Southern Baptists face push for public record of intercourse abusers

A blistering report on the Southern Baptist Conference’s mishandling of sex abuse allegations is elevating the prospect that the denomination, for the first time, will create a publicly accessible database of pastors and different church personnel known to be abusers.

The creation of an “Offender Data System” was one of the key suggestions in a report released Sunday by Guidepost Solutions, an unbiased agency contracted by the SBC’s Government Committee after delegates to final yr’s national meeting pressed for an investigation by outsiders.

The proposed database is expected to be one in every of several recommendations introduced to 1000's of delegates attending this year’s nationwide meeting, scheduled for June 14-15 in Anaheim, California.

“Those recommendations will probably be open to questions, debate and comments on the assembly floor,” said SBC President Ed Litton.

He expressed hope that the shocking findings within the Guidepost report will convey “lasting change” to the SBC, America’s largest Protestant denomination. It has been dropping membership steadily in recent times, whereas being wracked by inner divisions over race and gender roles.

The Guidepost report mentioned survivors of abuse by SBC clergy repeatedly shared allegations with the Government Committee, “only to be met, time and time once more, with resistance, stonewalling, and even outright hostility from some inside the EC.”

“Our investigation revealed that, for a few years, a number of senior EC leaders, along with exterior counsel, largely controlled the EC’s response to those stories of abuse ... and had been singularly targeted on avoiding legal responsibility,” the report mentioned.

The movement for an independent investigation was put ahead at last yr’s nationwide meeting by the Rev. Grant Gaines, senior pastor of Belle Aire Baptist Church in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

Studying the Guidepost report, Gaines mentioned he was struck by repeated examples of a callous disregard for survivors, as well as leaders prioritizing protection of the SBC from legal responsibility over abuse prevention.

“We’re at a fork in the highway,” Gaines said. “I believe this report supplied the data that we wanted for there to be a groundswell of help to take the best actions.”

Specifically, Gaines said he supports the proposal to create a system that alerts communities to recognized offenders.

“I feel that’s one of many first things we should do,” he stated.

Lawyer and writer Christa Brown, who says she was sexually abused as a teen by the youth minister at her SBC church, has been urgent the SBC since 2006 to create a publicly accessible database of known abusers. She was heartened that Guidepost was recommending such a system, but stated questions stay about its implementation.

“What is completely important is that the local church cannot operate because the default or presumed starting place for a survivor to attempt to get hold of an investigation of clergy intercourse abuse,” she said by way of e mail. “If the local church is deemed to be a requisite first cease for survivors to pursue action, then many survivors’ voices might be choked of their throats before sound is ever uttered.”

Among the many Guidepost report’s findings was that the Government Committee stored a secret list of tons of of SBC-affiliated clergy and different personnel identified as sex abusers. Brown stated the committee, at a special meeting Tuesday, should agree to launch this checklist.

“I urge you to make public the whole thing of your list of pastors & ministers accused of sexual abuse, in no matter type it’s been kept for lo these a few years,” Brown tweeted. “Submit. It. Now.”

The final choices about recommendations to undergo the Anaheim delegates shall be made by the SBC’s Sexual Abuse Job Force, comprising seven members and two advisors. Its work over the past 12 months has been an emotional journey, said Pastor Bruce Frank, who led the group.

“We noticed patterns and things that have been deeply regarding,” he said. “Our principal job was to empower Guidepost to do their job, they usually have performed a very remarkable job in the last 9 months to take a look at events that occurred over 20 years.”

In the subsequent week or so, the duty power will deliver forth formal motions in “exact language,” which will likely be made public and presented to the delegates in Anaheim for a vote, mentioned Frank, lead pastor of Biltmore Baptist Church in Arden, North Carolina.

Frank said the crux of the duty force’s suggestions based on Guidepost’s report may be summarized in two words – prevention and care.

“Our most important aim should be stopping sexual abuse,” he stated. “And if abuse does occur, how can we care for survivors in a much better pastoral way? How can we higher talk to ensure (abusers) don’t go from one church to a different?”

His hope is that this report serves as “a catalyst for change.”

“Any person who is fair-minded will take a look at what’s in that report and demand that issues be better,” Frank stated. “SBC is a big household with 48,000 church buildings. There could be some disagreement on the right way to make things better. However I’m assured that we’ll work by the difficulties.”

In addition to intercourse abuse, the agenda for the meeting in Anaheim contains election of a new SBC president to succeed Litton.

One of the main contenders is Bart Barber, a pastor from Farmersville, Texas, who expressed dismay on the mean-spirited behaviors attributed to some SBC officers within the Guidepost report.

If elected, Barber said in a broadcast interview Monday, “I’m praying that God will give me the wisdom to know what to do.... We’re sailing into uncharted waters.”

“The work’s not carried out,” he added. “We’ve gotten the report, however I think everybody within the survivor group that I’ve heard from has stated reports are one factor, however we’ll see if this household of churches has the courage and resolve to take motion.”

The intercourse abuse scandal was thrust into the highlight in 2019 by a landmark report from the Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Categorical-News documenting a whole lot of circumstances in Southern Baptist church buildings, including a number of by which alleged perpetrators remained in ministry.

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