With academic precision, a federal judge’s 74-page opinion picks apart Johnny Hunt’s lawsuit against the Southern Baptist Convention, SBC Executive Committee and Guidepost Solutions. The full decision was published April 1, the day after Judge William Campbell granted summary judgment…
The SBC’s clergy sex abuse database is dead, so why the hotline?
After years of trailing out hollow words, impotent task forces and phony dog-and-pony shows of purported reform, the Southern Baptist Convention’s top CEO straight-up admitted that a database of clergy sex abusers is “not a focus for us.” This bit…
Closure of DOJ probe doesn’t mean no SBC sex crimes
The United States Department of Justice has shut down its investigation into sexual abuse within the Southern Baptist Convention. Attorneys for the SBC Executive Committee said they were notified last Wednesday of the investigation’s closure, and since then prominent Southern…
Matt Queen sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement
The former Southwestern Seminary professor who confessed to lying to the FBI about a sexual abuse case was sentenced March 5 to time served, to be followed by one year of supervised release that includes six months of home confinement…
Founder of ‘Thank You Jesus’ yard signs arrested for child sexual exploitation
Lucas Timothy Hunt, the 25-year-old founder of Thank You Jesus Yard Signs, was charged Feb. 25 with one count of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor in Randolph County, N.C., after a brief investigation by the Invictus Task Force. North…
SBC Executive Committee can’t cover expenses, seeks extra $3 million
This story was updated Feb. 19 to include a clarification on staff compensation at the SBC Executive Committee. The Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee cannot meet its financial obligations this year and needs $3 million in “priority funding” from…
Texas Supreme Court says Patterson may be held liable for defamation
Paige Patterson may be held liable for defamatory actions taken by others on his behalf, the Texas Supreme Court ruled Feb. 14. That’s bad news for Patterson, former president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and his former chief of staff,…
When a church’s sexual abuse is so pernicious the church should close
“The nation of Israel was born because Joseph went to prison,” former IHOPKC pastor Mike Bickle told the congregation in what would become his final sermon in October 2023. “He’s thrown in prison because of the betrayal of his brothers.”…
Tennessee appeals court rules against SBC in anonymous accusation of sexual abuse
First, the Southern Baptist Convention got in trouble for not sharing information about known clergy sexual abusers in its congregations; now it is on trial for spreading undocumented allegations against a Tennessee minister. On Jan. 8, the Tennessee Court of…
SBC can’t admit its problem with sexual abuse, Boz Tchividjian says
The only solution for the Southern Baptist Convention to solve its sexual abuse problem is to dismantle the denomination entirely, according to Boz Tchividjian, one of the nation’s best-known attorneys representing abuse survivors. “They tried to put some Band-Aids on…
Archbishop of Canterbury waffles, bringing more pain for survivors
In his first public speech since announcing his resignation, the archbishop of Canterbury struck a “frivolous tone” that left childhood abuse victims “dismayed” and “disgusted.” “Whether one is personally responsible or not,” a head had to roll, said the archbishop,…
Two lawsuits allege unreported abuse at Immanuel Little Rock
Immanuel Baptist Church in Little Rock, Ark., and its present and former leaders are named defendants in two lawsuits filed in Pulaski County Circuit Court Dec. 3. The Southern Baptist church has made headlines for more than a year now,…