An attempt to mediate the legal dispute between Johnny Hunt and the Southern Baptist Convention has failed, according to court filings.
Meeting last Tuesday in Nashville, trustees of the SBC Executive Committee reportedly approved some framework for a possible settlement with Hunt, a former SBC president, in his defamation suit. Terms of that possible settlement were not publicly disclosed.
Two days later, on Thursday, Sept. 19, attorneys for both sides were scheduled to meet for mediation talks. A new public filing in the court record indicates the parties met and reached an impasse.
And now, Hunt’s attorneys are asking the court to reopen the discovery process so they may depose three witnesses the SBC has put forward after discovery closed. Those three witnesses are Kevin Ezell, president of the SBC North American Mission Board; Jeremy Morton, Hunt’s successor as pastor at First Baptist Church of Woodstock, Ga.; and Ed Litton, former SBC president.
The suit stems from the SBC’s 2022 investigation and report into sexual abuse conducted by Guidepost Solutions, which also is named as a defendant in Hunt’s suit. That report documented that Hunt, a prominent Southern Baptist leader, had an inappropriate relationship with the wife of another pastor at a beachfront condo. Hunt has not denied the episode happened but has denied that it was abusive in nature and says he confessed his sin and was restored to ministry by a group of his peers.
When the Guidepost report was published, Hunt was forced to resign his role as executive vice president of the North American Mission Board. He claims he has lost current and future income because of being defamed.
The SBC Executive Committee, meanwhile, has announced plans to sell its $30 million downtown Nashville building, in part to help offset $12 million in expenses related to the sexual abuse investigations and related settlements.
The very existence of a sexual abuse problem within the SBC remains contested, with abuse reform advocates claiming nothing serious has been done to address the problem and others asserting there is no real problem to address.
Still others, such as John Whitehead of Missouri, contend the problem is mismanagement by SBC leaders. After last week’s Executive Committee meeting, he published an opinion piece through the Center for Baptist Leadership saying: “Poor governance causes enormous waste and ineffectiveness in SBC life. Some outcomes of the EC meeting were positive. But others underscore how poor governance in the SBC — on matters like abuse ‘reform’ initiatives, entity mission drift, and opposition to financial transparency — is hurting our collective gospel mission.”
And Whitehead reported what the court documents now confirm: “While there were initial reports of a possible settlement during court-ordered mediation, current SBC President Clint Pressley has clarified that this is not happening: ‘Despite what you may be hearing, there is no settlement with Dr. Johnny Hunt.’”
Related articles:
SBC may be heading toward settlement with Johnny Hunt, will sell building
‘Pastor Johnny’ sues the SBC and Guidepost
Guidepost report documents pattern of ignoring, denying and deflecting on sexual abuse claims in SBC
‘Pastor Johnny’ is the head of a family empire that feeds off the SBC