After nearly three years of pressure and outrage, the summer of 2022 revealed the darkest and best-kept secrets of the United States’ largest Protestant denomination. On February 10, 2019, speculation heightened regarding the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) upon the release of an investigation by the Houston Chronicle titled “Abuse of Faith.” The report claimed that, within 20 years, 380 leaders within the denomination have left over 700 victims of sexual abuse. According to the Washington Post, “A wave of outrage in response to the series rocked the Southern Baptist Convention, prompting its Executive Committee to hire an outside firm to investigate.”
On May 15, 2022, Guidepost Solutions published a 288-page report on their findings. The report opens with a searing commentary on the Convention and its Executive Committee, blatantly stating that attempts to report abusers and molesters were ignored, denied and neglected. “They made phone calls, mailed letters, sent emails, appeared at SBC (Southern Baptist Convention) and EC (Executive Committee) meetings, held rallies and contacted the press…only to be met, time and time again, with resistance, stonewalling and even outright hostility from some within the EC.” According to the investigation, the convention silenced and stonewalled most victims so that they could avoid liability. This implied that “survivors and others who reported abuse were ignored, disbelieved, or met with the constant refrain that the SBC could take no action due to its policy regarding church autonomy.” The report inquired into decisions of the Executive Committee regarding allegations from January 1, 2000, to June 14, 2021. Key findings listed in the executive summary include abuse allegations regarding Committee staff, mishandling and unjust treatment of survivors, utilization of intimidation tactics towards both victims and advocates and refusal of reform in the wake of allegations.
In response to the report, on May 26, 2022, the Southern Baptist Convention published a 205-page list of credibly accused abusers in the church, containing nearly 700 entries from the years 2000-2019. THV11 identified that 18 Arkansas connections are included, naming pastors and leaders from Texarkana, Centerton, Springdale and more. During the 2022 Southern Baptist Convention meeting in June, Christianity Today reported that “thousands of Southern Baptists voted to reform their denomination’s response to abuse, including adopting the database of abusers that survivors had long called for.” The Sexual Assault Task Force proposed and published their challenges and recommendations to the Convention, including training, certification and staffing regarding sexual abuse, the creation and maintenance of a database of all persons accused of misconduct for tracking purposes and a task force to uphold the abuse reform. Most recently, in August of 2022, leaders of the SBC announced that the denomination is currently under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice in light of the information revealed this summer, says AP News.
Upon releasing their list of abusers, the Southern Baptist Convention stated, “Our God invites us to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God. (Micah 6:8). As a network of Great Commission churches, we are commissioned to live out the Great Commandment and to fulfill the Great Commission. It is our hope that releasing this list places a spotlight on truth and transparency. Southern Baptists have made it clear that transparency in the area of sex abuse should be the norm.” The attitudes of congregants regarding reform and justice offer much-needed hope and light to a previously formidable darkness. Although the nearness of this tragedy is striking for Protestants across the nation, many hope that it will serve as a wake-up call for promoting positive change in a wider church context.
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