My heart was heavy as I packed up my bags and prepared to fly out to Anaheim for the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention last week. Many Southern Baptists have been pushing, in spite of great resistance, towards fixing some of the problems in our Executive Committee and in our convention of churches, especially related to sexual abuse. We have done some good work over the past few years. But the work is not finished. Heading into the annual meeting, I knew we needed to take some decisive action this year if progress is to be made. By God’s grace, we did. A LITTLE CONTEXT For at … [Read more...] about My Reflections from #SBC22 (by Aaron Swain)
A More Trauma-Informed Ministry [Guest Author: David Hughes]
The Southern Baptist Convention is in, as my pastor described it, a season of sifting. After the Houston Chronicle broke the news of hundreds of sex abuse cases involving clergy and ministry workers of various kinds, the messengers of the SBC sent a clear message: we want truth. Soon sex abuse cover-up (and abuse in general) was a key battleground in the social conflict engulfing evangelicalism and the SBC. After several skirmishes and the SBC skipping a year due to the pandemic, the messengers once again sent a clear message in 2021 with the establishment of the Sex Abuse Task Force. We want … [Read more...] about A More Trauma-Informed Ministry [Guest Author: David Hughes]
Thoughts about Guidepost and the SBC SATF [Guest Author: Marshall Blalock]
[[Marshall has agreed to allow SBC Voices to repost his Twitter thread regarding his thoughts on the SBC SATF and the recent controversy regarding GuidePost Solutions.]] If anyone was looking for an excuse not to deal with sexual abuse and mistreatment of survivors within the SBC, Guidepost Solutions provided the perfect cover yesterday with their “pride” month tweet. I was both disappointed and stunned. A couple of thoughts about this: Guidepost is a multinational secular company that specializes in corporate investigations. They are not a Christian company although they routinely work … [Read more...] about Thoughts about Guidepost and the SBC SATF [Guest Author: Marshall Blalock]
Richmond, we have a problem (Christopher Cole)
“What are you doing listening to that?” I was 15 in the fall of 1984, in my second year at a missionary kid (MK) dormitory and blissfully naïve of my offense. My mistake was playing a cassette of American folk and children’s songs sung by “Uncle Mac.” My interrogator was one of my MK “cousins”, though in truth we were more like siblings since we’d all known each other in a tightly compressed community of missionary “aunts”, “uncles” and cousins since we were babies. Mac’s smooth North Carolina accented voice sang Appalachian mountain music accompanied by his skillful autoharp playing in the … [Read more...] about Richmond, we have a problem (Christopher Cole)
Cosplaying the Conservative Resurgence has Casualties (K.V. Paxton)
The battle lines were set. The warriors were clad in outfits straight out of Middle Earth. With weapons and shields in hands, their adrenaline was pumping. The moment came, and they charged at one another and fought hard that day. Many brave men and women fell into the dust and dirt – casualties of war. When the dust settled and the victory had been won, all the fallen stood up, dusted themselves off, and headed to Applebee's. This is what it is like to Cosplay for Live Action Role-Playing. Those who participate know they are not in a real war, and they know they are not characters in Lord … [Read more...] about Cosplaying the Conservative Resurgence has Casualties (K.V. Paxton)
The Parable of the Rats (Mark Fugitt)
A storyteller gathered a crowd. They were a mix of his regular fans and outsiders. He said: “A certain man owned a hotel franchise. Local owners paid him a small percentage of profits to use his respected name and resources. The sprawling empire grew to include thousands of locations at home and abroad. Reviews were great for decades. Even as the market changed, people still recommended his locations to their friends. Most continued doing well. Then someone quietly filled out a comment card at one location. They claimed they were bitten by a rat in the night. The franchise owner was … [Read more...] about The Parable of the Rats (Mark Fugitt)
What about a “Pastors in Good Standing” Plan? (Guest Post by Field Thigpen)
A day of reckoning has dawned in the SBC with the release of the SATF report last weekend. Many steps of action must be taken. It is my aim to introduce to you an idea for discussion which may be developed into one such step of action. The following plan would not resolve the issue of sexual abuse in the SBC, but it could serve as a safeguard for churches against wolves who stealthily seek to flock-hop from one congregation to the next. The preliminary working title for this step is the “Pastors in Good Standing” plan. Local churches often acknowledge God’s calling on a servant and … [Read more...] about What about a “Pastors in Good Standing” Plan? (Guest Post by Field Thigpen)
My Statement Regarding the SBC/EC Investigation Report by Tiffany Thigpen
If Southern Baptists are to have any pure witness, the best way forward is to not only state their belief in scriptures, but to show it in action. These action steps could not only become a way forward, but also could allow a model for other denominations and organizations to follow. The SBC wants to be known as a Missions Organization and prides itself as a missionary sending powerhouse, though it seems it is often forgotten that the mission field includes its local congregations, and its own members. If you aren’t protecting those in your own backyard mission field isn’t it … [Read more...] about My Statement Regarding the SBC/EC Investigation Report by Tiffany Thigpen
A prayer of lament for the SBC
Editor's Note: The following is a prayer of lament Mary Demuth prayed 3 years ago at the SBC annual meeting. It is reposted here with her permission Our majestic, sovereign, empathetic, beautiful Father in heaven, we repent of how we have failed to love those who struggle in our midst, and we recognize your holy rumblings in this midst of the sexual abuse crisis. We have not always wept with those who weep. We have not always crossed the street with the Good Samaritan, inconveniencing ourselves for those who bleed. We have sometimes preferred our institutions and systems to … [Read more...] about A prayer of lament for the SBC
My Statement on the Guideposts/SATF Report (Jessica Alldredge)
To My Fellow Southern Baptists: My name is Jessica Alldredge. I am a survivor of sexual abuse within the SBC. My situation as a survivor is a bit different from some of the other stories you have heard. So many of my brothers and sisters suffered abuse and then faced terrible treatment by those in the SBC when they tried to report what happened to them. However, I never needed to report. My mom was paying attention, she could tell something was off and kept her guard up. She ended up catching the perpetrator, Dennis Hale, in the act of abuse. Because my mom was aware, she was able to … [Read more...] about My Statement on the Guideposts/SATF Report (Jessica Alldredge)