Southern Baptists face push for public record 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 identified 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 impartial firm contracted by the SBC’s Govt Committee after delegates to final 12 months’s national meeting pressed for an investigation by outsiders.

The proposed database is predicted to be one in all a number of recommendations presented to thousands of delegates attending this 12 months’s nationwide assembly, scheduled for June 14-15 in Anaheim, California.

“These recommendations will be open to questions, debate and comments on the assembly flooring,” stated SBC President Ed Litton.

He expressed hope that the shocking findings within the Guidepost report will convey “lasting change” to the SBC, America’s largest Protestant denomination. It has been dropping membership steadily in recent times, 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 once more, with resistance, stonewalling, and even outright hostility from some throughout the EC.”

“Our investigation revealed that, for many years, a few senior EC leaders, along with outside counsel, largely controlled the EC’s response to these reports of abuse ... and have been singularly centered on avoiding liability,” the report stated.

The motion for an unbiased investigation was put forward finally 12 months’s nationwide meeting 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 protection of the SBC from liability over abuse prevention.

“We’re at a fork within the street,” Gaines mentioned. “I feel this report provided the data that we would have liked for there to be a groundswell of help to take the fitting actions.”

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

“I think that’s one of the first issues we must always do,” he mentioned.

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 important is that the native church can not operate because the default or presumed beginning 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 stop for survivors to pursue action, then many survivors’ voices will be choked of their throats earlier than sound is ever uttered.”

Among the Guidepost report’s findings was that the Govt Committee saved a secret listing of hundreds of SBC-affiliated clergy and different personnel recognized as sex abusers. Brown mentioned the committee, at a special assembly Tuesday, ought to comply with launch this listing.

“I urge you to make public the whole lot of your list of pastors & ministers accused of sexual abuse, in no matter kind it’s been saved for lo these many years,” Brown tweeted. “Post. It. Now.”

The final decisions about suggestions to submit to the Anaheim delegates shall be made by the SBC’s Sexual Abuse Task Power, comprising seven members and two advisors. Its work over the past 12 months has been an emotional journey, mentioned Pastor Bruce Frank, who led the group.

“We noticed patterns and things that had been deeply concerning,” he said. “Our major job was to empower Guidepost to do their job, and they have achieved a really remarkable job in the last nine months to have a look at occasions that occurred over 20 years.”

In the next week or so, the duty force will carry forth formal motions in “precise language,” which will probably be made public and offered to the delegates in Anaheim for a vote, mentioned Frank, lead pastor of Biltmore Baptist Church in Arden, North Carolina.

Frank stated the crux of the duty force’s recommendations based on Guidepost’s report could be summarized in two words – prevention and care.

“Our primary purpose should be stopping sexual abuse,” he mentioned. “And if abuse does occur, how can we take care of survivors in a a lot better pastoral way? How can we higher communicate to verify (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 have a look at what’s in that report and demand that issues be higher,” Frank stated. “SBC is a giant family with 48,000 churches. There could be some disagreement on learn how to make issues better. However I’m confident that we’ll work by way of the difficulties.”

In addition to intercourse 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 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 sailing into uncharted waters.”

“The work’s not performed,” he added. “We’ve gotten the report, but I believe all people within the survivor community that I’ve heard from has stated studies are one thing, however we’ll see if this family of church buildings has the braveness and resolve to take action.”

The sex 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 instances in Southern Baptist churches, including several through which alleged perpetrators remained in ministry.

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