The Executive Committee meeting of last evening was remarkable and unprecedented in a number of ways. For the SBC President to call on an official SBC committee to review the standing of a list of churches for their handling of sex abuse is quite astonishing. The Biblical Recorder put it this way: He called the bylaws workgroup of the administrative committee to do due diligence in reviewing the standing of the following churches mentioned in recent media reports on sexual abuse to determine whether they have a “faith and practice which closely identifies” with the Baptist Faith & … [Read more...] about J. D. Greear calls out specific churches on sexual abuse handling
SBC Issues
Adam Greenway to lead Southwestern Seminary
Reports came out this morning that Billy Graham School Dean, Adam Greenway, will be nominated to serve as the next president of Southwestern Seminary to be elected at a special meeting of the SWBTS board, Feb 26-27. You can read the press release here. I affirm the work of the search committee and I believe Dr. Greenway will make an excellent president at Southwestern. The Baptist Press article notes several qualities about Dr. Greenway that led the committee in selecting him. The search committee describes Greenway as “a man of impeccable character who demonstrates kindness and humility in … [Read more...] about Adam Greenway to lead Southwestern Seminary
Can autonomy be “leveraged” in the SBC to guard against abuse?
The proposal by professors Whitfield and Yarnell, of Southeastern and Southwestern seminaries respectively, is serious, comprehensive, and deserves due consideration. In my reading of their 2500 word article, Addressing Abuse in the SBC: A Proposal, it seems to me that the key sentence is this: We must leverage our autonomy to call our churches into a covenant of protecting the vulnerable. I do not know if their article previews the conclusions and recommendations of the work currently being done by SBC President J. D. Greear's Sexual Abuse Presidential Study Group a partnership with … [Read more...] about Can autonomy be “leveraged” in the SBC to guard against abuse?
WARNING ALWAYS COMES BEFORE JUDGMENT: Reflections on Recent SBC Sexual Abuse Reports
Christa Brown of StopBaptistPredators.org has been sounding the alarm for many years that there was a major problem, widespread, among Southern Baptists regarding sexual abuse. Unfortunately, she was largely marginalized, rebuffed, rejected, and her claims were met with denial, by high profile SBC personalities and official entity responses. History has vindicated her. The recent Houston Chronicle article documents and details a pattern of sexual abuse and cover-ups in SBC Life. Ms. Brown actually deserves an apology from the personalities and entities that questioned her motives and … [Read more...] about WARNING ALWAYS COMES BEFORE JUDGMENT: Reflections on Recent SBC Sexual Abuse Reports
A century after prohibition
One hundred years ago last month the necessary number of states ratified the 18th Amendment to the U. S. Constitution, which banned the manufacture, transportation and sale of intoxicating liquors. The Amendment went into effect the following year. Thus, next January, my fellow dry Southern Baptists may raise a toast to the time when our great republic gave a black eye to demon rum and the evil alcoholic beverage industry. Or, maybe not. I recall Prohibition being taught in history classes as a failed experiment. That it failed is manifestly true since the country, after a dozen years of … [Read more...] about A century after prohibition
Protecting children in your church
In regard to child protection in SBC churches and entities, whatever solutions are proposed or adopted in the various levels of Southern Baptist life if they prove ineffective in local churches the effort will have minimal value. Our convention has 50,000 or so individual churches that voluntarily cooperate on associational, state, and national levels. The country crossroads church needs to protect children just like the multi-campus megachurch franchise operation. In my church we have used MinistrySafe child protection system for about a year now. It is not a perfect system but works well … [Read more...] about Protecting children in your church
An Unreported Component of the Sexual Abuse Problem
By now most of you will have read The Houston Chronicle's second article on sexual abuse in the SBC. I believe that the reporting by The Chronicle, taken together with the responses by various Southern Baptists on this site and in other places, offers us a painful examination of a few undeniable facts: People who want to abuse children sexually are able quite easily to gain access to our pews and our pulpits and are using that proximity to pick off innocent lambs within the flock. If it has served their self-interest to do so, other Southern Baptists have far too often, rather than … [Read more...] about An Unreported Component of the Sexual Abuse Problem
The ordination scandal in the SBC
Some Southern Baptist churches would ordain a ham sandwich. One pastor told me that his ordination was a joke. One ordination council in which I participated would have been a joke if I had not been present. No one seemed to know why they were there. Ordinations are quickly given but rarely revoked. Ordinations are not registered with any SBC body that I know of. Ordinations have no recognized requirements in the SBC. We Southern Baptists are not sacerdotalists but what are we? Ordinations require no particular education even though many laypeople think that a seminary … [Read more...] about The ordination scandal in the SBC
Responding to “Abuse of Faith” and the #Metoo Movement
NOTE: I just read the third installment, and to be honest, I may be sick. It is hard to read. Wow. Demented men. NOTE: the second installment is out and is more specific, more maddening, and more saddening than the first. I will turn your stomach. I appreciate the research of the journalists at the Chronicle. They have done an excellent job of showing the problem. I read the first installment of the Houston Chronicle's "Abuse of Faith" story with much fear and trembling. The fact is that for those of us who have been following this story, there was little new there. The details … [Read more...] about Responding to “Abuse of Faith” and the #Metoo Movement
“Abuse of Faith” – A report on Sexual Abuse in SBC churches: How should we Baptists (and we Christians) respond to this report?
Update: Since the posting of this blog on Saturday, the Houston Chronicle report has now been released. You may access the article here. ______ Tomorrow, an investigative article will be released in the Houston Chronicle that will tell the story of hundreds of persons who have been sexually abused in SBC churches. Even before I know the content of the article, I have a few suggestions about how we as Baptist pastors and members should respond to it. 1. Listen. Hear the voices of the persons in this report and let the story have it’s effect. Digest it, listen to the stories, … [Read more...] about “Abuse of Faith” – A report on Sexual Abuse in SBC churches: How should we Baptists (and we Christians) respond to this report?