Southern Baptists face push for public record of intercourse abusers

A blistering report on the Southern Baptist Convention’s mishandling of sex 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 known 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 independent firm contracted by the SBC’s Govt Committee after delegates to last 12 months’s nationwide assembly pressed for an investigation by outsiders.

The proposed database is predicted to be certainly one of a number of recommendations presented to 1000's of delegates attending this year’s nationwide meeting, scheduled for June 14-15 in Anaheim, California.

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

He expressed hope that the surprising findings in the Guidepost report will convey “lasting change” to the SBC, America’s largest Protestant denomination. It has been losing membership steadily lately, 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 Govt Committee, “only to be met, time and time again, with resistance, stonewalling, and even outright hostility from some inside the EC.”

“Our investigation revealed that, for many years, a couple of senior EC leaders, together with outdoors counsel, largely controlled the EC’s response to those reviews of abuse ... and were singularly focused on avoiding legal responsibility,” the report said.

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

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

“We’re at a fork in the highway,” Gaines mentioned. “I believe this report provided the information that we would have liked for there to be a groundswell of assist to take the right actions.”

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

“I believe that’s one of the first things we must always do,” he mentioned.

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 recognized abusers. She was heartened that Guidepost was recommending such a system, but stated questions remain about its implementation.

“What is absolutely important is that the native church can't function because the default or presumed starting place for a survivor to try to obtain an investigation of clergy intercourse abuse,” she mentioned via email. “If the local church is deemed to be a requisite first cease for survivors to pursue motion, then many survivors’ voices might be choked in their throats earlier than sound is ever uttered.”

Among the many Guidepost report’s findings was that the Executive Committee saved a secret listing of hundreds of SBC-affiliated clergy and other personnel identified as sex abusers. Brown mentioned the committee, at a special assembly Tuesday, ought to comply with release this listing.

“I urge you to make public the whole thing of your list of pastors & ministers accused of sexual abuse, in whatever type it’s been saved for lo these many years,” Brown tweeted. “Submit. It. Now.”

The final selections about recommendations to undergo the Anaheim delegates will be made by the SBC’s Sexual Abuse Activity Pressure, comprising seven members and two advisors. Its work over the past year has been an emotional journey, mentioned Pastor Bruce Frank, who led the group.

“We saw patterns and things that were deeply regarding,” he stated. “Our important job was to empower Guidepost to do their job, and they have finished a truly exceptional job within the last 9 months to have a look at events that occurred over 20 years.”

In the subsequent week or so, the task pressure will carry forth formal motions in “precise language,” which can be made public and offered to the delegates in Anaheim for a vote, said Frank, lead pastor of Biltmore Baptist Church in Arden, North Carolina.

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

“Our fundamental purpose needs to be preventing sexual abuse,” he stated. “And if abuse does happen, how can we take care of survivors in a a lot better pastoral manner? How can we better communicate to make sure (abusers) don’t go from one church to a different?”

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

“Any one who is fair-minded will look at what’s in that report and demand that issues be better,” Frank mentioned. “SBC is a giant household with 48,000 church buildings. There is perhaps some disagreement on find out how to make things better. However I’m assured that we’ll work via the difficulties.”

Along with intercourse abuse, the agenda for the assembly in Anaheim includes 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 officials in the Guidepost report.

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

“The work’s not carried out,” he added. “We’ve gotten the report, but I feel all people in the survivor community that I’ve heard from has said reviews are one thing, however we’ll see if this family of churches has the braveness and resolve to take action.”

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 bunch of circumstances in Southern Baptist churches, together with several wherein alleged perpetrators remained in ministry.

___

Associated Press religion coverage receives assist through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content material.