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…
Letter to the Editor: It’s time for the SBC to have a funeral
June 8, 2022 Letter to the Editor Dear Editor: The only honorable thing to do at this point for the Southern Baptist Convention is to bury it. Have a funeral. No, really. Have an actual funeral with songs of lament,…
What Southern Baptists must do now to address clergy sex abuse
Editor’s note: After this article was published, the SBC Sexual Abuse Task Force pulled its June 1 set of recommendations from the website. Those recommendations eventually were replaced by an updated document June 8 that now exists in the same…
Some action items emerge from SBC sexual abuse crisis, but is it too little and too slow?
The Southern Baptist Convention’s Sexual Abuse Task Force has issued a series of responses to the recent Guidepost Solutions investigation that range from suggestions to two action items to be considered by messengers to the SBC annual meeting this summer….
The three wise men of the Southern Baptist Convention
I love Christmas and usually start playing Christmas music during the end of summer. One of my favorite parts of the Christmas story is that of the three wise men. I love that these men were courageous enough to follow…
On Russell Moore’s ‘apocalyptic’ moment for the Southern Baptist Convention
The findings of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Sexual Abuse Task Force report are earth-shattering, even if not surprising to those familiar with the SBC and its doctrines. In response, Russell Moore called this moment “the Southern Baptist Apocalypse.” Moore knows…
‘Un-friendly’ fire in the Southern Baptist Convention unearths layers of deceit, resurfaces old wounds
The bombshell investigative report of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee by Guidepost Solutions comes as no surprise, given each of the items mentioned is hardly new. What is new is that these items have been “objectively” considered by a…
Hannah Kate Williams refiles sexual abuse lawsuit against SBC entities
A large-scale lawsuit against the Southern Baptist Convention alleging a coverup of sexual abuse has been refiled by a new set of attorneys for Hannah Kate Williams. An earlier version of the same charges had been filed in a Kentucky…
My husband and I created a database of clergy sex abusers; why couldn’t the SBC?
Many of us are struggling to come to terms with the news that the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention has covered up abuse, maligned survivors, and even kept a secret list of 700-plus sex offenders for years. In…
Former SBC President Johnny Hunt admits improper conduct but denies abuse claims
Note: This report contains graphic descriptions of sexual assault. In an open letter to his former church, Southern Baptist Convention leader Johnny Hunt admitted to inappropriate behavior with a woman in 2010 but denied he sexually assaulted her as alleged…
SBC Executive Committee releases previously secret list of convicted and credibly accused church sexual abusers
At 8:50 p.m. on Thursday, May 26, the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee released a 205-page document containing the names of more than 700 convicted and credibly accused clergy sexual abusers. This action is the most sweeping of several rapid…