SBC President J.D. Greear has announced that he will form a Sexual Abuse Presidential Study Group in partnership with the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission. He has not yet announced those who will comprise the group and indicated that that membership may be fluid.
Baptist Press has an article on the study group. It is informational and has quotes from several entity leaders.
The press release which announced the formation of the study group carried this explanatory paragraph.
The group’s purpose will be to consider how Southern Baptists at every level can take discernable action to respond swiftly and compassionately to incidents of abuse, as well as to foster safe environments within churches and institutions. This group will study both how Southern Baptists are currently engaging these issues and develop recommendations in consultation with relevant SBC entities on strategies and resources for ministering to victims and protecting people and churches from predators.
I am not generally enthused about task forces and study groups, but this one seems to be timely and has the potential to meet a real need among Southern Baptists. We have taken so many bloody noses on this front and if this study group works well it could be a turning point in the life of the SBC.
This is a needed step. Thank God we have a leader such as J.D. Greear at the helm.
