To add further intrigue to the Southern Baptist Convention’s reckoning with sexual abuse in its churches, the denomination announced March 6 that a federal investigation into the SBC has been closed — but abuse survivors who say they are in contact with the U.S. Department of Justice quickly said that’s not true.
Abuse survivor Jennifer Lyell, who has been mainly off social media since her out-of-court settlement with the SBC two years ago, reappeared on X to challenge the Baptist Press story sounding an all-clear.
Jennifer Lyell
“Nope, nothing is closed, nor was the scope narrowed. I can say that with absolute certainty and on the basis of the concrete, specific information provided to me by a lead agent in charge who reached out to me to correct the false reports,” she tweeted March 7.
That was after a tweet the previous afternoon, in response to the BP story: “I can also confirm that yesterday I was personally and proactively contacted by one of the primary DOJ agents leading this investigation to inform me of the erroneous statement made by the EC regarding the state of the investigation & to reiterate their investigation is ongoing.”
When one X user asked Lyell, “Why are they playing these games?” she responded: “Ironically, I can’t share my view on that without disclosing things under the scope of the ongoing investigation.”
She was not the only one disputing the official SBC story.
Abuse survivors Tiffany Thigpen and Megan Lively issued a statement saying, “What was reported today is inconsistent with the conversations we have had with the DOJ. Today’s news is another attempt to discredit and silence those that have been silenced in the face of SBC abuse.”
On the other side, some SBC pastors who have consistently denied there ever was a problem with sexual abuse in the SBC found justification for their cause. Former SBC Executive Committee Chairman Mike Stone, a Georgia pastor, tweeted: “It’s almost as if unbiased, objective, professional investigators don’t think deceptive letters, mischaracterized recordings, hearsay reports, and political speeches amount to actual evidence.”
SBC gadfly Tom Buck, a Texas pastor, chimed in: “Not to mention orchestrated political hit jobs to create an enemy that didn’t exist and squash the voice of reason who was running for SBC president.”
Debating whether or not the DOJ has closed its investigation into the SBC and related parties could miss the larger point, tweeted Liam Adams, religion reporter for the Nashville Tennessean: “The DOJ closing its investigation doesn’t change Guidepost’s findings.”
Guidepost is the independent company that conducted an investigation into the SBC Executive Committee’s handling of sexual abuse cases and dropped a bombshell report nearly two years ago that abuse survivor advocates hailed and abuse deniers have worked diligently to discredit.
While numerous people have confirmed to BNG that the DOJ was, in fact, investigating something about the SBC and sexual abuse — and auditors for the SBC Executive Committee referenced the investigation in their notes — the DOJ never has said anything about whether it is or is not investigating. Their standard practice is not to comment on investigations unless charges are filed.
Jonathan Howe
What set off this week’s renewed debate was a March 6 Baptist Press article that said: “The U.S. Department of Justice has concluded its investigation of the SBC Executive Committee, Southern Baptist leaders learned Feb. 29.”
That article quoted Jonathan Howe, interim president of the Executive Committee, as saying there is “no further action to be taken.”
Over the past two years, the Executive Committee has borne the brunt of both criticism and expense for the sexual abuse claims. By Howe’s own report last fall, Executive Committee reserves had been reduced from $13 million to $4 million largely because of legal expenses and investigations related to the matter.
“Nothing has been more humbling at the Executive Committee in recent years than our financial position,” Howe said in September. “There is a price to pay for reform, even when reform is necessary.”
Yesterday, in announcing the end of the DOJ investigation, he said: “While we are grateful for closure on this particular matter, we recognize that sexual abuse reform efforts must continue to be implemented across the Convention. We remain steadfast in our commitment to assist churches in preventing and responding well to sexual abuse in the SBC.”
Update: One day after Howe announced the investigation was closed, BP published another story with this single line in the third paragraph: “Legal counsel for the SBC has since confirmed that the investigation into the SBC as a whole remains open and ongoing,”