The president of a historically American Baptist college in Indiana has been fired after his arrest on suspicion of sex crimes in another state.
Lawsuits in Arkansas, Virginia, test SBC’s local-church-autonomy defense for sexual abuse
Lawsuits in two states challenge the Southern Baptist Convention’s long-claimed defense that the denomination cannot be held liable for sexual abuse in churches because congregations hire their own pastors.
Abuse survivors cry foul over ERLC’s end-of-year fund-raising appeal
Leaders of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests criticized a Southern Baptist Convention entity’s fund-raising appeal that touts the denomination’s response to the scourge of sexual abuse in the church as “misleading and insensitive” to victims.
Former volunteer convicted of abusing preschoolers at South Carolina megachurch
A South Carolina jury has found 29-year-old Jacop Hazlett guilty of sexually abusing multiple children while volunteering to keep an eye on preschoolers while their parents worshipped at NewSpring Church, a non-denominational megachurch that originated as a church plant sponsored by the South Carolina Baptist Convention.
Anne Marie Miller’s ‘Healing Together’: Abuse disclosure reawakens ‘former’ author’s book-writing career
Written from her own experience as an abuse survivor and evidence-based research, the new book is geared to “the average person out there – the mom or dad, aunt or niece, teammate or roommate, the butcher or baker or candlestick maker – who wants to support a loved one who has survived sexual abuse,”
Southern Seminary removes adjunct professor, reviews dissertation, following abuse allegations
News reports that a pastoral candidate for a Southern Baptist church in Kentucky is accused of misusing his authority to sexually abuse two teenagers 17 years ago prompted a review of his doctoral dissertation at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Paul Pressler’s accuser appeals abuse claim dismissed due to statute of limitations
Long-time Southern Baptist lay leader Paul Pressler used religion to sexually abuse a boy in the 1980s, and when that no longer worked began paying him as an adult to keep their relationship a secret, according to a new petition in the Texas Court of Appeals.
‘All Survivors Day’ piggybacks on All Saints’ Day to raise awareness about sexual abuse
While kids celebrate Halloween and liturgical churches observe All Saints’ Day, several advocacy organizations are combining efforts to recognize survivors of sexual abuse. All Survivors Day, Nov. 3, is an international day to share survivor stories, raise awareness and seek…
Pastor’s return to ministry received as bad news in abuse survivor community
Andy Savage – co-founder of a Tennessee megachurch who resigned last year as teaching pastor after admitting to sexually abusing a 17-year-old girl two decades earlier – is starting a new church for others who, in his words, “got our hands on the wrong thing.”