Southern Baptists face push for public list 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 first time, will create a publicly accessible database of pastors and other church personnel known to be abusers.

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

The proposed database is anticipated to be certainly one of several suggestions presented to hundreds of delegates attending this yr’s nationwide meeting, scheduled for June 14-15 in Anaheim, California.

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

He expressed hope that the shocking findings in the Guidepost report will convey “lasting change” to the SBC, America’s largest Protestant denomination. It has been shedding membership steadily in recent times, whereas being wracked by inside divisions over race and gender roles.

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

“Our investigation revealed that, for a few years, a couple of senior EC leaders, along with outdoors counsel, largely managed the EC’s response to those studies of abuse ... and have been singularly centered on avoiding legal responsibility,” the report said.

The movement for an independent investigation was put ahead finally year’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 legal responsibility over abuse prevention.

“We’re at a fork in the highway,” Gaines stated. “I feel this report provided the information that we wanted for there to be a groundswell of help to take the best actions.”

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

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

“What is absolutely essential is that the native church can not operate because the default or presumed beginning place for a survivor to attempt to acquire an investigation of clergy sex abuse,” she mentioned via e mail. “If the local church is deemed to be a requisite first cease for survivors to pursue action, then many survivors’ voices will probably be choked of their throats before sound is ever uttered.”

Among the many Guidepost report’s findings was that the Executive Committee saved a secret checklist of a whole bunch of SBC-affiliated clergy and different personnel recognized as sex abusers. Brown mentioned the committee, at a particular meeting Tuesday, ought to agree to release this record.

“I urge you to make public everything of your list of pastors & ministers accused of sexual abuse, in whatever type it’s been kept for lo these a few years,” Brown tweeted. “Submit. It. Now.”

The ultimate decisions about recommendations to submit to the Anaheim delegates will likely be made by the SBC’s Sexual Abuse Process Force, 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 saw patterns and things that have been deeply concerning,” he said. “Our fundamental job was to empower Guidepost to do their job, they usually have executed a really outstanding job in the last 9 months to have a look at occasions that occurred over 20 years.”

In the next week or so, the duty drive will carry 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 stated the crux of the task force’s suggestions based mostly on Guidepost’s report could be summarized in two words – prevention and care.

“Our important aim must be stopping sexual abuse,” he stated. “And if abuse does occur, how will we take care of survivors in a a lot better pastoral approach? How can we higher communicate 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 have a look at what’s in that report and demand that issues be higher,” Frank stated. “SBC is a big household with 48,000 church buildings. There is likely to be some disagreement on how one can make issues better. However I’m confident that we’ll work via the difficulties.”

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

One of many 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 crusing into uncharted waters.”

“The work’s not executed,” he added. “We’ve gotten the report, but I think everybody within the survivor group that I’ve heard from has stated studies are one factor, but we’ll see if this family of church buildings has the courage 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-Information documenting lots of of cases in Southern Baptist churches, including several by which alleged perpetrators remained in ministry.

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