Four educational institutions, including three seminaries, remain partnered with Kanakuk Institute, an eight-month program aimed at equipping post-graduate students with “biblical skills for a lifetime of ministry” with connections to Kanakuk Kamps.
Three of these schools are Baptist affiliated.
Over the past three years, Baptist News Global has covered litigation and legislative lobbying efforts related to the prolific childhood sexual abuse that occurred at Kanakuk Kamps for decades at the hands of serial sex abuser Peter Newman, despite leadership’s knowledge of his misconduct long before he was terminated. Now, survivor advocates are pointing out what they believe are harmful connections between Kanakuk-related ministries and theological education.
The same leaders who enabled and covered up Newman’s abuses remain in charge of the Missouri camping enterprise.
Kanakuk Institute is advertised as an educational program that offers students credit toward certain master’s degrees, such as a master of divinity and other degrees related to leadership, at partner institutions. Although the program costs $26,000 to attend (for which students receive a $12,000 scholarship), the institute is not an accredited university. Students graduate with a certificate, not a degree.
Southwest Baptist University awarded Kanakuk CEO Joe White an honorary doctorate.
The partner institutions include Southwest Baptist University, which awarded Kanakuk CEO Joe White an honorary doctorate, as well as Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Dallas Theological Seminary and Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Southwest Baptist University will give transfer credits for students seeking a master in business administration, master of arts in organizational leadership, master of science in sports administration, master of science in education teacher leadership and master of science in educational administration.
Southern Seminary will accept up to 18 hours of credit from the Kanakuk Institute and through work experience, while Dallas Theological Seminary will accept up to 12 hours of transfer credit and up to 16 additional hours for students who pass advanced standing exams.
Midwestern Seminary claims students can earn up to one-third of their degree credits for a master of divinity, master of applied theology, master of theological studies, master of biblical studies and master of Christian studies.
Last summer, Episode 2 of BNG’s “Non-Disclosure” podcast on sexual abuse at Kanakuk Kamps uncovered that several survivors and their families discovered strong support of the camp by SBC pastors when attempting to seek pastoral care for the abuse they endured. Some pastors, according to sources close to the matter, already knew of abuse allegations at the camp yet chose to remain in good standing with the institution anyway.
While Kanakuk Kamps is a separate ministry from Kanakuk Institute, they are institutionally connected.
For instance, Doug Goodwin, the current president of Kanakuk Ministries who served in leadership roles during the time Newman was employed as a counselor, is on the institute’s board of directors. Keith Chancey, the president and founder of Kanakuk Institute, has “more than 45 years of experience” in religious leadership, including at Kanakuk Kamps. Chancey also is a graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary.
Central to the current criticism is the concern that religiously aligned institutions who partner with Kanakuk Institute stand in opposition to survivors and their families who have spoken out against Kanakuk Kamps alleged negligence.
Critics also are concerned about Kanakuk Institute’s clear encouragement for students to seek degrees in theological education with these partnerships, which give M.Div. students a leg up on their credits at some schools. The website claims 32% of graduates eventually go into ministry roles.
Critics say the close connection to the camp’s negligent past regarding childhood sexual abuse could lead to the training of negligent ministry leaders who perpetuate this cycle of abuse.
Elizabeth Carlock Phillips
One such critic is Elizabeth Phillips, sister of the late Trey Carlock, who died by suicide in 2019 after enduring sexual abuse at Kanakuk Kamps at the hands of Newman. Trey signed a nondisclosure agreement with Kanakuk Kamps regarding the abuse he endured, but was retraumatized and suffered with PTSD as he sought further legal justice to hold other responsible parties accountable.
Phillips is the founder of No More Victims Alliance and spends much of her time working with sexual abuse survivors from various contexts and lobbying for legislative changes to make sexual abuse litigation easier on survivors and their families.
The victim advocacy website Facts About Kanakuk has “received allegations of abuse related to Kanakuk Institute and are particularly troubled by the fact that its students are often encouraged to spend one-on-one time with children, including staying overnight in host families’ homes, despite the organization’s history of abuse occurring in exactly those settings,” said Allison Bradley, spokesperson for Elizabeth Phillips.
The institute’s “kid contact guidelines” found in its student handbook allow personal communication with children by phone and electronic means with “parent involvement and/or approval.”
However, survivors and their families have criticized other Kanakuk safety guidelines, especially its “Child Protection Plan.” They say it was created as a “PR response” to abuse allegations and that Rick Braschler, who remains executive director of risk management today, was unqualified to create such a plan.
“We are profoundly concerned about Kanakuk’s role in ‘forming’ Christian leaders,” Bradley said about the institute. “A leadership model that teaches young graduates to ignore systemic failures is not biblical leadership. It is institutional preservation.”
She added: “When seminaries validate this program with master’s-level credit, they are sending a message to the next generation of pastors and ministry leaders that child safety, truth and accountability are secondary to institutional preservation.”