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Plummer said he is dismayed that the group would ignore the board's authority to pressure Pederson directly. "For this to happen was a concern. Now there is pressure for Wayne to resign. The executive committee had already begun our process, and my concern simply was, 'Allow us to do our job.' We hadn't even talked to Wayne yet. And what was worse, neither did they." He said the idea that some members would leave NRB to form a new organization is "very unfortunate. Why would they do something like this when the board has said our position [on matters of public policy] hasn't changed?"

At a January 28 meeting, the executive committee split 4-4 over whether to retain Pederson as president. Plummer, who does not usually vote as chairman, cast the deciding vote that he should stay.

Plummer says that a few days later the executive committee "unanimously concluded that the best thing for Wayne and for the NRB is to give him at least the opportunity to resign." Plummer approached Pederson with the consensus, and says Pederson vacillated before offering a letter of resignation February 8.

Plummer says that most board members have been strongly supportive of Pederson However, he says the larger question is "Can Wayne still lead the organization with such a fracture?"

Board members are clearly divided. Bott says he has written or spoken to many of the NRB members, asking them to weigh in on the issue. "My feeling right now is, [Pederson's statement] hasn't been a misstep, it's been a mismatch," he said. "It has nothing to do with personality. It has everything to do with having a leader that is a good match for an association like NRB. A good leader will unite an association. What I see here is a division."

Meanwhile, in a letter to the board, Tony Evans, president of the Urban Alternative, wrote, "NRB is perceived as an arm of the Christian right, and in fact, to a great extent this is more than a perception." Evans says many minority Christians do not attend NRB because they feel "unwelcome and marginalized by the politics of NRB. Even I, as a conservative, bibliocentric evangelical, have felt unwelcome and dismissed by certain aspects of NRB's perspectives."

"President Pederson's statement is, in fact, a divine wakeup call for NRB," Evans wrote. "Those who call for Mr. Pederson's resignation have missed the point."

Char Binkley, executive director of the WBCL radio network, also defended Pederson. "Since Christian broadcasters became involved in political issues several years ago, there has been a tension between those who believe we should use the airwaves to force change in the culture and those who believe that changing hearts is the primary way the culture will really change," she told CT. "I believe Wayne was simply trying to say that we want NRB to be known first and foremost for changing the culture the way Jesus would."

The disagreement has raised questions for some executive committee members about whether Pederson was the right choice to succeed Brandt Gustavson. Although Pederson had been a member of the organization for more than 25 years, executive committee members seem surprised by his comments. "When I first read the article, I felt that it was a perspective that Wayne and I had never discussed before, and I was rather surprised at both the content and what I felt was the tone," Plummer said. "We never talked about any new direction concerning this matter [of public policy]. NRB believes that public policy matters are extremely important and there are issues we must address as Christians."

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February (Web-only) 2002, Vol. 46