Southern Baptists face push for public list of intercourse abusers

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

The creation of an “Offender Information System” was one of many key recommendations in a report released Sunday by Guidepost Solutions, an independent agency contracted by the SBC’s Govt Committee after delegates to last year’s national assembly pressed for an investigation by outsiders.

The proposed database is anticipated to be one among a number of suggestions presented to hundreds of delegates attending this yr’s national assembly, scheduled for June 14-15 in Anaheim, California.

“Those recommendations might be open to questions, debate and comments on the meeting floor,” mentioned SBC President Ed Litton.

He expressed hope that the surprising findings in the Guidepost report will carry “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 Executive Committee, “solely to be met, time and time again, with resistance, stonewalling, and even outright hostility from some within the EC.”

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

The motion for an impartial investigation was put forward ultimately year’s national assembly 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, as well as leaders prioritizing safety of the SBC from liability over abuse prevention.

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

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

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

Lawyer and writer 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 identified abusers. She was heartened that Guidepost was recommending such a system, but stated questions stay about its implementation.

“What is totally essential is that the native church cannot operate as the default or presumed starting place for a survivor to attempt to get hold of an investigation of clergy intercourse abuse,” she said via email. “If the local church is deemed to be a requisite first cease for survivors to pursue action, then many survivors’ voices can be choked of their throats earlier than sound is ever uttered.”

Among the many Guidepost report’s findings was that the Executive Committee stored a secret record of tons of of SBC-affiliated clergy and different personnel recognized as intercourse abusers. Brown said the committee, at a special assembly Tuesday, ought to agree to launch this listing.

“I urge you to make public everything of your listing of pastors & ministers accused of sexual abuse, in whatever form it’s been saved for lo these many years,” Brown tweeted. “Post. It. Now.”

The ultimate choices about recommendations to undergo the Anaheim delegates shall be made by the SBC’s Sexual Abuse Task Power, 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 saw patterns and issues that were deeply regarding,” he said. “Our foremost job was to empower Guidepost to do their job, and so they have achieved a very exceptional job within the final 9 months to have a look at occasions that occurred over 20 years.”

In the subsequent week or so, the task drive will carry forth formal motions in “exact language,” which will probably be made public and presented 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 task force’s recommendations primarily based on Guidepost’s report might be summarized in two phrases – prevention and care.

“Our principal purpose must be stopping sexual abuse,” he mentioned. “And if abuse does occur, how will we look after survivors in a much better pastoral approach? 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 one who is fair-minded will look at what’s in that report and demand that things be higher,” Frank stated. “SBC is a big family with 48,000 churches. There is likely to be some disagreement on how to make issues higher. However 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 new SBC president to succeed Litton.

One of many leading contenders is Bart Barber, a pastor from Farmersville, Texas, who expressed dismay at the mean-spirited behaviors attributed to some SBC officers 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 performed,” he added. “We’ve gotten the report, however I think everybody within the survivor neighborhood that I’ve heard from has said experiences are one factor, but we’ll see if this family of churches has the braveness 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 Express-Information documenting hundreds of instances in Southern Baptist churches, together with a number of wherein alleged perpetrators remained in ministry.

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