/picture>Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary says former president Adam W. Greenway\u2019s demand for $5 million, along with his threat to sue the seminary, is \u201cabsurd\u201d as he claims a public disclosure by seminary officials of spending at the school under his watch \u201chumiliated\u201d him and \u201charmed his job prospects.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOver the past year, we have continued to pray for Dr. Greenway\u2019s spiritual, mental and emotional well-being as we have worked towards an amicable resolution, which we had every reason to believe had been achieved with the agreement signed in February of this year,\u201d the seminary\u2019s board chair Jonathan Richard said in a letter in response to Greenway\u2019s demand cited by Baptist Press<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cAs stewards of precious institutional resources, we cannot in good conscience capitulate to his absurd demand for $5 million. Our focus remains on confronting the financial challenges facing Southwestern, which would only be compounded by agreeing to his demand.\u201d<\/p>\n The response from the Texas-based seminary came after The Tennessean<\/a> published a report Tuesday highlighting the demand from Greenway, who served as Southwestern\u2019s president from 2019 until he stepped down in September 2022. He fully resigned in 2023.<\/p>\n Four months later, the seminary\u2019s board issued a \u201cSummary of Findings<\/a>\u201d by a trustee task force, which \u201cconcluded that Adam Greenway engaged in a pattern of spending that the task force believes did not reflect proper stewardship of seminary resources.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis pattern of spending occurred without deference to financial controls and seminary financial policies,\u201d the trustee task force reported.<\/p>\n \u201cBetween 2019 and 2022, over $1.5 million was spent on renovations, furnishings, and related expenses to the President\u2019s home. These expenditures were made at a time when the seminary was making significant budget cuts, including the reduction of faculty personnel and positions,\u201d the summary stated.<\/p>\n \u201cExamples of expenses for the President\u2019s home include $59,865.79 for Christmas decorations, more than $25,000 for artwork, and $11,123.49 for an espresso machine and accessories. Despite extensive renovations completed early in his tenure, further optional work was done on the President\u2019s home in late 2021 when more than $180,000 was spent on HVAC work.\u201d<\/p>\n The task force also found that much of the work done on Greenway\u2019s home was done by the seminary\u2019s facilities team, creating \u201can unsustainable demand and contributing to poor morale and high turnover.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt was reported that employees were often asked to do the same job multiple times to meet Greenway\u2019s demanding expectations. Multiple change orders were also true with outside contractors, increasing costs of the projects,” the task force said.<\/p>\n During a span of less than a year between 2020 and early 2021, Greenway also allegedly spent more than $500,000 on his office at the seminary.<\/p>\n Greenway was further accused of \u201cnumerous examples of improper expenses charged to the seminary\u201d on his seminary credit card, violating seminary policy.<\/p>\n These alleged improper charges include, \u201c$9,936.05 for first-class airfare for Greenway, his family, and a family friend to Anaheim, California, for the 2022 Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting, $4,850.51 for the framing of personal diplomas, and $920 for a metal University of Florida Gator head decoration (one of Greenway\u2019s favorite college athletic programs).\u201d<\/p>\n In a copy of a Sept. 25 letter to Southwestern cited by The Tennessean, Greenway\u2019s attorney Andrew Jones said: \u201cThe framing of these expenditures as unauthorized and lavish personal gain undertaken by Dr. Greenway is an assertion of financial impropriety on par with embezzlement.\u201d<\/p>\n Jones also argued that Southwestern\u2019s public disclosures of Greenway\u2019s spending are \u201cgrossly inflated and false.\u201d<\/p>\n Contact: leonardo.blair@christianpost.com<\/a> Follow Leonardo Blair on Twitter: @leoblair<\/a> Follow Leonardo Blair on Facebook: LeoBlairChristianPost<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Join thousands of others to get the FREEDOM POST<\/strong> newsletter for free, sent twice a week from The Christian Post.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nFree<\/span> Religious Freedom Updates<\/h2>\n