An evangelical church-planting network accused of covering up decades of sexual abuse has turned down calls for an independent third-party investigation, citing reasons including autonomy of the local church.
Former Baptist preachers face abuse charges in Vermont, Mississippi and Guam
Two months after a series of investigative newspaper stories reported widespread sexual abuse in the Southern Baptist Convention and while denominational leaders ponder solutions, the numbers of Southern Baptist clergy in the criminal system for alleged sex offenses continues to grow.
Proposed Texas bill would shield churches that report sexual abuse from lawsuits
Nearly two months after newspapers reported hundreds of allegations of sexual misconduct by ministers and volunteers in churches aligned with the Southern Baptist Convention, a Texas lawmaker is sponsoring legislation to make it harder for sexual predators to move from church to church without detection.
Woman in SBC leadership post says #MeToo
A vice president at LifeWay Christian Resources joined the #MeToo and #ChurchToo moments roiling the Southern Baptist Convention with a statement March 11 claiming she was sexually abused by a seminary professor who resigned last year due to an undisclosed “personnel matter.”
Church fires worship leader five years after sexual abuse confession
A Southern Baptist church in Georgia reportedly fired its music minister after being called out publicly by Southern Baptist Convention President J.D. Greear for suspicion of indifference toward allegations of sexual abuse.
NewSpring Church denies liability for volunteer accused of child sex abuse
A Southern Baptist megachurch in South Carolina says it is not responsible for actions of a former volunteer criminally accused of sexually assaulting preschool boys inside a church bathroom while security cameras rolled.
SBC leader steps down after newspaper expose about abuse and coverup
Backlash to an investigation by the Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News about widespread sexual abuse in the Southern Baptist Convention has prompted the resignation of at least one convention leader. Ken Alford, pastor of Crossroads Baptist Church in Valdosta,…
SBC leadership group reserves judgment about churches named in media reports about abuse
A Southern Baptist Convention leadership group announced on Saturday it has cleared seven of 10 churches called out by SBC President J.D. Greear for possible “wanton disregard” of sexual abuse.
1990s documentary about SBC battle over women in ministry now online for free
Producers of an in-progress documentary about the rise of contemporary evangelical Christian feminism say answers to what went wrong with the Southern Baptist Convention’s method of handling domestic violence and child sex abuse may lie in a film that aired…