A Georgia pastor making a second attempt to become president of the Southern Baptist Convention described his congregation as “the strictest of the strict complementarians” and said he wishes all SBC churches were as well. “I don’t think that every…
SBC abuse task force gives in to anti-gay critics of Guidepost Solutions
Anti-gay critics of a single tweet published last summer by Guidepost Solutions appear to have won their campaign with the Southern Baptist Convention’s Abuse Reform Implementation Task Force. The task force assigned with enacting a series of reforms approved by…
SBC task force says Ministry Check website for sexual abuse will require cooperation
The Southern Baptist Convention’s new Ministry Check website will operate on the same principle that binds the denomination together — cooperation — according to the task force overseeing it. On Feb. 27, the SBC’s Abuse Reform Implementation Task Force released…
In the SBC, a cord of three is not easily broken: Debates about sexuality, gender and abuse all twist together
There’s only one thing Southern Baptist Convention conservatives get more upset about than women serving as pastors: The slightest affirmation of LGBTQ persons. This truth was borne out in the SBC over the last week as leaders sought to put…
SBC selects Guidepost Solutions to develop and administer clergy sexual abuse database
The Southern Baptist Convention has turned to a familiar source to operate its online database of clergy sexual abusers. Faith-Based Solutions, a division of the investigative firm Guidepost Solutions, will build and develop the SBC’s Ministry Check website, members of…
Not everyone believes there’s a sexual abuse crisis in the SBC
First, Jennifer Lyell had to defend herself against a public misrepresentation of her story of sexual abuse published by Baptist Press; now she’s facing a second public humiliation from critics who believe the Southern Baptist Convention’s sexual abuse investigation is…
Unexpected $4 million gift takes away one criticism of SBC response to sexual abuse
Concerns about using church offering money to fund a response to the problem of sexual abuse in the Southern Baptist Convention seemed to disappear June 8 when $4 million was pledged to the cause. Technically, some of that money still…
Faced with damning sexual abuse investigation, some in SBC seek to discredit the investigators
One week before Southern Baptists gather to respond to a damning independent investigation of sexual abuse problems, the lead story on the denomination’s news site is about “controversy” created by Guidepost Solutions tweeting support for Pride month. Guidepost is the…
SBC establishes hotline to receive reports of sexual abuse in churches
The Southern Baptist Convention has established a confidential hotline for survivors of sexual abuse in churches to make reports, an unprecedented step for the nation’s largest non-Catholic denomination. After decades of denying the problem exists and even shaming those who…