Southern Baptist gathering begins
Church’s annual session unfolds in #Metoo era
DALLAS — The Southern Baptist Convention opened its annual national meeting Tuesday in an anxious mood as the denomination’s all-male leadership grappled with the fallout of multiple sexual misconduct cases.
With virtually no opposition, delegates at the meeting adopted resolutions condemning any sexual misconduct by SBC ministers, urging more action to prevent “all forms of abuse” and encouraging abuse victims to contact civil authorities to seek protection and support.
In a late addition to the program, the SBC announced that Vice President Mike Pence will address the meeting Wednesday. In Tuesday’s opening session, a delegate from Virginia, Garrett Kell, sought to cancel Pence’s address and replace it with a time of prayer, but the motion was defeated.
“Many of our minority brothers and sisters will be especially hurt by this invitation,” said Kell, who warned the SBC against associating with any particular administration holding power in Washington.
The agenda in Dallas did not include any reconsideration of the SBC’S doctrine of “complementarianism,” which espouses male leadership in the home and in the church and says a wife “is to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband.”
However, the pastor elected Tuesday as the SBC’S new president, J.D. Greear, is among numerous SBC leaders saying the doctrine needs to be observed in a way that’s respectful of women and encourages them to play an active role in church affairs.
As the two-day meeting began, about two dozen protesters gathered across the street from the convention center, drawing attention to abuse against women.
The protesters called for the creation of a database identifying pastors accused of sexual abuse and misconduct. They also want pastors and seminarians to receive training on how to respond to sexual abuse and domestic violence.
“We are not against the Southern Baptist Convention, but we believe it can be better,” said Ashley Easter, a writer and speaker from Raleigh, North Carolina, who is an advocate for victims of abuse and an organizer of the protest.