My thoughts on the SBC Sexual Abuse Task Force Report
The Southern Baptist Convention offices in Nashville, TN
This past Sunday, the Southern Baptist Convention's Sexual Abuse Task Force released the report of Guidepost Solutions, which performed an independent investigation on issues related to sexual abuse and how the SBC's Executive Committee members and staff have responded to sexual abuse issues. Since the report's release, there have been many news reports; however, because secular media generally does not understand what the SBC is or how it is governed, it often misunderstands and thus misreports events related to the SBC. Add to this a general distrusts of secular media because of their hostile bias toward Christians many have struggled to understand the actual impact and ramifications of Guidestone's report. The report is 288 pages and includes two appendices that are 73 and 106 pages, respectively. Because of its size and complexity, many are relying on secondary sources to inform them about the report's findings and conclusions.
Report and instance of abuse in a Southern Baptist church or entity:
or
I have read the report, and I intend to give my initial thoughts on it in this post. I am sure that as additional time provides an opportunity to further appreciate the gravity of what is revealed and more thoughtfully understand how Southern Baptists should respond to it, there will be more to say.
Background
This report is the outcome of a long struggle. For many years survivors of sexual abuse and their advocates have been pushing for the Southern Baptist Convention to be an active participant in thwarting the ability of abusers to continue to serve in SBC churches. The report opens with this paragraph:
For almost two decades, survivors of abuse and other concerned Southern Baptists have been contacting the Southern Baptist Convention ("SBC") Executive Committee ("EC") to report child molesters and other abusers who were in the pulpit or employed as church staff. They made phone calls, mailed letters, sent emails, appeared at SBC and EC meetings, held rallies, and contacted the press...only to be met, time and time again, with resistance, stonewalling, and even outright hostility from some within the EC. (Guidepost Solutions Report page 3)
The report chronicles how members of the Executive Committee and EC staff mishandled and mistreated survivors, elevated avoiding potential liability above protecting the abused, intimidated and dismissed victims and their advocates, and used Baptist Press, the communications arm of the EC, to mischaracterize allegations of abuse and portray survivors as willing participants in their abuse.
Understanding the context of the report
The Southern Baptist Convention is a unique organization. It is not a church like the Catholic church. It is not governed by a hierarchy of leadership like the presbyterian, Methodist, or Episcopal churches. Instead, the SBC is a voluntary association of independent, autonomous churches that partner together to accomplish mission endeavors, theological education, and other things. What connects SBC churches is participation in the Cooperative Program, a funding method to support two mission agencies, six seminaries, and other entities, and adherence to the doctrinal statement The Baptist Faith and Message adopted in 2000. The Executive Committee, a body of elected members that function like trustees for the Convention in between the annual meetings, nor the Executive Committee staff, which are employees of the Convention, have any authority over any church. Each cooperating church sends messengers, who function like delegates, to the annual meeting. These messengers have the ultimate authority and control over the work and direction of the Convention.
The negative aspect of the Convention being controlled by messengers to the annual meeting is that we hash out our disagreements and deal with our problems in full view of the public, which often invites criticism and misunderstandings by observers who do not understand our polity. It also means that a long period of time is often required to resolve issues, to the frustration and dismay of those who desire a much timelier response. The positive aspect of the Convention being controlled by messengers to the annual meeting is that the messengers generally get it right, eventually. Over the lifetime of the SBC, we have reckoned with our sinful participation in slavery, theological liberalism, and now sexual abuse. The SBC has never been quick to respond to problems, but over time messengers have eventually course-corrected when needed. The Southern Baptist Convention is the only major denomination that has returned to biblical faithfulness after a period where theological liberals controlled the denominational leadership. The reason why SBC stands alone in this distinction is because of the uniqueness of its messenger leadership. In the 1980s and 1990s, the messengers opposed the denominational leadership and changed the theological direction of the denomination.
The report that was made public this week was not the result of some secretive investigative reporting. The report resulted from a motion that messengers successfully passed at the 2021 annual meeting. The motion that was passed removed the investigation from the EC's control and created a task force that would oversee an independent review to investigate "any allegations of abuse, mishandling of abuse, mistreatment of victims, a pattern of intimidation of victims or advocates, and resistance to sexual abuse reform initiatives" of the members and staff of the EC from January 1, 2000 – June 14, 2021. It also called for an audit of the procedures and actions taken by the Southern Baptist Convention's Credentials Committee. It further demanded that the EC staff and members waive "attorney-client privilege to ensure full access to information and accuracy in the review" and that the report be made public in full one week after being received by the task force. To pass this motion required some parliamentary maneuvers that could not have been successful without overwhelming messenger support. Following the annual meeting, there was strident opposition by many EC members and staff to waiving attorney-client privilege. But eventually, the demands of the messengers were heeded, and the investigation proceeded.
What is in the report
In the weeks following last year's annual meeting and during the time the EC was resisting the demand to waive attorney-client privilege, I wrote in a blog post:
Judging by the intensity of opposition that some of the EC members and staff have brought about in efforts to thwart the Sexual Abuse Task Force's ability to investigate how the EC has handled sexual abuse issues, I fear this may indicate there is some truly damaging information not yet publicly known. It may be that what the task force investigation reveals is more disturbing than what is already known. If this is true, then what we will face in the coming months may be more heartbreaking and troubling than what we already know.
Indeed, the report did reveal more than what was known, and it is profoundly heartbreaking and troubling.
The most unexpected revelation is that a well-respected pastor and former SBC president, Johnny Hunt, is creditably accused of sexually assaulting a woman in 2010 (pgs 149 -161). According to witnesses, after Hunt assaulted the woman, he then used an unlicensed staff counselor associated with his church to convince the woman and her husband that they should not talk about the assault.
The report chronicled in great detail the failure of the EC staff to confront known sexual abuse, their hostility, and indifference towards survivors, efforts to keep sexual abuse information from Executive Committee members, and being more concerned with liability than caring well for survivors. It revealed that while the EC staff compiled an internal list of possible abusers who may be serving in SBC churches, there was no effort made to make that list public.
The report gave greater details on how Baptist Press misrepresented a story on Jennifer Lyell because of influence and pressure from EC staff. Ms. Lyell was a senior executive with Lifeway, an SBC entity. She had been the victim of sexual abuse by her former seminary professor David Sills. Ms. Lyell decided to go public with her story after she learned that her abuser had been appointed as a missionary for a non-SBC entity and would be in a position to groom and abuse young women again. She made clear that any sexual contact with Professor Sills had been nonconsensual and involved violence, threats of violence against her and others, and coercion. She was encouraged to write a first-person account about her abuse for Baptist Press, and she agreed to do so. However, because of internal pressure, Baptist Press edited her article to remove all uses of the words "abuse" and "nonconsensual" and replaced such language with "morally inappropriate relationship." As a result, Ms. Lyell suffered public ridicule and additional trauma. Baptist press would eventually issue an apology, but only after considerable time and effort by those advocating for Ms. Lyell and well after the catastrophic damage to her life and career had been done.
Ms. Lyell's experience was not an anomaly. The report indicates that there was general hostility and open disrespect by the EC staff and some of the EC members towards abuse survivors. Among other examples, the report indicated that figures like Paige Patterson, who was terminated from his position at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary after it was revealed that he told a student not to report a rape in 2003 and also emailed his intention to meet with another student who had reported an assault so he could "break her down," continued to enjoy the support of many in EC leadership.
The report also audited the Credentials Committee. This subject, in particular, requires a working knowledge of SBC polity. As stated already, neither the SBC nor its leadership has any authority over individual churches in the SBC. The only recourse the SBC has to discipline a church is to determine that the church is not in "friendly cooperation" with the Convention and thus refuse to seat the church's messengers at the annual meeting. The SBC has disfellowshipped churches for having homosexual leadership and for racism. In 2019 messengers amended Article III of the constitution to indicate that a church is considered in friendly cooperation if it "does not act in a manner inconsistent with the Convention's beliefs regarding sexual abuse." The bylaws were also amended to task a standing Credentials Committee with "making recommendations as to whether a church is in "friendly cooperation" with the Convention as described in Article III."
The report indicated that the Credentials Committee is understaffed, underfunded, and poorly trained. Furthermore, the committee's purpose, authority, and limitations have not been well communicated. Many abuse victims saw the committee as an avenue to report abuse and seek discipline for their abusers. The committee's limitations have been a great source of frustration to abuse survivors. Though the committee members were well-intentioned and gave great effort, the report indicated that many improvements need to be made to facilitate the committee's work and communicate its role among Southern Baptists.
Takeaways
The first thing we as Southern Baptists must do is grieve and mourn. Grieve for those who have been hurt and wounded in our churches. Grieve for the deep soul damage inflicted by those who should have been trusted leaders. Grieve that when abuse victims found the courage to tell their story, they were often met with hostility rather than comfort. Grieve that we have cared more about limiting our liability than protecting the weak and vulnerable. The revelations of the report should break our hearts. The victims are our sisters and brothers, children in our church nurseries, and students in our youth groups. The abusers used the name of Jesus and their authority in the church to hide their sin and victimize those under their care.
Secondly, appreciate, even welcome, the exposure of the light of truth. Sin loves darkness, and wickedness grows in the shadows. When what was done in secret is exposed, it is discomforting. There is a natural desire to keep shameful things hidden. However, we must embrace the exposure. Healing will come only through exposing sin and confronting where we have failed. I have heard of some who are named in the report responding with humility and repentance. I have heard of others who remain defiant and defensive. Being defiant and defensive is the most natural response when unflattering truths are revealed; however, humble repentance is where we must be. All Southern Baptists are culpable. We must refuse to hide behind our defenses and instead recognize where we have failed.
Third, let the light of truth lead us to repentance. The great and glorious truth of the gospel is that repentance leads to forgiveness. The report exposes how some sought to gain forgiveness without repenting. Forgiveness without repentance is dysfunctional and superficial. Forgiveness sought without repentance will not lead to healing. If we are to experience God's restoration and renewal, we must first repent.
Forth, recognize that all have clay feet. The report's revelations have exposed the dangers of celebrity culture within the SBC. When a man finds himself in a position of such respect and power that his sin goes unconfronted, he is in great spiritual danger. When the support and well-being of institutions are believed to rest on the celebration and defense of one person's reputation, wisdom and righteousness become subordinate to maintaining the façade of the individual's reputation. Unfortunately, many in the SBC have long participated in a celebrity culture that has allowed gifted preachers to avoid confrontation over their sin and denominational leaders to function more like kings than servants.
Lastly, respond well to those who have been abused. As a denomination, we must learn to respond to and care well for abuse survivors. We must care well for those who have been abused, and we must give great effort to preventing future abuse. In the days to come, we will need to make changes to our governing documents and policies to address the issues exposed by the report. SBC polity is unique, and our governing structure does create limitations to what the Convention can do. Our polity may pose some challenges to needed reforms, but we must not see these as barriers to doing what is right. I believe that we can function within our polity and do what is needed to protect the abused and prevent abusers from serving in our churches. We must also make amends and restitution. The testimony of Zacchaeus shows that evidence of true repentance is found in the restitution made for the damage that sin has caused.
Final thoughts
Some will use the report to besmirch all Southern Baptist churches and Southern Baptists. The world will be quick to accuse. However, the world's judgment must not be what controls our actions or our response to this report. The only judgment that matters is the judgment of the living God. As Southern Baptists respond to the report and its recommendations, we must be singularly focused and myopically concerned with the judgment of God. God has greatly used the Southern Baptist Convention for His kingdom, but He nor His kingdom is dependent on the SBC. I do not know what the future will be for the SBC, but I do know that if we do not respond with humility and righteousness to what the report has exposed, the judgment of God will be greater than anything the world can bring.
Report an Instance of Abuse in a Southern Baptist Church or Entity
There are two options to report an instance of abuse—by phone at 202-864-5578 or SBChotline@guidepostsolutions.com.
Survivors will be notified of the available options for care and will be put in touch with an advocate. All information will remain confidential.
List of Alleged Abusers
Statement from SBC.net concerning the list of abusers reported in the Guidepost report:
The recently released Guidepost report revealed a list of alleged abusers compiled by a former employee of the SBC Executive Committee. This list is being made public for the first time as an initial, but important, step towards addressing the scourge of sexual abuse and implementing reform in the Convention. Each entry in this list reminds us of the devastation and destruction brought about by sexual abuse. Our prayer is that the survivors of these heinous acts find hope and healing, and that churches will utilize this list proactively to protect and care for the most vulnerable among us.
