The SBC is sounding plenty of sour notes these days – political roilings and wranglings, theological false accusations, racial unrest, schism, and discord abounding. In an environment such as this, the icing on the cake would seem to be another lawsuit between prominent Southern Baptists. Just what 2020 ordered, right?
Last night, I was given a PDF of a lawsuit originating from Ben Mandrell and LifeWay against the former president, Thom Rainer. It was filed yesterday. I’m not sure how clear my COVID-infested brain is and so I’m reticent to opine on legal issues on which I claim no expertise when I am of (relatively) sound mind.
The lawsuit revolves around the agreement Rainer signed with LifeWay when he announced his retirement. He agreed to stay on until October of 2020 or until one side or the other canceled the contract. Rainer then agreed to a 12-month no-compete clause at the end of that term. Rainer has signed a contract with Tyndale to promote his books and other commercial endeavors.
Here is where I am engaging in speculation. I wonder if the gist of the conflict may be when the 12-month term started and when it ends. Rainer ended his term of service early and perhaps the issue is whether his 12-month no-compete began on the date of the contract (end of next month) or at the end of his actual term of service. This is speculation. I did read the lawsuit but it only claims irreparable harm to LifeWay to lose him.
Perspectives
1. Thom Rainer is one of LifeWay’s cash cows, likely alongside Beth Moore. His bestselling books and other projects make a lot of money for LifeWay. It is understandable that they would want to keep him in the fold.
2. It is hard to see how this is anything but a black eye for LifeWay and for Southern Baptists. Ben Mandrell and LifeWay are suing his predecessor. It is an ugly look for LifeWay, for Mandrell, and for Dr. Rainer. No one comes out of this looking good.
3. I had quite a bit of interaction with Dr. Rainer during his time at LifeWay, likely the most I had with any entity leader except for Frank Page. I believe him to be a man of character and honesty. Whatever is going on here, I do not believe he is ignoring the law or acting with willful disregard for what is right (as is accused in the lawsuit). I do not believe he is that kind of man.
4. I know that there are a hundred excuses as to why the admonition of 1 Corinthians 6:1-7 doesn’t apply to situations like this. We have become experts in the dis-application of Scripture. That passage says that Christians shouldn’t go to court with other believers, that it is better to be wronged than to take a brother to court. I guess I wonder why a lawsuit is the only remedy here. I understand using the courts for abuse, for criminal activity, but this seems to be over money.
5. Here’s a question – is there no way that some form of mediation could have been established to avoid an ugly lawsuit? Did Ben Mandrell and the trustees of LifeWay exhaust EVERY avenue before they entered such an action with a man who has done much good for the SBC? Was this necessary? Was there no other solution?
A Tentative Conclusion
Is there some back-story, something more to this than we know? It is not a great way for Ben Mandrell to earn goodwill with Southern Baptists. If he is engaging in something with the appearance of unseemliness that this has, he needs to be upfront and transparent about why he is doing it. Suing a prominent Southern Baptist such as Thom Rainer is not something that can be done on the sly. He owes all Southern Baptists a full explanation of the reasons for this.
This does not look good for LifeWay – suing its former president. Until we hear Dr. Rainer’s side, this does not help his legacy. I stand by my belief that Dr. Rainer has a side that at the very least is within the boundaries of integrity. This is not helpful for Southern Baptists.
LifeWay needs to explain this action and justify it to Southern Baptists.
Permit a clarification – I am not accusing Ben Mandrell or LifeWay’s trustees of wrongdoing. I do not have the facts. I am saying that such an action is ugly and hurtful to Southern Baptist work and it needs to be fully explained.
- Ben Mandrell needs to be transparent about WHY he is suing a respected man like Thom Rainer.
- I want to hear Thom Rainer’s response to this. I believe he will have a reasoned response.
- I want to hear why there couldn’t have been a resolution that avoided a lawsuit.
I agree. This is suspect on the part of Lifeway indeed.
I am not accusing LifeWay of anything untoward. I am saying they need to be TRANSPARENT. When Ben Mandrell sues Thom Rainer, the SBC is owed an explanation, because we are all going to look bsd over this.
Mostly, I wonder if the money is worth the trouble? How do they justify this in light of 1 Corinthians 6? Was there no other way?
I want to hear Thom Rainer’s side.
I want to hear a full explanation of this from Ben Mandrell.
Are you privy to sales figures on the many books that Lifeway published and promoted by Dr Rainer. Do you know that they have indeed been a cash cow for Lifeway? Could Lifeway have done better financially if they had spent the money that they used to publish/promote his books doing the same thing for another author who was not simultaneously employed by Lifeway? I encountered his books mainly as frequent marked down remainders when the brick & mortar stores were open. Now he probably received the same royalty if the book sold at full price or at a discount.… Read more »
I do not have the sales figures, but I am told by “people in the know” that Thom and Beth are LifeWay’s best-selling authors, or at least AMONG them. Losing Rainer would be a blow to LifeWay.
According to the BP article released today, Rainer was retained by the Board with an executive title and full salary until October 31, 2020…long after the hire f a new CEO. That fact was not publicly disclosed until today. I share your above concerns, but this doesn’t make sense either.
Again, that is my suspicion as the source of this dispute. There was a 12-month non-compete. Rainer may have thought the clock started when he finished his duties at LifeWay, and LifeWay seems to be arguing that the Octover 31 date governs, even though he was replaced over a year ago.
I’m with you. Seems like a legitimate source of misunderstanding. Separate from the merits of the suit, however, is the questions of retaining him in any official capacity, especially at full pay, after a new CEO was hired. They did this while all public discourse suggested he was, in fact, actually “retired” from Lifeway and did nothing publicly to support LifeWay while receiving that compensation. I think the trustees should answer that question apart from the suit.
How many Lifeway employees were fired in the past year while Mr Rainer continued to be paid his full salary? Did he ever offer to forgo this money in light of LifeWay’s financial distress?
I do not think his full salary continued. As i understand it, his full salary WOULD have continued, but he ended the contract early (as was allowed in the contract. He COULD have received full salary until the end of October but I do not believe he did.
After less than a dozen comments, ONE thing is clear, LifeWay needs to explain this action more fully.
Folks, I am getting over my COVID symptoms, but I am still every weak. I’m already worn out from this. Have at the discussion.
Play nice.
I am thankful to hear that you are doing better. Praying for your full healing!
Same here, get well.
mostly…its fatigue
The Houston Chronicle article has been updated with Thom Rainer’s response. As long as his response is accurate, that he only received an email from Lifeway and responded and asked to discuss matters with the Lifeway Board but got no response until being sued (provided that is all correct), then this looks even worse.
I had subscribed to the Houston Chronicle, but couldn’t get through to that article.
Am I the only one who finds it odd that Rainer would not “re-up” with LifeWay? That seems to be the initial issue. Frankly, though completely legal of course, why would he not continue with the company he led for over a decade? That seems weird. And I’ve always thought well of Rainer, so I’m stumped. And LifeWay doesn’t look good here, either.
There may be stuff happening that we don’t understand. Who knows?
I’ve tried to stick with facts and avoid rumors and speculation.
After reading all available info, including Rainer’s response, everything seems very strange. And it’s hard to imagine Mandrell moving on this unless he thought it was necessary. He doesn’t strike me as a dummy or a hothead. Not a good look for anybody.
If Thom Rainer is not a good man, an honest man, he had me fooled.
Unless there’s a lot more to this story than we know, Mandrell was foolish to pursue this. Utterly.
Matthew 6:24
English Standard Version
24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
His non-compete contained typical boiler plate language as well as details how Dr. Rainer would be compensated for the non-compete…found are in the court filing. The dates are specific…injunctive relief is being sought for agreement violation…..if Dr. Rainer joined a competitor…non-compete typically last one year after end of employment….the agreement offers relief to LifeWay. Dr. Rainer could have sought employment in GA or CA were NC agreement are nonenforceable or illegal. This happens when corporate style employment contracts and separation agreements are used.
I agree that this lawsuit seems foolish given what we know at this point. More information is needed but we won’t get it.
As for why Rainer would switch to Tyndale. I see it like when a pastor retires. He usually moves on to another church to keep the water clean.
I’m just a little bit baffled over why a retiring exec who also happens to be an author would be required to sign a non-compete clause? Rainer writes books that offer practical ministry advice and inspiration. Doesn’t Lifeway hold the rights to everything he’s written and published with them? I can see why non-compete clauses are important in the cut-throat world of secular business but I’m missing it when it comes to Christian media and publishing. Tyndale and Lifeway are on the same side, or at least, should be.
It is his new stuff at issue
My comment last night after seeing the BP story (and before the “debate” destroyed my will to live): Call me a hypocrite — and you’re probably right — because I worked for a [SBC] denominational agency for many years and happily accepted a lot of paychecks, and I’m living off that agency’s good 403B retirement plan now. Yes, sometimes you have to run big Christian operations like secular nonprofits and businesses in order to use the millions of dollars given by church folks responsibly, compensate employees fairly and not run afoul of the IRS. But I am sick, sick, sick… Read more »
Erich, you were at IMB right? When IMB’s Involuntary Unemployment plan (aka Voluntary Retirement) was offered five years ago, one of the missionaries asked me to examine the offer when received. Some time after the plan was to have been offered, I contacted that missionary for follow-up. The missionary said they could not disclose the plan to anyone except a tax professional or they would lose all compensation (and their job). That was one of those “non-disclosure” clauses. Unbelievable. I used the term “involuntary” because they were told if enough of them did not accept the offers, the next round… Read more »