Southern Baptists face push for public listing of intercourse abusers

A blistering report on the Southern Baptist Conference’s mishandling of sex 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 Data System” was one of the key suggestions in a report launched Sunday by Guidepost Options, an impartial 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 anticipated to be one among a number of suggestions presented to thousands of delegates attending this year’s national meeting, scheduled for June 14-15 in Anaheim, California.

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

He expressed hope that the shocking findings within the Guidepost report will deliver “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 said 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 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 were singularly centered on avoiding liability,” the report stated.

The movement for an impartial investigation was put ahead ultimately yr’s national assembly 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, as well as leaders prioritizing safety of the SBC from legal responsibility over abuse prevention.

“We’re at a fork within the street,” Gaines stated. “I think this report provided the information that we needed for there to be a groundswell of assist to take the best actions.”

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

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

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

“What is completely important is that the local church can not function because the default or presumed beginning place for a survivor to attempt to get hold of an investigation of clergy sex abuse,” she mentioned through 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 earlier than sound is ever uttered.”

Among the many Guidepost report’s findings was that the Govt Committee kept a secret record of hundreds of SBC-affiliated clergy and different personnel identified as sex abusers. Brown mentioned the committee, at a special assembly Tuesday, ought to agree to launch this record.

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

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

“We noticed patterns and issues that were deeply regarding,” he stated. “Our foremost job was to empower Guidepost to do their job, and they have executed a really outstanding job within the final 9 months to look at events that occurred over 20 years.”

Within the next week or so, the task force will bring forth formal motions in “precise language,” which might be made public and introduced 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 based mostly on Guidepost’s report might be summarized in two phrases – prevention and care.

“Our fundamental purpose should be preventing sexual abuse,” he said. “And if abuse does occur, how will we care for survivors in a a lot better pastoral means? 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 take a look at what’s in that report and demand that issues be better,” Frank said. “SBC is an enormous household with 48,000 church buildings. There could be some disagreement on make issues better. However I’m assured that we’ll work by way of the difficulties.”

Along with sex abuse, the agenda for the meeting in Anaheim consists of 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 in the Guidepost report.

If elected, Barber mentioned 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 performed,” he added. “We’ve gotten the report, however I think everybody within the survivor group that I’ve heard from has mentioned reports are one factor, however we’ll see if this household 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 Specific-News documenting hundreds of instances in Southern Baptist churches, including several during which alleged perpetrators remained in ministry.

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