Southern Baptists face push for public checklist of sex abusers

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

The creation of an “Offender Info System” was one of many key recommendations in a report launched Sunday by Guidepost Solutions, an impartial agency contracted by the SBC’s Executive Committee after delegates to final year’s nationwide assembly pressed for an investigation by outsiders.

The proposed database is anticipated to be one of a number of recommendations offered to 1000's of delegates attending this yr’s national assembly, scheduled for June 14-15 in Anaheim, California.

“These recommendations will probably be open to questions, debate and feedback on the assembly floor,” mentioned SBC President Ed Litton.

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

The Guidepost report mentioned survivors of abuse by SBC clergy repeatedly shared allegations with the Executive 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 few senior EC leaders, together with outdoors counsel, largely controlled the EC’s response to those studies of abuse ... and had been singularly targeted on avoiding liability,” the report said.

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

Reading the Guidepost report, Gaines said he was struck by repeated examples of a callous disregard for survivors, in addition to leaders prioritizing safety of the SBC from legal responsibility over abuse prevention.

“We’re at a fork within the road,” Gaines stated. “I think this report supplied the knowledge that we would have liked for there to be a groundswell of assist to take the appropriate actions.”

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

“I feel that’s one of the first issues we should 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 urgent the SBC since 2006 to create a publicly accessible database of identified abusers. She was heartened that Guidepost was recommending such a system, however said questions stay about its implementation.

“What is completely important is that the local church can not perform as the default or presumed starting place for a survivor to try to obtain an investigation of clergy intercourse abuse,” she stated by way of email. “If the local church is deemed to be a requisite first stop for survivors to pursue action, then many survivors’ voices shall be choked in their throats earlier than sound is ever uttered.”

Among the Guidepost report’s findings was that the Executive Committee kept a secret list of lots of of SBC-affiliated clergy and other personnel recognized as intercourse abusers. Brown stated the committee, at a particular meeting Tuesday, ought to conform to launch this record.

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

The final decisions about suggestions to submit to the Anaheim delegates might be made by the SBC’s Sexual Abuse Activity Force, comprising seven members and two advisors. Its work over the previous 12 months has been an emotional journey, stated Pastor Bruce Frank, who led the group.

“We saw patterns and things that had been deeply regarding,” he said. “Our principal job was to empower Guidepost to do their job, and so they have done a really exceptional job within the last 9 months to look at events that occurred over 20 years.”

Within the subsequent week or so, the task drive will carry forth formal motions in “exact language,” which will likely be made public and offered 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 task force’s suggestions based mostly on Guidepost’s report might be summarized in two phrases – prevention and care.

“Our major objective must be stopping sexual abuse,” he mentioned. “And if abuse does occur, how can we care for survivors in a much better pastoral way? How can we better talk 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 take a look at what’s in that report and demand that things be higher,” Frank stated. “SBC is a giant family with 48,000 churches. There is likely to be some disagreement on learn how to make things better. But I’m confident that we’ll work by the difficulties.”

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

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

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

“The work’s not finished,” he added. “We’ve gotten the report, but I feel all people in the survivor group that I’ve heard from has mentioned reports are one thing, but we’ll see if this family of churches has the braveness and resolve to take motion.”

The sex abuse scandal was thrust into the highlight in 2019 by a landmark report from the Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Categorical-News documenting lots of of instances in Southern Baptist churches, together with a number of through which alleged perpetrators remained in ministry.

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