SBC president apologizes to abuse victims
NASHVILLE — The Southern Baptist Convention’s president called sexual abuse by church leaders and volunteers “pure evil,” apologized to victims and vowed to begin making reforms to the nation’s largest Protestant denomination. h Pastor J.D. Greear, the president of the Nashville-based network of churches, said he was “broken” over what the Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-news found in a sweeping investigation published Sunday detailing more than 700 victims of sexual misconduct by church leaders or volunteers. h In total, the news organizations compiled more than 380 cases where church leaders and volunteers have been charged with sex crimes. Most are now in prison or are registered sex offenders. h “We are profoundly sorry,” Greear, along with fellow Pastor Brad Hambrick, wrote in a article posted on Greear’s website on Monday. “It is an unjust tragedy that you experienced abuse in the past. And it is unjust and tragic that you feel fear in the present. h “We, the church, have failed you.” Bowen also founded Memphis Souvenirs in 1993, according to the biography on his company website.
He was a lifetime member of the University of Memphis Alumni Association and an active member of the Tiger Scholarship Fund. He was also a member of the Memphis Convention Bureau, Memphis Chamber of Commerce and the Beale Street Merchant’s Association.
Bowen was also a graduate of Leadership Memphis and was serving on the organization’s board of directors for the 2018-2019 class.
Greear and Hambrick told victims that they did nothing wrong and it is understandable to be afraid. To church leaders, they wrote that it would be easy to become “self-centered and self-protective when news of churches’ failures come to light.”
“But it would be another tragedy and a reinforcement of the problem if we allow that to happen,” they wrote.
“People in our churches and community need to know that we are concerned about their safety, not about our reputation. Until that confidence is restored, no one who has been abused will feel safe in our churches.“
Greear, who leads The Summit Church in Durham, North Carolina where Hambrick serves as the counseling pastor, became the Southern Baptist Convention’s president last year, marking what was widely seen as a generational shift in leadership. He succeeded Pastor Steve Gaines, who leads Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis.
But unlike other hierarchical Protestant denominations, the Southern Baptist Convention is a network of thousands of congregations, each of which has its own autonomy.
Greear said that level of local church control is a factor.
“The Baptist doctrine of church autonomy should never be a religious cover for passivity towards abuse,” he wrote in a series of Twitter posts. “Church autonomy is about freeing the church to do the right thing — to obey Christ — in every situation. It is a heinous error to apply autonomy in a way that enables abuse.
“As a denomination, now is a time to mourn and repent. Changes are coming. They must. We cannot just promise to ‘do better’ and expect that to be enough. But today, change begins with feeling the full weight of the problem.”
In his Twitter posts, Greear said Southern Baptist leaders should have listened to warnings.
“I am committed to doing everything possible to ensure we never make these mistakes again,” he said.
WALLACE THE BRAVE
“It’s time for pervasive change,” he said. “God demands it. Survivors deserve it.”
Greear said there can be “no ambiguity about the church’s responsibility to protect the abused and be a safe place for the vulnerable.”
“The safety of the victims matters more than the reputation of Southern Baptists,” he said.
In the wake of the news organizations’ reporting, other Southern Baptist leaders also called for change.
16 church leaders, volunteers in Tenn. charged with sex crimes
The investigation by the news organizations was spurred on by Southern Baptist Convention leaders unwillingness for more than a decade to create a list of sexual predators from affiliated churches. Together, the news outlets created their own.
In Tennessee, according to the database, 16 church leaders or volunteers have been charged with sex crimes.
Russell Moore, the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission president of the Southern Baptist Convention, commended the work by the publications.
In a Sunday blog post, Moore said changes are needed.
“Our approach is seeking to encourage policies and practices that protect children and the vulnerable from sexual abuse in autonomous but cooperating churches, all the while promoting compliance with laws and providing compassionate care for those who have survived trauma,” Moore said.
“True, we have no bishops. But we have a priesthood of believers. And a key task of that priesthood is maintaining the witness of Christ in the holiness and safety of his church. That means training churches to recognize sexual predation and how to deal with charges or suspicions when they emerge, and equipping churches to stop the pattern, in their church or from their church to others.”
“No church should be frustrated by the Houston Chronicle’s reporting, but should thank God for it,” Moore said.
Jason Gonzales contributed to this report.