{"id":42893,"date":"2022-05-23T08:37:47","date_gmt":"2022-05-23T13:37:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mbcpathway.com\/?p=42893"},"modified":"2022-06-01T08:37:57","modified_gmt":"2022-06-01T13:37:57","slug":"sex-abuse-task-force-report-sbcs-ec-showed-pattern-of-resistance-to-addressing-abuse-claims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mbcpathway.com\/2022\/05\/23\/sex-abuse-task-force-report-sbcs-ec-showed-pattern-of-resistance-to-addressing-abuse-claims\/","title":{"rendered":"Sex Abuse Task Force report: SBC’s EC showed pattern of resistance to addressing abuse claims"},"content":{"rendered":"

NASHVILLE (BP) \u2013<\/strong> Months of work by the Sexual Abuse Task Force and Guidepost Solutions concerning the alleged mishandling of sexual abuse claims by the SBC Executive Committee (EC) resulted in a\u00a0288-page report<\/a>\u00a0released publicly Sunday (May 22). The report came at the request of messengers to the 2021 SBC Annual Meeting.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur investigation revealed that, for many years, a few senior EC leaders, along with outside counsel, largely controlled the EC\u2019s response to these reports of abuse. They closely guarded information about abuse allegations and lawsuits, which were not shared with EC Trustees, and were singularly focused on avoiding liability for the SBC to the exclusion of other considerations,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n

The report says that for the two decades within the scope of the investigation, survivors of abuse and other concerned Southern Baptists have been met with \u201cresistance, stonewalling, and even outright hostility from some within the EC.\u201d<\/p>\n

The task force was charged with reviewing cases and claims of alleged mishandling claims of sexual abuse made between January 1, 2000, and June 14, 2021.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver the years, the EC\u2019s response to sexual abuse allegations was largely driven by senior EC staff members, particularly D. August \u2018Augie\u2019 Boto, the EC General Counsel and later Interim EC President, as well as the SBC\u2019s long-serving outside counsel \u2013 James Guenther, James Jordan, and the firm of Guenther, Jordan & Price (\u2018GJP\u2019),\u201d the report says, adding: \u201cTheir main concern was avoiding any potential liability for the SBC.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Guenther advised that EC staff should not undertake to elicit further information or details about reports of abuse, so that the EC not assume a legal duty to take further action,\u201d the report says.<\/p>\n

In addition, the existence of reports of abuse were not shared with EC Trustees \u201cover the years,\u201d according to the report.<\/p>\n

What does the EC do?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The EC board of trustees is composed of Southern Baptists from across the convention\u2019s 41 state and regional conventions. Trustees are elected by the Convention at its annual meeting.<\/p>\n

The SBC president, SBC recording secretary, WMU national president and EC president\/CEO are also ex-officio members of the EC board of trustees.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough the Executive Committee does not control or direct the activities of Convention agencies, it reviews their financial statements and recommends the Convention annual operating budget,\u201d says a description at SBC.net. \u201cIn addition, it receives and distributes the moneys Southern Baptists give in support of denominational ministries, acts as the recipient and trust agency for all Convention properties, and provides public relations and news services. It also performs other tasks assigned by the SBC and promotes the general work of Southern Baptists.\u201d<\/p>\n

The EC \u201cemploys an executive and professional staff in its Nashville office.\u201d There are currently 25 employees on staff with the EC.<\/p>\n

Abuse claims<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Guidepost report listed only one instance of alleged abuse by an EC member in its summary. \u201cDuring our investigation, an SBC pastor and his wife came forward to report that SBC President Johnny Hunt (2008-2010) had sexually assaulted the wife on July 25, 2010,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n

Investigators found the claims to be credible, according to the report, having verified them \u201cby a counseling minister and three other credible witnesses.\u201d The report says that investigators did not find Hunt\u2019s statements concerning the alleged assault to be credible.<\/p>\n

Mishandling abuse claims and survivors<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The report says that though high-level EC staff kept a list of reports of abuse among possible SBC pastors, it had no plans to act on behalf of survivors.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn a May 2019 email to Dr. Ronnie Floyd, the then-EC President, EC Vice President Dr. Roger \u2018Sing\u2019 Oldham acknowledged that \u2018[f]or the past decade, I have been regularly sending Augie news reports of Baptist ministers who are arrested for sexual abuse, for his awareness. It hasn\u2019t slowed down since the [Houston] Chronicle articles started on February 10.\u2019 Mr. Boto responded that: \u2018Yes. We are collecting them, and may even post them in some way, but we\u2019d have to really examine the potential liabilities that would stem therefrom.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

The Guidepost report also spoke of instances where survivors were further harmed by mistreatment by the EC, \u201cThe survivors \u2013 those persons who actually suffered at the hands of SBC clergy or SBC church staff or volunteers \u2013 who spoke out the most, and who criticized the SBC\u2019s inaction, were denigrated as \u201copportunistic,\u201d having a \u201chidden agenda of lawsuits,\u201d wanting to \u201cburn things to the ground,\u201d and acting as a \u201cprofessional victim.\u201d<\/p>\n

The report points to this publication, Baptist Press (BP), on two occasions.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor example, in March 2019, Jennifer Lyell, a senior executive at an SBC entity, was asked by executives at Lifeway and SBC entity heads to disclose her sexual abuse at the hands of her former seminary professor through a first-person account to be published in BP,\u201d the report says. \u201cRather than publishing Ms. Lyell\u2019s corroborated account as BP staff had originally drafted it, the account was changed to read as if Ms. Lyell was consensually involved with her alleged abuser. The article as published reported that Ms. Lyell alleged that she had a \u201cmorally inappropriate relationship\u201d with her former seminary professor, making it appear that she engaged in a consensual sexual relationship with him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another instance is related to a report from the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission\u2019s 2019 Caring Well conference.<\/p>\n

From the report: \u201cAdditionally, an article about the 2019 Caring Well conference, written by an Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (\u2018ERLC\u2019) staffer, was sanitized before publication. The draft article had contained quotes from two survivor advocates who had spoken critically at the conference about the SBC\u2019s handling of sexual abuse allegations. When the article was published, some of the story had been deleted, including all references to one of the advocates and all claims that the SBC had failed survivors.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other SBC leaders named in the report who are said to have \u201cprotected or even supported abusers\u201d include Steve Gaines, former SBC president; Jack Graham, former SBC president; Paige Patterson, former SBC president and former president of both Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary; Paul Pressler, former Texas judge and former EC member; Greg Addison, former EC executive vice president; and Mike Stone, current EC member.<\/p>\n

The report also spends 65 pages discussing the work of the SBC Credentials Committee, a body created to examine whether or not a church was acting within cooperation guidelines held by the SBC.<\/p>\n

The report says the task of investigating sexual abuse claims was assigned to the committee before there were proper protocols, guidelines and training in place. \u201cConsequently, the Credentials Committee began operating without adopting any written policies and procedures, such as set timelines\/deadlines, protocols for correspondence with submitters and churches, and standards for review. At least one outside expert offered help and support in developing criteria and standards, but the offers were rebuffed,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n

While the report says the committee meant well, it adds: \u201cThese and other deficiencies led to delays and communications breakdowns that caused submitters and others to lose faith in the process despite what we believe to be good intentions and effort on the part of the Credentials Committee members.\u201d<\/p>\n

Recommendations from the SATF<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Sexual Abuse Task Force was\u00a0selected by SBC President Ed Litton<\/a>\u00a0in the days following the 2021 SBC Annual Meeting. In addition to working with Guidepost to carry out the investigation, messengers gave the task force the responsibility of bringing recommendations to messengers to the 2022 SBC Annual Meeting.<\/p>\n

While the SATF says it will be posting formal motions and suggestions before the annual meeting, it has listed a group of \u201ca few initial needs:\u201d<\/p>\n