ANAHEIM, Calif. — Attorneys Jonathan Whitehead and Joshua Abbotoy released an article on The Federalist, June 13, advising caution as Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) messengers here consider recommendations from the SBC’s Sexual Abuse Task Force (SATF) during their annual meeting this week.
The Federalist article responds to a previous article by Matthew T. Martens, an attorney and member of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., who urged Southern Baptists to accept the SATF’s proposal of a “ministry check list.” Martens’ article can be accessed on The Pathway website at https://mbcpathway.com/2022/06/08/first-person-messengers-should-consider-approving-a-ministry-check-list/.
In their Federalist article, Whitehead and Abbotoy write, “Southern Baptists should not vote for anything they don’t understand, and should not accept legal responsibility for a half-baked ‘process’ that is not yet just and not yet complete.”
Whitehead is a Kansas City attorney and a trustee with the SBC’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission who attends Abundant Life Church, Lee’s Summit, a church affiliated with the Missouri Baptist Convention. Abbotoy is an attorney in Sugar Land, Texas, where he serves as executive director of the American Reformer and attends University Park Baptist Church.
To read their Federalist article, visit https://thefederalist.com/2022/06/13/southern-baptists-shouldnt-write-blank-checks-for-sbc-leaders-on-sexual-abuse/.