Southern Baptists face push for public list of sex abusers

A blistering report on the Southern Baptist Convention’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 different church personnel known 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 Executive Committee after delegates to last year’s national assembly pressed for an investigation by outsiders.

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

“These recommendations shall be open to questions, debate and comments on the assembly ground,” mentioned 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 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 Govt Committee, “only 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, along with exterior counsel, largely controlled the EC’s response to those studies of abuse ... and were singularly focused on avoiding liability,” the report mentioned.

The movement for an unbiased investigation was put forward finally year’s nationwide 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 protection of the SBC from legal responsibility over abuse prevention.

“We’re at a fork within the road,” Gaines stated. “I believe this report provided the information that we wanted for there to be a groundswell of support to take the best actions.”

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

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

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 totally essential 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 stated by way of 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 in their throats earlier than sound is ever uttered.”

Among the many Guidepost report’s findings was that the Executive Committee saved a secret checklist of tons of of SBC-affiliated clergy and other personnel identified as intercourse abusers. Brown stated the committee, at a particular assembly Tuesday, should conform to launch this list.

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

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

“We noticed patterns and issues that were deeply regarding,” he said. “Our important job was to empower Guidepost to do their job, and so they have executed a very remarkable job in the final 9 months to take a look at occasions that occurred over 20 years.”

Within the next week or so, the task power will convey forth formal motions in “exact language,” which can be made public and presented to the delegates in Anaheim for a vote, stated Frank, lead pastor of Biltmore Baptist Church in Arden, North Carolina.

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

“Our principal aim ought to be stopping sexual abuse,” he said. “And if abuse does happen, how can we take care of survivors in a a lot better pastoral way? How can we better talk to ensure (abusers) don’t go from one church to another?”

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 things be better,” Frank mentioned. “SBC is a big family with 48,000 church buildings. There may be some disagreement on methods to make things better. But I’m assured that we’ll work through the difficulties.”

Along with intercourse abuse, the agenda for the assembly in Anaheim includes election of a 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 mentioned 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 completed,” he added. “We’ve gotten the report, however I believe all people within the survivor group that I’ve heard from has mentioned experiences are one factor, 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 spotlight in 2019 by a landmark report from the Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Specific-Information documenting lots of of cases in Southern Baptist churches, including a number of in which alleged perpetrators remained in ministry.

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