Members of the Executive Committee and fellow Southern Baptists,

I hope you guys are doing great. It’s been a nice, quiet season for me, so I’m just grateful to be here.

When I got nominated to be SBC President, I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect. I told a lot of people that in some ways I felt like the proverbial dog that had caught the school bus–spent all that time barking, “now what?”

I knew there was a lot I needed to learn, and only a fool jumps forward in confidence when he should sit back, examine and learn.

• I’m reminded of the story of a small plane carrying 4 people that was about to crash when they discovered there were only 3 parachutes. There was a mother, a rocket scientist, a Baptist missionary and a young boy. They all 4 stared at the parachutes for a minute, and the 1st woman said, “Listen, I’m sorry, I am a mother of 5 and my kids need me,” so she grabbed a parachute before anyone could object and jumped out. The rocket scientist said, “I work for NASA, and literally one of the smartest people in the world. My country needs me.” So, he grabbed the second parachute and jumped. The third was a Baptist missionary, and he said to the boy, “Son, you’ve got your whole life ahead of you. You take the last parachute.” The boy said, “Sir, that’s alright. There are still two parachutes left. The smartest man in the world just jumped out with my backpack.”

Not even Intelligence can make up for failing to stop and listen, and I’m not the smartest guy in the room.

So I’ve spent several months just listening–trying to listen to God, to other leaders, and to Spirit-filled men and some in our Convention to figure out the steps we need to take in this critical hour.

When my friend Ken Whitten nominated me to serve as President, I told him there were 6 things that God had placed on my heart.

• This was not about changing doctrine. We believe in the authority and sufficiency of our Bible, of God’s inerrant, unchanging Word.

• This was not about changing mission. Our mission as Southern Baptists is clear — we come together so that every nation, tribe, and tongue knows that there is no other salvation found other than in Jesus Christ and him alone.  We want to see this message spread to the ends of the earth, in our cities, and in our towns. The SBC is built on the premise that we can do more together than we can apart.

• I do believe the Holy Spirit is calling us to is a change in the culture surrounding those things.

1. I felt that God is calling us to a return to keeping the Gospel Above All.

• We have always been a gospel people. It is the basis of our identity and forms the basis of our unity in the mission. It’s WHY we come together.
• Paul said… 1 Cor 15:3–4 / 1 Cor 2:2
• We want to be a people known for the gospel–that when people think of and talk about us, they talk about the gospel.
• I’m afraid that’s not what people think about right now when they think about us–we need to change that.
• There’s a lot of good and important things we can give ourselves to than can obscure the one essential thing.
• We only get so much bandwidth with our community, and I don’t want to consume it with anything other than the gospel.
• “I might be wrong in my opinion on global warming…”

As you may have seen, Gospel Above All will be the theme of this convention and hopefully the tenor and tone of all of us going forward.

2. Diversity — by God’s grace, we are one of the more diverse groups of churches in the nation. (nearly 20% minority of our convention;  NAMB reports 62% of churches planted last year were non-Anglo)

• Sadly, our leadership has not reflected that.

• So, with committee appointments I want to be intentional in seeing our leadership look more like who we are as a body—and more like heaven.

  • CoC: Only 32% white males

  • 34% of committee appointments are female

  • More than 50% of my appointments are non-white, including AA; Hispanic and Asian

  • 51% from churches with < 250 attenders (24% < 100)

  • Average CP, 7.6%, more than 1 point 5 times the national average of 4.86% (there has been an assumption: appoint diverse committees, CP will be hurt)

  • Average baptisms was 26 per church

  • 11 of churches were started in last decade

  • Average age: 43 with the oldest 73; youngest was 22;

• They are all qualified–we just have to get outside of our networks.

  • Our problem is we only appoint people we know, and they happen to all be like us. There are lots of qualified leaders of color, we just have to intentionally reach outside our networks to get to them.

• I also want to emphasize: this is not some kind of generosity or some kind of virtue signaling: We need their wisdom!

• These appointments represent both who we are now and who we want to become.

3. Next Generation — we must engage a whole new generation of Southern Baptists.

• I love and am so grateful for my SB forefathers. My whole family has been blessed by the ministry of men like Al Mohler and Danny Akin. My grandfather told me that as a boy he used to fall asleep listening to Al Mohler preach on the radio

• But it’s time to include a new generation

4. Renewed commitment to Cooperative Mission — These past six months, I have been more convinced than ever that we must look at all options with regards to how we work together.

• My first desire in this has been to really engage with our state conventions and association leaders. They were the people I met with first back in August.

5. I wanted to put an emphasis on sending — each church personally involved in church planting

• One of most successful things at our church:

• Challenging each graduate to give 2 years. Sent out 1100.

  • “You have to get a job somewhere. Why not get a job where God is at work?”

  • “The question is no longer if you’re called; only where and how.”

• More missionaries than the Mormons!… the whole SBC!

• IMB & NAMB are opening up pathways like never before with this.

  • Kevin Ezell has been super helpful, and I’m encouraged you’ve been by initial conversations with new IMB President Paul Chitwood

  • But think about it: What if the first decision a college graduate made in their career choice was for the mission of God?

  • NAMB & IMB have stats to prove (and all of you know) that getting our folks to take a tangible first step—like a 2-year commitment—leads to long term engagement.

6. Returning to a place where Evangelism is our primary goal

• As you may have seen, with partnership of NAMB and our new VP of EV, Johnny Hunt, we have developed the Who’s Your One? Initiative.

• We are asking every Southern Baptist to pick at least one person that they are going to intentionally share Christ with in the weeks and years to come.

• Built on 4 convictions

  • Evangelism is the core of SB mission

    • The 99 vs. the 1: nothing you can do with or in your church brings Jesus as much joy…

    • It’s the core of the Great Commission: Robert Coleman in Master Plan of Evangelism: “Make disciples” (in Greek)

      • Without this, nothing else we do has any value: Church planting w/o evangelism: just reshuffling sheep around

      • Community ministry w/o evangelism: making people more comfortable on the way to hell

  • Ordinary people are the tip of the gospel spear

    • Stephen Neill–Anonymity in Acts. Both Antioch and Rome: some brothers

    • 39 of 40

  • We have to reach people outside the church

  • We should allow churches freedom in how they do it (a rallying cry with freedom)

    • We are not giving you a one-size fits all, ready-made strategy to implement WY1, and that’s intentional. We want you to have the flexibility to figure out what works best.

• So I challenge you to put this vision out there in front of your people. Challenge them to have a one. To pray about it.

  • We’ve been doing this for a couple of years

    • I have people coming up to me constantly. We have them in the baptistry “My one was here.”

    • Best prayer request

    • Last week: 132 POF in services

    • We give them training and ideas:

      • One unbeliever in your home

      • “Not” statements

  • Imagine what it would look like if SB’s did this. 16 million SB’s…just half.

    • Just the pastors!

  • What if it the lack of money and power was a blessing… set us up for a resurgence of something simple. What if our lack of money and waning power turned us back to the simple things—relying on members intentionally sharing Jesus with others! And that’s where the power was. And, like the early church, who, without money or power or any of their people in Congress, saw a worldwide explosion of the gospel. What if that was what is ahead for us?

• I challenge you to use it: What if every EC member had their “one”?

  • What if that was the first question we were asking each other when we meet again in June?

Before we go on, could we have a time for prayer? Do you have a name?

Pray for one…. Amen…

Sexual Abuse

Last but not least here: as we talk about culture, I think we recognize, with brokenness, that our culture needs to change when it comes to our response to sexual abuse.

For years, we have passed resolutions making clear how we feel about abuse. And with nearly 50,000 churches and numerous associations and conventions, some of our membership have taken their responsibility seriously.

But brothers and sisters, there is a problem.

• This is not a fabricated story made up by people with a secular agenda.

• We’ve not taken reports of abuse in our churches as seriously as our gospel demands, and sometimes even worse, outright ignored or silenced victims.

And it’s time we back up our words with actions that demonstrate our commitment to this.

Last July, within the first few weeks of being elected president, I announced the formation of a Sexual Abuse Advisory Group.

• I’ve tried to avoid the language of “task force”—because a “task force” implies that there is one simple task and a conclusion. This is something we know will require constant learning, continual introspection, and ongoing vigilance.

• Our goal is not to meet the minimal requirements for ethical reporting, but to ensure maximum protection for those God has put within our care!

  • Our goal is for our response to abuse to match the gospel we proclaim with our mouths.

    • Brothers and sisters, we serve a God who laid down his life to protect the vulnerable. How dare we proclaim that gospel with our mouths and turn a blind eye when the vulnerable in our midst cry out for help?

  • Didn’t Jesus say that for whomever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to fall away–it would be better for him if a heavy millstone were hung around his neck and he were drowned in the depths of the sea.

    • And what would make someone fall away from the gospel more than experiencing abuse at the hands of those who taught them the gospel?

• This advisory group, with generous funding provided by you at the Executive Committee, in partnership with the ERLC, is deep and multi-faceted. We have been working with survivors, advocates, activists, pastors, denominational leaders, counselors, law enforcement, and attorneys–people from both inside the SBC and outside–among the most qualified experts in the country, and over half of which are women–to analyze our system, structures, and church culture on where we are missing the mark.

• More importantly, this advisory group will show us how we can move forward.

Tonight, as I give some initial recommendations from our study group, I am calling Southern Baptists to action in 10 key areas.

• We need to repent for decades of inaction.

  • I’m calling for a season of lament, sorrow, and repentance

  • And, you ask, “What exactly do we need to repent of?

    • Certainly, those who have aided or abetted in abuse need to repent of that.

    • But as a Convention, we need to repent of a culture that has made abuse, cover-ups, and evading accountability far too easy

    • We need to repent of where we have not been as vigilant in responding to reports of abuse with the urgency our gospel demands

    • We need to repent of any hint of blaming victims for their abuse

    • We need to repent of allowing a distorted version of complementarianism to foster a culture of radical, unbiblical patriarchy that failed to treat women as equal partners in ministry, caused us to respond to reports of abuse with suspicion rather than compassion, and enabled abusers to evade accountability.

    • We need to repent of a frankly unbiblical approach to grace

      • The biblical teachings on grace and forgiveness never mean covering up sin in ways that open up others to harm

      • Biblical teachings on grace and forgiveness never mean giving an abuser a second chance to prey on the vulnerable. Somebody that has been through this should never ever again be in a position where they can work in the vulnerable for the rest of their lives. And if they’re truly and rightly repentant, they’ll understand that.

    • We need to repent (wherever we need to) of failing to cooperate with the laws of the land

      • Of a view of authority that made us feel that we were capable of handling everything internally, in clear violation of Romans 13.

    • Maybe even worse, trying to avoid embarrassment by keeping it out of the public eye

      • The safety of victims is more important than the reputation of Southern Baptists

    • We need to repent of the pride that led us to thinking “it could never happen with us.”

      • That it’s a “Catholic problem” or a “liberal theology” or a “corrupt Hollywood” problem

      • Predators count on a sense of invulnerability of not realizing that wherever sinful people are, which certainly includes our churches, predators will prey upon the weak.

      • Jesus warned us that this was possible when he said that in the flock there would be hired hands that come in and abuse the flock.

    • We must repent of appealing to autonomy as a coverup for lack of accountability. Yes, we believe in autonomous churches, but we cannot practice that in a way that allows safe harbor for predators.

      • As Thom Rainer has said, “Autonomy does not excuse irresponsibility”

  • This season of sorrow will culminate at the 2019 SBC annual meeting as we have a time for prayer and lament on the subject of abuse on Wednesday afternoon

• We’ve been working on a resource called, Becoming a Church that Cares Well for the Abused.  This will be a free 12 lesson, 20-minute training for any type of ministry leader.

  • 10 member team (in alphabetical order):

• • • Rachael Denhollander (survivor, attorney, advocate)
    • Mika Edmondson (pastor and church planter)
    • Brad Hambrick (pastor, counselor and seminary professor)
    • Samantha Kilpatrick (attorney, former prosecutor, victim advocate, and church advisor)
    • Diane Langberg (psychologist – trauma and abuse specialist)
    • Chris Moles (pastor, ACBC and IABC certified biblical counselor specializing in batterer intervention)
    • Andrea Munford (police officer and lead detective on Larry Nassar case)
    • Karla Siu (Licensed Clinical Social Worker)
    • Darby Strickland (counselor at Christian Counseling and Education Foundation, specializing in domestic abuse)
    • Leslie Vernick (former Licensed Clinical Social Worker and author focusing on destructive relationships)

1. • We recognize that education is not the answer because ignorance is not the problem. But we must eliminate ignorance as an excuse.

     • Someone asked me, In 2019 is ignorance an excuse any more? No it is not and we want to make sure it’s never used again in SBC life.

   • Our strategy is to make this kind of training standard for all entities that wear the name “Southern Baptist.”

     • All six SBC seminaries have committed to integrating training on how to care for survivors into their mandatory curriculum.

       • No longer should seminary students graduate without training and a reference tool on how to handle matters of abuse well.

       • We also hope, btw, the denominationally diverse expert panel will result in other denominational seminaries making this part of their education as well.

     • All 41 Baptist state conventions (which represent all 50 states) and the officers of the SBC Associational Leaders have committed to integrating training on how to care for survivors into their ministries, employee practices, and church resourcing.

     • And, as I mentioned, we want to see this become standard training for every pastor and every new staff member.

   • BTW, a next step for you- Go to www.churchcares.com and sign up to receive an email when the curriculum is available.

• I am announcing tonight that all six seminaries, the officers of the SBC Associational Leaders, and (all) the state conventions have agreed to three  “Statement of Principles on Abuse” documents

  • The Statement of Principles by the Seminaries

    • Share: the seminaries commit to protecting their campus communities from abuse by establishing clear processes, equipping staff to partner with external partners such as law enforcement and counselors,

    • Care

    • Prepare: they will offer training in prevention of and care for abuse as standard preparation for ministry

  • The Statements of Principles by the state conventions and SBC Associational Leaders are similar:

    • First, they will continue to educate Southern Baptists by sharing about abuse issues–including a commitment by each state convention and association to address abuse at their 2019 annual meetings

    • And they will equip churches and ministries with both training on prevention and care.

  • BTW: We will make all three of these historic documents available following my message

• I am asking that churches, associations, conventions, and entities take immediate action to review their policies and procedures relating to abuse.

  • Is it current?

  • In some cases, especially with those churches and pastors who have been in the news, looking at an outside firm to give an honest assessment of weaknesses.

  • Our study group is actively preparing resources and recommendations for strengthening policies and practices and will make those available by our time together at the Birmingham convention

• I am asking the Executive Committee to strongly consider requiring background checks, at a minimum, for all SBC standing committees and trustee appointments.

  • I understand that there would be expense involved in this and I understand that there would be issues on the floor of the convention possibly, but we need to figure this out.

  • Our goal is to be able to say to survivors that we want to be as vigilant as possible to prevent the inclusion of predators at any level within our structure.

  • Again, background checks are simply a bare minimum and I’m asking that this Executive Committee look into this.

• A call for us as Southern Baptists to reexamine our ordination processes for pastors and deacons.

  • Ordaining a pastor is serious business, and our ordination councils should not come with rubber stamps.

  • Why is it that our background check and screening process is often more rigorous for children’s ministry volunteers than people being ordained? This is a sacred responsibility and we have to take it seriously, ensuring each candidate lives up to the standards set out by the Apostle Paul in 1 Tim 3–and being above reproach certainly means having no hint of sexual abuse or cover-up in their past.

  • Souls are in the balance when we place them in the hands of our pastors!

• I am calling on our state convention partners and LifeWay to work together to identify additional questions related to abuse that can be added to the Annual Church Profile.

  • We have qualifications based on giving & length of time within one state.

  • I’d love to see questions about abuse prevention policies that allow us to verify if churches have stringent policies in place, are updating those policies annually, and provide an opportunity to indicate if an abuse allegation involving the church occurred in the past year.

• This year at the Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting in Birmingham we will address abuse in the following ways:

  • First, through prayer and lament – On Wednesday afternoon, we will lead a time of prayer and lament from the main stage of the convention

  • Second, through a study group report – In addition to the time of prayer, a study group report will provide updates and announce initiatives

  • Third, through an event – On Monday night, the study group will partner with the ERLC to host an event on “Sexual Abuse and the Southern Baptist Convention”

  • Fourth, through providing resources – Throughout the annual meeting, we will make resources on abuse available to attendees

• I want to address for a moment the question about a database of offenders. This topic has been discussed for years and interest in a solution is swelling across the SBC

  • I want to be clear that our study group is putting every option on the table when it comes to addressing abuse and this is just the initial phase.

  • We have already been evaluating possibilities related to a database and listening to a wide range of survivors, advocates, and experts on the options

  • The subject of a database is complicated and will take time to evaluate

  • So, just because we are not announcing any plans regarding a database tonight does not mean that we are not doing everything we can to evaluate it as an option

10. Our advisory group strongly believes that the governing documents of the Southern Baptist Convention should be reviewed and amended to address the definition of a cooperating church.  We must take bold and decisive steps to send an unequivocal message: Churches that have a wanton disregard for sexual abuse and for caring for the survivors are not in good fellowship with this convention.

I am so thankful that the leadership of this Executive Committee has already been working on this initiative.  Last night, our officers approved a proposed constitutional amendment.  And tomorrow, this body will begin its consideration of this vitally important part of our response.

And based on existing constitutional authority, I am calling us to do our due diligence regarding churches among our convention who may well have already demonstrated a lack of good standing on this issue.

Strengthening our language is important, but words will not matter unless action comes with them.

We need to be honest with ourselves. If news stories had listed a number of our churches who were alleged to have changed their position on homosexuality, we would rightly begin to ask questions and potentially take steps to cease cooperation, because our position on this issue is clear. We must take seriously that our position on abuse is clear too.

The act of disfellowshipping a church is a serious one, and we should not take it lightly in either direction. In our processes, we do not call for that measure without thorough research, so I am not calling for that tonight. But we also should not dismiss concerns and allegations out of hand. The stakes are simply too high.

In media reports over the last week, churches who are currently in cooperation with the Southern Baptist Convention were alleged to have displayed a wanton disregard for the seriousness of abuse.

• In some cases, they were alleged to have directly acted in a manner that was negligent at best and malicious at worst.

• Either way, if the alleged reports are correct, we’ve had churches that operated out of alignment with gospel practices articulated by our BF&M.

• In the interest of being above reproach, we should perform due diligence to verify whether or not these churches are indeed operating with a faith and practice that upholds  the Baptist Faith and Message, specifically Article XV, which says that we should seek to provide for the abused.

I urge the bylaws workgroup of the administrative committee to take the necessary steps to determine whether the churches named recently in the news meet the standards of having a faith and practice which closely identifies with the Convention’s adopted statement of faith as outlined in Article 3 of the SBC Constitution. And the entity heads agree with me and stand with me.

Now, I want to step aside and say something as President–not speaking on behalf of the entities, or anybody but me. I say this as a member of the EC, based on my reading, our inquiry should start with:

• Arapaho Baptist Church, Garland, Texas
• Bolivar Baptist Church, Sanger, Texas
• Brentwood Baptist Church, Houston, Texas
• Cathedral of Faith, Houston, Texas
• Eastside Baptist Church, Marietta, Georgia
• First Baptist Church, Bedford, Texas
• Second Baptist Church, Houston, Texas
• Sovereign Grace Church, Louisville, Kentucky
• Trinity Baptist Church, Ashburn, Georgia
• Turner Street Baptist Church, Springdale, Arkansas

And any other churches that receive similar allegations. Again, please note, I am not calling for disfellowshipping any of these churches at this point but these churches must be called upon to give assurance to the SBC that they have taken the necessary steps to correct their policies and procedures (if applicable) with regards to abuse and care for survivors.

Our goal here is never disfellowship, but correction!

I, along with the Sexual Abuse Advisory Group, would like to thank the media shining a light on the magnitude of this horrific sin. As the counselor Paul Tripp said, “We cannot grieve what we do not see, we cannot confess what we have not grieved, and we cannot turn from what we haven’t confessed.”

And I want to say something to our body of Southern Baptists: We need to regard any exposure, any shining of light on abuse, as our friend, even if it makes us ask some uncomfortable questions about ourselves, publicly. Our job is to love and serve people, especially those who have suffered abuse. Our job is not to protect our reputation.

The reason I formed this group last summer was we have known there was a problem and whatever had been done in the past, clearly was not enough.

We have a gospel that declares that God loves the vulnerable and laid down his life to protect them. Shame on us for not pursuing prevention of abuse in a way that illustrates that.

Friends in the media, you are not our enemy, you have done us a great gift by shining light on this evil that so many have been posting about and speaking out about for decades.  And for that, on behalf of all Southern Baptists, I thank you.

Brothers and sisters, it is time for change. The world is watching. People are waiting. And God is going to hold us accountable for how we respond to this moment.

• I want you to realize, as strongly as I can, that this is a gospel moment: If we don’t get this right, our churches will not be a safe place for the lost. That’s not something I’m okay with, and I know it’s not something you’re okay with.

• I want to urge all Southern Baptists to continue to respond with humility. There may be a time to defend ourselves, but now it is a time to own our error and grieve over those who have been hurt

• How my prayer changed

Brothers and sisters, this has been a lot, and a lot for us to think about. Talking to AB: not getting any sleep. Ps. 127

• “God is watching the city”

• If we do what we are supposed to do, he will protect us. And what are we supposed to do? Now is time to lament and change. God will take care of us if we do.

• Allie letter

I close tonight with the reminder that God has promised to fight for his church.

• Jesus said that he would build his church and the gates of hell would not be able to prevail against it.

• William Carey once said that the future is always as bright as the promises of God.

• When I think of the future of the SBC, I believe that the Holy Spirit has great days ahead. If we keep the gospel above all, heed the voice of the Holy Spirit, commit ourselves to his mission, and cast ourselves upon his mercy, the gates of hell will not stand a chance.

Southern Baptist Convention Seminaries: Statement of principles on Abuse

The six seminaries of the Southern Baptist Convention are committed to partnering with the Sexual Abuse Presidential Study Group to equip our campuses to engage the issue of abuse with compassion and care. Our desire is for the next generation to lead churches and ministries that are safe for survivors and safe from abuse. We also want to become compassionate campus communities that care well. To this end, the six SBC seminaries collectively commit to the following shared statement of principles:

Principles to Protect our Campus Communities

• Process: Our seminaries will have clear processes that we will follow to strive to prevent abuse on campus and care well for survivors who experience abuse
• Personnel: Our seminaries will identify and equip staff members and external ministry partners who are responsible for leading our processes related to abuse
• Awareness: Our seminaries will regularly promote awareness of our processes and personnel to the campus community to enhance understanding

Principles to Prepare our Campus Communities

• Share: Our seminaries will share about abuse by educating our students, staff, and faculty to understand the issues through relevant resources and training
• Care: Our seminaries encourage the effort of the Sexual Abuse Presidential Study Group to develop the resource Becoming a Church that Cares Well for Abuse and will integrate training on how to care for abuse survivors as a mandatory aspect of the curriculum
• Prepare: Our seminaries will integrate training on abuse prevention as a mandatory aspect of the curriculum

SBC State Conventions: Statement of Principles on Abuse

The state conventions in cooperation with the Southern Baptist Convention are committed to partnering with the Sexual Abuse Presidential Study Group to equip churches and ministries in our respective states to engage the issue of abuse with compassion and care. Our desire is for the churches and ministries in our states to become safe for survivors and safe from abuse. We also want our state conventions to be a model for compassionate care. To this end, our state conventions collectively commit to continue and expand our existing efforts and to the following shared statement of principles:

Our state conventions will continue to address sexual abuse issues

We will educate affiliate churches and ministries in our state to understand abuse by:

• Raising awareness: We will raise awareness about the issue of abuse through state convention outlets and events, including a commitment to address abuse at our 2019 annual meetings
• Sharing resources: We will share resources about the issue of abuse to the churches and ministries we serve
• Partnering with the study group: We will partner with the Sexual Abuse Presidential Study Group to develop and seek ways to support its efforts and initiatives

Our state conventions will care for abuse survivors

We will equip churches and ministries in our state to care well for abuse survivors by:

• Encouraging resource development: We encourage the effort of the Sexual Abuse Presidential Study Group to develop the resource Becoming a Church that Cares Well for Abuse
• Providing staff training: We will provide training to our state convention staff on how to provide highly effective resourcing in caring for survivors of abuse
• Promoting church training: We will promote training on how to care for survivors of abuse to the churches and ministries we serve

Our state conventions will continue to prepare for abuse prevention

We will support churches and ministries in our state to prepare to prevent abuse by:

• Enhancing prevention practices: We will encourage churches and ministries to enhance their abuse prevention policies and practices
• Providing staff training: We will provide training to our state convention staff on abuse prevention
• Promoting church training: We will promote training on abuse prevention to the churches and ministries we serve

Southern Baptist Conference of Associational Leaders: Statement of Principles on Abuse

The Officers of the Southern Baptist Conference of Associational Leaders (SBCAL) stand in agreement with the goal of the SBC Presidential Sexual Abuse Study to equip churches and ministries in our associations to engage the issue of sexual abuse, especially in a church setting, with compassion and care. Our desire is for the churches in our respective associations to be safe havens for survivors and safe from abuse. We also call on our associational leaders and ministries to be models of compassionate care. To this end, we call on Associational Mission Strategists collectively to commit to the following statement of principles:

Our associations will share about abuse

We will educate churches and ministries in our associations to understand abuse by:

• Raising awareness: We will raise awareness about the issue of abuse through association outlets and events, including a commitment to address abuse at our 2019 annual meetings.
• Sharing resources: We will share resources about the issue of abuse to the churches and ministries we serve.
• Partnering with the study group: We will partner with the SBC Presidential Sexual Abuse Study to support its efforts to address abuse and resource churches.

Our associations will care for abuse survivors

We will equip churches and ministries in our associations to care well for abuse survivors by:

• Encouraging resource development: We encourage the effort of the SBC Presidential Sexual Abuse Study to develop a resource that will help equip churches to care well for the abused and promote strategies to prevent abuse.
• Providing staff training: We will provide training to our association staff and leadership on how to care for survivors of abuse.
• Promoting church training: We will promote training on how to care for survivors of abuse to the churches and ministries we serve.

Our associations will prepare for abuse prevention

We will support churches and ministries in our associations to prepare to prevent abuse by:

• Enhancing prevention practices: We will encourage churches and ministries to enhance their abuse prevention policies and practices.
• Providing staff training: We will provide training to our association staff and leadership on abuse prevention.
• Promoting church training: We will promote training on abuse prevention to the churches and ministries we serve.