A new trial date has been set for Johnny Hunt’s lawsuit against the Southern Baptist Convention in which he seeks more than $100 million for damages to his income, reputation and livelihood. That new date falls one week after the SBC annual meeting in June.
Hunt, who was 71 years old when his claim was filed, contends he would have continued to work for another 11 years for the SBC North American Mission Board where he claims to have been paid $610,000 annually. That’s $6.7 million in future income he claims he lost when he was forced to resign over a sex scandal.
He also claims he lost $3.96 million in future book sales and $3.85 million in future speaking fees. And he seeks $880,000 in other lost income, along with $45 million for reputational harm and $45 million for emotional distress.
Johnny Hunt
Last fall, the SBC Executive Committee was authorized to make Hunt an offer for a settlement that reportedly was a fraction of what he sought and Hunt rejected the offer.
The original trial date had been set for Nov. 12, 2024. However, that date got pushed forward through a series of delays in legal discovery and the hope that mediation efforts might succeed.
Now that all else has failed, a new trial date has been set for June 17 in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, based in Nashville. The trial is to begin at 9 a.m. that day.
The week before, the SBC annual meeting will be held Jun 8-11 in Dallas.
Hunt’s claim against the SBC stems from him being named in the 2022 Guideposts report on the SBC Executive Committee’s mishandling of sexual abuse claims. At the time of the mutually acknowledged event — which the woman describes as an assault and Hunt describes as consensual sin — Hunt had just completed a two-year term as SBC president, which gave him a seat on the Executive Committee. Hunt claims he should not have been included in the Guideposts report because his situation falls outside the scope of what Guideposts was enlisted to investigate.
Hunt says he was paid $610,000 annually at NAMB.
The total damages Hunt seeks from the SBC equal more than half the denomination’s annual Cooperative Program income of $190 million. Furthermore, giving to the denomination has been declining in recent years, and the Executive Committee itself has burned through most of its reserves investigating and responding to claims of sexual abuse.
The Louisiana Baptist Message reported on one of Hunt’s court depositions: “When pressed about the possibility that Cooperative Program dollars would have to be used to compensate him for his alleged damages, Hunt said he was ‘absolutely’ OK with that because ‘they have done a lot of damages.’”
His suit also names Guidepost Solutions, author of the damning report. As part of its agreement with Guidepost, the SBC Executive Committee had to indemnify Guidepost against any future legal action.
At the time of the report’s release, Hunt was serving as senior vice president of NAMB, the SBC’s domestic missions agency based in Alpharetta, Ga. NAMB’s executive leadership and board of trustees have been notoriously secretive about the organization’s finances, routinely deflecting questions about allegedly extraordinary compensation for key employees and consultants.
The nationwide average compensation for pastors in SBC churches is less than $100,000.
BNG previously reported how Hunt leads a family empire that has profited off the SBC for decades.
Related articles:
‘Pastor Johnny’ sues the SBC and Guidepost
Johnny Hunt tells his side of the story, including his definition of ‘adultery’
‘Pastor Johnny’ is the head of a family empire that feeds off the SBC
Still no external review of North American Mission Board finances