Six months after publicly admitting sexual misconduct, Southern Baptist pastor and denominational leader Johnny Hunt has been cleared to return to ministry by a group of four male pastors who have been counseling him.
Of the 70-year-old Hunt, one of those spiritual advisers declared: “We believe the greatest days of ministry for Johnny Hunt are the days ahead.”
That comment from Steven Kyle, pastor of Hiland Park Baptist Church in Panama City, Fla., exemplifies the upbeat tone of a 14-minute video that features Kyle, along with pastors Mark Hoover, Mike Whitson and Benny Tate. After the four pastors give testimony to Hunt’s repentance and hard work, Hunt and his wife, Janet, appear. Hunt offers thanks to those who have supported him and expresses his excitement about “the next chapter of our lives.” Janet Hunt does not speak.
Johnny and Janet Hunt
Johnny Hunt most recently served as executive vice president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s North American Mission Board. He resigned that post last May, at age 69, when he was called out in the independent investigation of the SBC and sexual abuse cases produced by Guidepost Solutions. That report accused Hunt of making unwanted sexual advances on a pastor’s wife at a seaside resort a dozen years earlier, days after he had ended his term as SBC president. Hunt at first denied the allegations, then later admitted the misconduct was true but denied he had been abusive.
Hunt rose to prominence in the SBC as the longtime pastor of First Baptist Church of Woodstock, Ga., located in what once was the exurbs of Atlanta but now is part of metro Atlanta. The church grew rapidly during his tenure there.
He also has been known for leading conferences on church planting, evangelism and men’s ministry and created a program at Woodstock to help “hurting ministers” who had been forced out of their churches for various reasons, including sexual misconduct.
“It has been our humble responsibility over the last several months to work directly and closely with Johnny Hunt and his family as they chose to enter into an intentional and an intense season of transparency, reflection and restoration,” Kyle says on the video.
“Pastor Johnny has been accountable to us and has chosen to remain accountable to us going forward.”
“I want to be very clear today that Pastor Johnny has been accountable to us and has chosen to remain accountable to us going forward,” Kyle adds. “In fact, I’ve spoken to Pastor Johnny nearly every day since all of this came to light. Most days I’ve spoken to him several times a day. Pastor Johnny has spent hours speaking to individual members of this spiritual care team, and we’ve all met together on multiple occasions.”
Kyle explains that the Hunts went through 16 weeks of “private counseling” 12 years ago when the incident happened.
“We’ve spent many months with Pastor Johnny. We’ve also observed his genuine brokenness and humility before God,” Kyle says. “We look forward to the days ahead to see how God continually leads in Johnny’s life and to be there to offer our continued support.”
Hoover, pastor of NewSpring Church in Wichita, Kan., says on the video that Hunt has been “all in” on the repentance and restoration process.
“He has made this process his full-time job,” Hoover explains. “He’s been all in on healing his family and ensuring that he’s fulfilled the biblically required process of repentance and restoration and he has — and this may sound strange — but he’s been all in on the humility required to open his entire life and heart to us, also to his counselors and other spiritual and personal advisers.”
“He’s been all in on the humility required to open his entire life and heart to us.”
The four pastors who have worked with Hunt have 150 years of combined ministry experience and “I believe we can recognize when someone is truly repentant or not,” Hoover says.
“We want to attest publicly here two things,” Hoover concludes. “First, we have seen nothing but godly repentance in Johnny’s life as he’s been forced to face this in such a public way. And second, we’re all committed to continuing to walk with him in the years to come.”
About six weeks ago, Hunt had publicized his comeback leading a men’s conference at First Baptist Church of Woodstock. That online promotion was quickly removed, however, and the church announced it was “incorrect” that Hunt would lead a conference there.
Hunt’s website remains active with books and a variety of other resources for sale. There is currently no mention of any upcoming speaking engagements or conferences.
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