Adam Greenway’s lawsuit against Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary ended in September 2024 with no money changing hands. The former seminary president sued the school and its board chairman, Danny Roberts, for defamation in March 2024, claiming their public statements about his spending had made him unemployable. Six months later, on the eve of his deposition, Greenway approached the seminary and offered to drop the case. Both sides signed a mutual release.1SWBTS. Southwestern Seminary Statement on Settlement With Former President
How Greenway Was Pushed Out
Greenway was elected the ninth president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in February 2019 at age 41, hired to stabilize a school still reeling from the 2018 firing of Paige Patterson.2Religion News Service. Adam Greenway Resigns as Southwestern Seminary President His tenure was short and difficult. Full-time equivalent enrollment fell from 1,414 in 2019–2020 to 1,105 in 2021–2022, described as the lowest since World War II.
The immediate trigger for his exit, according to his later complaint, was a September 12, 2022, tweet criticizing Christians who reduce the Bible to “a political prop.” Influential Southern Baptist alumni reacted sharply. Jack Graham of Prestonwood Baptist Church demanded he take it down. O.S. Hawkins, president-emeritus of GuideStone Financial Resources, wrote in a group text that Greenway felt he had “to be the smartest person in the room” and kept “burn[ing] bridges.”3Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Former SWBTS President Adam Greenway Files Lawsuit
Seven days later, Graham, Hawkins, and board chairman Roberts met with Greenway and asked him to resign. They offered six months’ salary, benefits, housing, and a non-disparagement agreement.4Baptist News Global. Greenway Files Suit Against Southwestern Seminary The board’s executive committee accepted his resignation on September 22, 2022.
The Spending Allegations
After Greenway left, a trustee task force investigated presidential spending during his tenure. On June 7, 2023, the board released a “Summary of Findings” describing a “pattern of spending” that lacked “proper stewardship of seminary resources.”5SWBTS. Board Officers Issue Summary of Findings by Trustee Task Force The most widely reported figures included:
- More than $1.5 million on president’s home renovations and furnishings between 2019 and 2022, including nearly $60,000 for Christmas decorations, over $25,000 for artwork, roughly $180,000 for HVAC work, and an $11,123 espresso machine and accessories.
- More than $500,000 to renovate the president’s office.
- $9,936 in first-class airfare for Greenway, his family, and a family friend to the 2022 SBC annual meeting; $4,851 to frame his personal diplomas; and $920 for a metal University of Florida Gator head decoration.6Christian Post. Former SWBTS President Adam Greenway Oversaw Excessive Spending, Task Force Says
Greenway later disputed the characterization, arguing the renovations had been approved by the appropriate seminary officials and were subject to annual audits by an outside firm the trustees themselves had selected.7Kentucky Today. Greenway Sues SWBTS, Board Chair; Claims Defamation Has Made Him Unemployable He also contended that deficits blamed on him were actually caused by a seminary treasurer who had taken out an unauthorized $1.6 million line of credit.3Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Former SWBTS President Adam Greenway Files Lawsuit
The Separation Agreement Greenway Said Was Broken
On February 13, 2023, Greenway and the seminary signed a confidential settlement. The seminary paid him a lump sum of $229,500, agreed to return his personal books and a missing recliner, and agreed to repost his presidential sermons online.8Religion News Service. Former Southwestern Seminary President Adam Greenway Files Suit Both parties, including Roberts personally, agreed not to make “false and disparaging” statements about each other, and both committed to issuing a joint public statement by February 28, 2023, declaring the parting “amicable.”9Baptist Press. Greenway v. SWBTS Complaint
According to Greenway, the agreement quickly fell apart. A draft joint statement was emailed to Baptist Press on the deadline, but the seminary refused to publish it on its own website. Greenway alleged that a series of press releases and public remarks by Roberts through the spring and summer of 2023, culminating in the June 7 task force report, amounted to a deliberate campaign of defamation. At one point, according to the complaint, Roberts privately directed that the joint statement be “buried” and expressed hope that “the day comes when people will forget there ever was an Adam Greenway presidency.”9Baptist Press. Greenway v. SWBTS Complaint
What the Lawsuit Claimed
On March 20, 2024, Greenway filed a civil complaint in U.S. District Court in Fort Worth against Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Danny Roberts, individually and in his capacity as board chairman. The suit alleged defamation, breach of contract, and broken promises, and sought damages in excess of $75,000.7Kentucky Today. Greenway Sues SWBTS, Board Chair; Claims Defamation Has Made Him Unemployable
Greenway argued that the seminary’s public statements created a “false and defamatory impression” that he had secretly spent seminary funds for his own benefit “in a manner akin to embezzlement.”8Religion News Service. Former Southwestern Seminary President Adam Greenway Files Suit The complaint also offered his account of why he was really pushed out. The September 12 tweet, he claimed, had angered influential alumni who then engineered his removal, and the financial accusations came later as a post-hoc justification.
The Seminary’s Response
Southwestern called the lawsuit “entirely baseless.” The seminary characterized it as retaliation for its “refusal to agree to his demand of $5 million last fall.”7Kentucky Today. Greenway Sues SWBTS, Board Chair; Claims Defamation Has Made Him Unemployable
On April 18, 2024, the seminary filed a motion to dismiss. It argued the court lacked jurisdiction under the ecclesial abstention doctrine and the First Amendment’s ministerial exception, and alternatively that Greenway had failed to state a viable claim.10Baptist News Global. Seminary Asks Court To Dismiss Greenway’s Defamation Suit
How the Case Ended
On September 9, 2024, the seminary announced that Greenway had approached it on the eve of his deposition and offered to drop the lawsuit. The two sides signed a mutual release. Greenway waived all claims against the seminary and its leadership, and the seminary and Roberts waived all claims against Greenway. No money changed hands.1SWBTS. Southwestern Seminary Statement on Settlement With Former President
The seminary said the resolution “vindicates the seminary” and demonstrated the allegations “were without merit.” Greenway responded on X that he “disagree(s) strongly with the Seminary’s characterizations of the motivations behind or the meaning of the settlement.”11Fort Worth Report. Fort Worth Baptist Seminary Agrees To Settle Lawsuit With Former President Without Payment
Discovery during the litigation revealed that after leaving Southwestern, Greenway had applied for positions at 21 churches, denominational entities, nonprofits, and educational institutions without success. That record lent support to his unemployability claim, though he could not prove the underlying defamation in court.12Baptist News Global. Greenway Ends Defamation Claims Against Southwestern Without a Financial Settlement
Where Greenway Is Now
Greenway returned to his hometown of Frostproof, Florida, where his wife Carla teaches at Cornerstone Christian Academy. In 2022 he founded Nonprofit Transition Solutions Inc., a consulting practice for nonprofits and churches navigating leadership changes.13Nonprofit Transition Solutions. About The Frostproof City Council appointed him to fill a vacancy in November 2024, and he continues to serve as a council member.14The Ledger. Frostproof Fills City Council Vacancy Left by Mayor’s Resignation In January 2025 he took on the role of transitional head of school at Cornerstone.15The Baptist Paper. Greenway Begins New Position at Christian School in Florida
The seminary and its former president publicly reconciled on April 24, 2026, when Southwestern unveiled Greenway’s presidential portrait outside Truett Auditorium. President David Dockery credited Greenway with administrative reforms that made the seminary “stronger today.” Greenway, returning to campus for the first time since his departure, said: “Whatever may have transpired in the past, as far as I’m concerned, it is time to put that in the past.”16SWBTS. Southwestern Recognizes Ninth President With Portrait