Pastors welcome `call to action'
Southern Baptist Convention begins reforms to fight sex abuse
A set of proposed reforms designed to combat sexual abuse in the Southern Baptist Convention was affirmed Tuesday by several Oklahoma Baptist preachers.
“I think it's long overdue. As I've said in times past, I believe in accountability at every level,” the Rev. Blake Gideon, senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Edmond, said of the proposals outlined Monday at a denominational gathering in Nashville, Tennessee. Gideon is president of the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma, a state affiliate of the Southern Baptist Convention.
The Rev. J.D. Greear of Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, spoke at the Southern Baptist Convention's executive committee meeting, sharing what he described as 10 “calls to action” for the faith group reeling from a recent investigative newspaper series on sexual abuse in Southern Baptist churches.
The Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News joined forces for “Abuse of Faith,” a three-part series that included troubling reports of sexual predators moving from church to church with little or no accountability, youth pastors preying on teens and inaction by leaders at some churches who knew about the sex abuse crimes.
Among the proposed reforms was the possible creation of a database of individuals convicted of sex abuse crimes or credibly accused of sexual predatory behavior and misconduct.
Where once the nation's largest Protestant denomination seemed to use its status as a network of autonomous churches as a reason for its inability to establish such a registry, on Monday, Greear said Southern Baptists needed to “repent of appealing to autonomy as a cover-up for lack of accountability.”
Greear's words were welcomed by the Rev. Wade Burleson, senior pastor of Enid's Emmanuel Baptist,
who twice asked the faith group's leaders to set up a database to keep sexual predators from successfully church hopping across the denomination.
“I would call it an action plan. It doesn't mean we've reached the end game — but it means we've reached the beginning,” Burleson said Tuesday. “Last night we crossed the threshold from talking about the problem to actually doing something about the problem.”
Burleson said he heard from some victim advocates who are skeptical about the creation of a registry but he is optimistic that some form of database will be established.
“What it will look like, I don't know — if it's an independent nonprofit or a coalition of evangelicals (overseeing it). I am quite confident that some mechanism will be put in place to track sexual predators.”
Meanwhile, other Oklahoma Baptist pastors and leaders weighed in on the proposals outlined by Greear. The “calls to action” are based on recommendations from a sexual abuse advisory group Greear formed in 2018.
Brian Hobbs, the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma's communications director, said the state convention “wholeheartedly” affirmed the proposals and recognized its “vital role in the path forward,” which includes offering training and resources to help churches and ministries to protect the vulnerable and prevent abuse.
The Rev. Walter Mullican, senior pastor of Portland Avenue Baptist Church, said he was saddened when he read the investigative series and angered that individuals had been allowed to continue abusing others in the church.
“We must not and cannot hide behind our polity in keeping us back from positive and constructive action toward abuse of every form in our churches. I applaud the Executive Committee for their response and suggested actions that conventions, associations, and churches begin to take,” Mullican said.
He said he welcomed the development of helpful resources, and his church would be reviewing its policies and procedures related to abuse in order to provide “a place that is safe for survivors and safe from abuse.” The Rev. Doug Melton, senior pastor of Southern Hills Baptist Church, said he thought each of the proposed reforms will move the denomination forward. He said Southern Baptist churches may be autonomous but they come together for missions and church planting around the world so they will join to address a “crucial” issue like sex abuse in the church.
“This is an extremely important time for us to come together to show the world that we understand that these abuses are evil and that we need to do everything we can as a body of believers to prevent it and to care for those who have been victims,” Melton said.
The Rev. Mike Keahbone, lead pastor at Cherokee Hills Baptist Church, shared similar views. Keahbone said he was deeply grieved for all abuse victims he wants all churches, including those in the Southern Baptist Convention, to be agents of “healing and hope.”
“In order to do so; judgment must begin with God's household,” he said.
“I am thankful that this ugliness has been exposed and can now be dealt with justly. It is my personal belief that the 10 `calls to action' are a good launchpad for first steps. However, these first steps must be followed by significant action and accountability. I look forward to joining other leaders and pastors in the state of Oklahoma to see these calls to action through.”