The Oklahoman

SBC opens files in abuse inquiry

Attorney-client privilege waived; activist applauds

- Liam Adams

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – After a battle that dragged on longer than many expected, the Southern Baptist Convention executive committee waived attorney-client privilege for an investigat­ion into the panel’s handling of sexual abuse reports and treatment of victims over the past 21 years.

During a special, virtual session on Tuesday, the executive committee voted 44-31 to approve a contract with thirdparty investigat­or Guidepost Solutions. The contract allows Guidepost to review privileged communicat­ions and legal memos between executive committee members or staff and their lawyers.

“I am grateful that the vote went yes today after much deliberati­on and private sessions,” said Jules Woodson, a sexual abuse survivor and activist. “That being said, it should not have taken three weeks to get here. The fact that it did is part of the problem.”

Ronnie Floyd, executive committee president and CEO, who has not expressed support for waiving privilege before, said he will support the committee’s decision.

“The leadership and staff of the executive committee will provide support to Guidepost on implementi­ng next steps to facilitate their investigat­ion,” Floyd said in a statement.

At the convention’s annual meeting in June, the messengers, or the Southern Baptist Convention’s voting delegates, called for the investigat­ion into the executive committee and for the committee to waive privilege.

The executive committee, which acts on behalf of the convention outside of its annual meetings, voted for the first time on whether to waive privilege during an in-person meeting Sept. 21. At the time, the committee voted 55-20 against waiving privilege. The committee met again Sept. 28 for a special, virtual session and voted 39-35 against waiving privilege.

After both votes, executive committee officers met with an SBC sexual abuse task force that is overseeing the investigat­ion to smooth out any disagreeme­nts between the two sides. The task force has always supported waiving privilege, while the executive committee’s attorneys, Guenther, Jordan, & Price, advised against the move, according to a task force news release about the negotiatio­ns.

Executive committee members who continued to oppose waiving privilege expressed concerns about risks to the convention’s insurance.

The executive committee’s insurance company could choose not to pay any settlement­s in lawsuits that arise from the investigat­ion’s final report, the task force explained in a news release last week.

“We all know that to vote for this motion is to jeopardize the financial stability of our executive committee and perhaps the entire convention,” said Joe Knott, executive committee member and a lawyer from North Carolina.

In the past two weeks, more than 1,100 Southern Baptist pastors and other prominent leaders penned letters asking the executive committee to waive privilege. Some of those letters included threats to withdraw local church funding from the executive committee.

Six executive committee members resigned, executive committee chairman Rolland Slade announced in Tuesday’s meeting. Some executive committee members who voted against waiving privilege last month changed their positions on Tuesday.

“It comes down to that not advocating, not falling in line with the direction of our convention, I believe could be even more disastrous for the executive committee than where we are right now,” executive committee member and Oklahoma pastor Dave Bryan said in Tuesday’s meeting.

Executive committee member Mike Keahbone expressed a similar sentiment, saying that all of his concerns about the risks of waiving privilege were not assuaged. But he said he is more concerned about the division in the SBC worsening if privilege is not waived.

“I ask us to walk by faith and not by sight,” said Keahbone, a pastor from Oklahoma.

Ultimately, the waiver passed as pressure on the committee mounted. The executive committee officers, who were tasked with reaching a compromise with the task force and making a recommenda­tion to the whole committee, never supported the final contract that received approval.

Because the two groups couldn’t reach a solution late last week, the task force publicly released details of a new contract on Oct. 1.

Elements of Guidepost’s final contract are identical to previous versions. Guidepost will investigat­e allegation­s that executive committee members and staff mishandled abuse allegation­s, mistreated and intimidate­d victims or resisted sexual abuse reform initiative­s since Jan. 1, 2000.

But the contract includes a new clause establishi­ng a “committee on cooperatio­n,” which will be an intermedia­ry between Guidepost, the task force, and the executive committee.

 ?? Nashville, Tenn. ANDREW NELLES/THE TENNESSEAN VIA USA TODAY NETWORK ?? Southern Baptists gather in prayer June 15 during the annual Southern Baptist Convention meeting at Music City Center in
Nashville, Tenn. ANDREW NELLES/THE TENNESSEAN VIA USA TODAY NETWORK Southern Baptists gather in prayer June 15 during the annual Southern Baptist Convention meeting at Music City Center in

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