For those familiar with a rural lifestyle, the night time sound of crickets scraping two textured body parts together can be a soothing respite from the clamor of a busy day. The insects develop quickly when warm weather arrives and adults appear and begin “singing” and mating in late spring, continuing until June or early July when they finish laying eggs or die off. “Crickets” has also become a term to describe peoples’ silence, usually when caught unexpectedly, following a grievous mistake.
The latter definition for the aforementioned orthopteran insects is what Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) churches have gotten from the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) Executive Committee after it hired a law firm supportive of the LGBTQ lifestyle. Bradley Arant Boult Cummings was hired after long-time SBC attorney Jim Guenther withdrew his firm from its 55-year relationship with the SBC. The Pathway was the first to report that up to $2 million of Cooperative Program funds were being paid by the EC to cover legal fees linked to the investigation of sexual abuse in the SBC.
The Pathway reported in March that the Bradley law firm supports LGBTQ events. It promoted on its website the Nashville Pride Festival and Parade and the LGBTQ Bar. Also featured is praise from the Human Rights Campaign, one of the nation’s largest LGBTQ organizations. Bradley has also supported the Human Rights Campaign’s Nashville Equality Dinner, another LGBTQ event.
Bradley’s infatuation with the LGBTQ lifestyle goes unabated, posting on its Facebook page on Aug. 2 that it is a “proud sponsor” of the LGBTQ+ Bar 2022 Lavender Law Conference and Career Fair. It was accompanied by a photo of three of its employees at a job fair table featuring a large Bradley sign.
The controversy with Bradley intensified after Guidepost Solutions was chosen last September by the SBC Sexual Abuse Task Force to oversee as a third-party review of the SBC Executive Committee’s handling of sexual abuse issues. In June, Guidepost Solutions posted a tweet supporting the LGBTQ+ lifestyle, prompting Randy Davis, president and executive director of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, to call on Southern Baptists to “immediately break ties with Guidepost Solutions.” The Kentucky Baptist Convention’s Sexual Abuse Task Force followed suit, severing ties with Guidepost Solutions.
Earlier this year the MBC Executive Board approved an alternative giving avenue, called Plan B, for churches concerned with the LGBTQ controversy and SBC Executive Committee’s decision to waive attorney-client privilege, a move that ended the SBC’s long-term relationship with the Guenther Law Firm, leading to the hiring of Bradley. The homosexual controversy engulfing Bradley and Guidepost Solutions – has prompted 217 MBC churches to opt for Plan B. It allows churches to select which SBC entities receive their gifts. In most cases churches selecting Plan B are withholding giving to the SBC Executive Committee. As a result, their giving is routed through the MBC, which then distributes Cooperative Program gifts designated by the churches.
In addition to the $2 million set aside to pay Bradley, the SBC Executive Committee approved up to $2 million to go to Guidepost Solutions from the Executive Committee’s reserve funds. In May the SBC Executive Committee approved another $14 million to sex abuse reform efforts, including payments to Bradley and Guidepost. Paul Chitwood, president, International Mission Board, told The Pathway that such action would cost the IMB $4.5 million during the next 15 months. Chitwood’s concerns were addressed following a gift from SEND Relief, offsetting the loss (Read more coverage here).
Earlier this month SBC President Bart Barber named a nine-person panel to serve on the Abuse Reform Implementation Task Force (Read more here). The task force is to assist churches in thwarting those who would act as sexual predators and supporting survivors. We should pray and work to make such efforts successful as the state conventions seek legislative help that protects potential victims and churches from door-closing liability.
Meanwhile, millions of dollars flow to firms that support a lifestyle God has called “an abomination.” These firms then use our money against us. Millions of dollars are flowing from corporations like Bradley and Guidepost to LGBTQ activist organizations threatening our First Amendment rights. If they get their way, they could shut down the Missouri Baptist Children’s Home and threaten the faith-based missions of The Baptist Homes and Healthcare Ministries, our universities and seminaries.
What do we get from Nashville? Crickets.