Southern Baptists face push for public checklist of intercourse abusers

A blistering report on the Southern Baptist Conference’s mishandling of intercourse abuse allegations is raising 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 Information System” was one of many key suggestions in a report launched Sunday by Guidepost Solutions, an independent 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 of a number of recommendations introduced to 1000's of delegates attending this 12 months’s nationwide assembly, scheduled for June 14-15 in Anaheim, California.

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

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

The Guidepost report stated survivors of abuse by SBC clergy repeatedly shared allegations with the Executive Committee, “solely to be met, time and time once more, with resistance, stonewalling, and even outright hostility from some inside the EC.”

“Our investigation revealed that, for many years, a number of senior EC leaders, together with outside counsel, largely managed the EC’s response to those studies of abuse ... and have been singularly targeted on avoiding liability,” the report said.

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

Reading the Guidepost report, Gaines mentioned 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 street,” Gaines stated. “I believe this report offered the information that we wanted for there to be a groundswell of help to take the suitable actions.”

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

“I think that’s one of many first issues we must 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 stay about its implementation.

“What is absolutely important is that the local church cannot function because the default or presumed beginning place for a survivor to attempt to obtain an investigation of clergy sex abuse,” she stated through e-mail. “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 saved a secret record of tons of of SBC-affiliated clergy and different personnel recognized as sex abusers. Brown mentioned the committee, at a special meeting Tuesday, ought to comply with release this list.

“I urge you to make public everything of your listing of pastors & ministers accused of sexual abuse, in no matter kind it’s been stored for lo these many years,” Brown tweeted. “Put up. It. Now.”

The ultimate selections about suggestions to undergo the Anaheim delegates will probably be made by the SBC’s Sexual Abuse Activity Drive, comprising seven members and two advisors. Its work over the previous year has been an emotional journey, said Pastor Bruce Frank, who led the group.

“We saw patterns and issues that were deeply regarding,” he said. “Our major job was to empower Guidepost to do their job, they usually have completed a really exceptional job in the final 9 months to look at occasions that occurred over 20 years.”

In the subsequent week or so, the duty force will convey forth formal motions in “exact language,” which shall 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 mentioned the crux of the duty force’s suggestions based mostly on Guidepost’s report may be summarized in two phrases – prevention and care.

“Our predominant goal needs to be stopping sexual abuse,” he said. “And if abuse does occur, how do we take care of survivors in a a lot better pastoral method? 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 person who is fair-minded will take a look at what’s in that report and demand that issues be higher,” Frank stated. “SBC is a big family with 48,000 church buildings. There might be some disagreement on how you can make issues higher. But I’m confident that we’ll work through the difficulties.”

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

One of many main contenders is Bart Barber, a pastor from Farmersville, Texas, who expressed dismay on the mean-spirited behaviors attributed to some SBC officers in 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 crusing into uncharted waters.”

“The work’s not executed,” he added. “We’ve gotten the report, however I believe everybody in the survivor community that I’ve heard from has stated experiences are one factor, however we’ll see if this household 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 Categorical-News documenting hundreds of circumstances in Southern Baptist churches, including a number of in which alleged perpetrators remained in ministry.

___

Related Press religion coverage receives support by means of the AP’s collaboration with The Dialog US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely liable for this content.