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 identified to be abusers.

The creation of an “Offender Information System” was one of the key recommendations in a report launched Sunday by Guidepost Solutions, an unbiased agency contracted by the SBC’s Executive Committee after delegates to final year’s national meeting pressed for an investigation by outsiders.

The proposed database is anticipated to be considered one of a number of recommendations presented to 1000's of delegates attending this yr’s national meeting, scheduled for June 14-15 in Anaheim, California.

“Those suggestions will be open to questions, debate and feedback on the meeting flooring,” mentioned SBC President Ed Litton.

He expressed hope that the shocking findings within the Guidepost report will carry “lasting change” to the SBC, America’s largest Protestant denomination. It has been losing membership steadily lately, whereas being wracked by inner divisions over race and gender roles.

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

“Our investigation revealed that, for a few years, just a few senior EC leaders, together with exterior counsel, largely managed the EC’s response to those reports of abuse ... and had been singularly centered on avoiding liability,” the report said.

The motion for an impartial investigation was put ahead eventually year’s national meeting by the Rev. Grant Gaines, senior pastor of Belle Aire Baptist Church in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

Studying the Guidepost report, Gaines said 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 road,” Gaines said. “I think this report provided the information that we wanted for there to be a groundswell of help to take the fitting actions.”

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

“I feel that’s one of the first issues we must 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 identified abusers. She was heartened that Guidepost was recommending such a system, however mentioned questions remain about its implementation.

“What is totally critical is that the native church can not function as the default or presumed beginning place for a survivor to attempt to obtain an investigation of clergy sex abuse,” she mentioned via e-mail. “If the native church is deemed to be a requisite first cease for survivors to pursue action, then many survivors’ voices can 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 record of a whole lot of SBC-affiliated clergy and different personnel identified as intercourse abusers. Brown mentioned the committee, at a particular meeting Tuesday, should conform to launch this record.

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

The ultimate choices about recommendations to submit to the Anaheim delegates shall be made by the SBC’s Sexual Abuse Job Force, comprising seven members and two advisors. Its work over the past year has been an emotional journey, stated Pastor Bruce Frank, who led the group.

“We saw patterns and issues that had been deeply regarding,” he stated. “Our major job was to empower Guidepost to do their job, and they have executed a really exceptional job within the last 9 months to have a look at events that occurred over 20 years.”

Within the next week or so, the duty pressure will carry forth formal motions in “exact 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 task power’s suggestions based mostly on Guidepost’s report might be summarized in two phrases – prevention and care.

“Our principal goal must be preventing sexual abuse,” he mentioned. “And if abuse does occur, how can we care for survivors in a much better pastoral manner? How can we higher talk to verify (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 issues be higher,” Frank said. “SBC is a giant family with 48,000 churches. There is likely to be some disagreement on find out how to make issues higher. However I’m assured that we’ll work via the difficulties.”

Along with intercourse abuse, the agenda for the assembly 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 officers 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 accomplished,” he added. “We’ve gotten the report, however I believe everybody in the survivor community that I’ve heard from has mentioned stories are one factor, however we’ll see if this family of churches has the courage and resolve to take motion.”

The sex abuse scandal was thrust into the spotlight in 2019 by a landmark report from the Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Categorical-News documenting lots of of cases in Southern Baptist church buildings, together with a number of in which alleged perpetrators remained in ministry.

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