Southern Baptists face push for public list of intercourse abusers

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

The creation of an “Offender Information System” was one of the key recommendations in a report launched Sunday by Guidepost Solutions, an unbiased agency contracted by the SBC’s Govt Committee after delegates to final 12 months’s national meeting pressed for an investigation by outsiders.

The proposed database is anticipated to be considered one of several recommendations introduced to 1000's of delegates attending this yr’s national meeting, scheduled for June 14-15 in Anaheim, California.

“These recommendations might be open to questions, debate and comments on the meeting ground,” said SBC President Ed Litton.

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

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

“Our investigation revealed that, for a few years, a couple of senior EC leaders, along with exterior counsel, largely controlled the EC’s response to these stories of abuse ... and had been singularly focused on avoiding liability,” the report said.

The movement for an unbiased investigation was put ahead eventually year’s national 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 safety of the SBC from legal responsibility over abuse prevention.

“We’re at a fork within the highway,” Gaines stated. “I believe this report supplied the information that we needed for there to be a groundswell of support to take the appropriate actions.”

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

“I believe that’s one of many first issues we should always do,” he stated.

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

“What is absolutely critical is that the local church cannot operate because the default or presumed starting place for a survivor to try to receive an investigation of clergy intercourse abuse,” she stated by way of e mail. “If the native church is deemed to be a requisite first cease for survivors to pursue action, then many survivors’ voices will be choked of their throats earlier than sound is ever uttered.”

Among the many Guidepost report’s findings was that the Executive Committee kept a secret checklist of lots of of SBC-affiliated clergy and other personnel identified as intercourse abusers. Brown said the committee, at a particular meeting Tuesday, should agree to release this record.

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

The final choices about suggestions to undergo the Anaheim delegates will likely be made by the SBC’s Sexual Abuse Activity Drive, comprising seven members and two advisors. Its work over the previous 12 months has been an emotional journey, mentioned Pastor Bruce Frank, who led the group.

“We noticed patterns and things that were deeply regarding,” he said. “Our predominant job was to empower Guidepost to do their job, they usually have done a very exceptional job within the last 9 months to take a look at events that occurred over 20 years.”

In the next week or so, the duty force will carry forth formal motions in “exact language,” which shall be made public and presented to the delegates in Anaheim for a vote, stated Frank, lead pastor of Biltmore Baptist Church in Arden, North Carolina.

Frank mentioned the crux of the task force’s recommendations based mostly on Guidepost’s report can be summarized in two words – prevention and care.

“Our foremost purpose ought to be stopping sexual abuse,” he said. “And if abuse does occur, how will we look after survivors in a much better pastoral approach? How can we better communicate to make sure (abusers) don’t go from one church to another?”

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

“Any person who is fair-minded will have a look at what’s in that report and demand that issues be higher,” Frank said. “SBC is a giant household with 48,000 church buildings. There could be some disagreement on how to make issues higher. But I’m assured that we’ll work through the difficulties.”

Along with sex abuse, the agenda for the assembly in Anaheim includes election of a new SBC president to succeed Litton.

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

If elected, Barber mentioned 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 done,” he added. “We’ve gotten the report, but I believe all people within the survivor neighborhood that I’ve heard from has stated reports are one factor, however we’ll see if this family of church buildings has the courage and resolve to take motion.”

The intercourse abuse scandal was thrust into the spotlight in 2019 by a landmark report from the Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News documenting a whole bunch of instances in Southern Baptist churches, including several wherein alleged perpetrators remained in ministry.

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