SBC leaders call for deep changes
Convention OKs resolution that backs altering statute of limitations for reporting sexual abuse
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Faced with what leaders called a “crisis of credibility,” the Southern Baptist Convention on Wednesday denounced sexual abuse, repented for the behavior of any past leaders who may have worsened the problem and pleaded for all Southern Baptist churches to undergo sweeping changes in their treatment of survivors.
“Southern Baptists, we have reached our age of accountability,” Russell Moore, who heads the SBC’s public policy arm, told thousands of Baptists on the final day of their annual meeting. “The vital question before us today is: What do we do next?”
SBC President J.D. Greear called for vigorous screening processes to make sure sexual predators aren’t ordained as Southern Baptist pastors. Greear said the SBC could consider establishing a database of offenders who have worked in SBC churches — a proposal that has long been sought by activists.
Greear said it could be part of a package of reforms that would prevent abusers “from moving to church to church with impunity within our convention.”
“Somebody who has abused another should never, ever be in a position in our churches where they can do it a second time,” Greear said.
The SBC also passed a resoluCOLLEGE
tion that condemned child sexual abuse and called for civil authorities to review statute of limitations and privacy laws, though one expert called the move “meaningless” until the SBC is more specific in its language and actively pursues those measures.
The proposals came one day after delegates to the SBC’s annual meeting in Birmingham empowered a committee to make “inquiries” into churches’ handling of sexual abuse. The SBC also advanced an amendment to its governing documents that explicitly states that any churches that mishandle abuses can be ousted from the convention, though the reform will need to pass a second time next year before going into effect.
Greear said preventing sexual abuse was already a priority for him when he became SBC president last year. But he said the Southern Baptist world was shaken when the Houston Chronicle and the San Antonio ExpressNews published “Abuse of Faith,” an investigation revealing that 380 pastors, employees and volunteers at Southern Baptist churches had been accused of sexual misconduct during the past two decades. They left behind 700 victims. Greear said it might be tempting for some critics to believe the numbers “aren’t really that bad” compared to other religions.
“That’s a terrible way of thinking,” Greear told the crowd. “First, we know that incidents of abuse are underreported. We know it takes an extraordinary amount of courage to step forward. And for everyone who steps forward, we know there are others, maybe countless others, who have never come forward.
“Let me ask you, what if one of those reports was your son?” Greear added. “What if one of those data points was your daughter? Would you say, ‘Well, it’s not that bad of a problem?’ ”
Active in legislatures?
The resolution on child abuse included language calling for civil authorities to review sex abuse laws, including statute of limitations that the Chronicle found had allowed many predators to avoid prosecution because their victims waited too long to come forward.
The resolution does not specify what the SBC believes is an appropriate window for filing sexual abuse claims. It would, however, allow state and national SBC groups to support reforms in their respective statehouses.
Moore was later asked if the resolution meant that his entity, the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, would be more active on statute reforms.
“Yes, we will be consistent with this resolution,” he said. “Absolutely.”
Advocates were skeptical that would happen. They called for action instead of statements.
“Review is not enough,” said David Pittman, whose alleged abuser was allowed to work in SBC churches in Georgia for years because Pittman reported the abuses too late. The man was removed as a music minister at his church in the wake of the Chronicle’s report.
Marci Hamilton, a constitutional law expert who has for years advocated for the elimination of statute of limitations laws, said SBC groups have sometimes helped defeat reforms in statehouses, as have the Catholic Church, Boy Scouts of America and insurance groups.
“Until they have lobbyists fighting side by side with the victims in the state legislatures for justice, they are on the wrong side,” she said. “They are literally no different from the Catholic bishops.”
Last year, lawyers successfully used statute of limitations arguments to kill a lawsuit accusing the SBC and prominent SBC figures and churches of concealing decades of rapes allegedly committed by Paul Pressler, a former Texas state judge and prominent SBC figure.
Stands on abortion, abuse
Other survivors raised concerns about the SBC’s call for limitations on abortions, which came just before delegates approved the resolution on sexual abuse.
Debbie Vasquez says she was a teenager when she was first raped by the pastor of her church in west Texas. She later became pregnant by the man, who was married and more than a decade older.
Vasquez, who remains a committed Christian, said she had “mixed emotions” about abortion, but said that women who are impregnated by abusers should not be forced to have the child.
“That is between God and the woman,” she said.
Another survivor was dismayed. As a child, she was repeatedly raped by a relative and church leader.
“Not only would the child victim potentially suffer from not having been supported by the church in seeking justice or being protected from the abuser, the consequences of that rape would be all on her — she would have to have the child, ” said the woman, who asked not to be identified as a sexual assault victim.
Moore said he disagreed with the survivors’ claims, saying the SBC’s stances on abortion and abuse “are not in conflict.”
“They are rooted in the very same concern for human dignity,” he said.
The tension among delegates extended to the work of the new SBC group that will deal with complaints about the handling of sexual abuse cases. On Wednesday, a member of Grace Community Church in Nashville proposed adding sexual abuse survivor Susan Codone to the new “credentials” committee.
Speaking from experience
An associate dean at Mercer University’s School of Medicine, Codone spoke publicly for the first time at the SBC meeting about being abused as a girl by two men — a youth leader and a pastor — at a small Southern Baptist church outside Birmingham.
“There is a notable absence on this committee,” said Jennifer Lyell, who made the proposal. “It does not include someone from the sexual abuse survivor community. The nomination of Susan Codone would rectify that.”
Her proposal was opposed by Mike Stone, chairman of the SBC’s executive committee, who will also be a member of the new committee dealing with sexual abuse.
Standing to speak against Lyell’s proposal on the floor of Legacy Arena, Stone pointed out that he had been sexually abused as a boy, and he emphasized that abuse victims will have a voice on the credentials panel.
“I would simply say that 40 years ago, I was abused in this very area of life,” Stone said. “For four decades, I have been personally aware of the issue of sex abuse. I can assure this convention, sex abuse survivors issues are ably represented.”
Minutes after Stone spoke, Greear called for a vote on Lyell’s proposal. It was defeated.
But Greear said the credentials committee remains a key measure to let victims be heard and to compel churches to deal with sexual abuse responsibly.
Greear said protecting the innocent from sexual predators and taking survivors seriously isn’t a politically correct distraction for the SBC — it’s part of the core Biblical mission of all its churches.
“Why would survivors trust us to care for their souls if they’re not sure they can trust us to care for their wounds?” Greear asked.
“Somebody who has abused another should never, ever be in a position in our churches where they can do it a second time.” SBC President J.D. Greear