Surely you’ve heard by now that a former missionary with the IMB, Mark Aderholt, was arrested on July 3 and charged with sexually assaulting a teenager. The alleged crime took place 21 years ago when Aderholt was a student at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
The IMB learned of the allegations made by Aderholt’s victim in 2007 while he was serving with the board. They conducted an internal investigation which determined that “Aderholt ‘engaged in an inappropriate sexual relationship’ with a teen in 1996-1997, that the victim ‘suffered as a result’ and that Aderholt ‘was not truthful’ with the IMB ‘about the full extent of the relationship.’ “ Because his victim was an adult at the time the allegations came to light and because she did not want to make a report to police, the IMB did not report the assault to authorities. They intended to fire Aderholt at the next meeting of the trustees, but Aderholt resigned first.
That’s when things get fuzzy. Two months later, Aderholt was employed as the executive pastor at Central Baptist Church in North Little Rock, Ark. He then went on to become the associate pastor of missions/evangelism at Immanuel Baptist Church in Little Rock. From there he went to the South Carolina Baptist Convention as associate director and chief strategist.
This raises a lot of questions to which we do not yet know the answers. Did any of these employers contact the IMB to ask for a reference on Aderholt before hiring him? If so, what did the IMB tell them? If these employers did not contact IMB, did anyone who knew of Aderholt’s assault recognize a moral obligation to blow the whistle and alert someone to Aderholt’s sexual assault history?
Right now we have people at the IMB, SCBC, and both churches remaining silent aside from statements prepared by lawyers. No one is saying what they knew. No one is saying what information was passed along to whom. It’s been said that silence is golden. In this case, silence is NOT golden.
I understand the need to tread carefully when releasing public statements that involve employment issues surrounding a criminal sexual assault case. I do not envy these leaders’ position one bit. But there comes a time when standing up and doing the right thing is more important that protecting yourself or the organization you lead from a lawsuit.
So what needs to happen now?
- The IMB, SCBC, and the churches involved must fully cooperate with authorities.
- Anyone at the IMB, SCBC, or these churches who knew about Aderholt’s assault and did nothing should be terminated immediately.
- The executive director of the SCBC must be transparent with its member churches about what he and others responsible for hiring Aderholt knew. If they knew nothing, why?
- The churches where Aderholt was employed after leaving IMB must be transparent with their members about what those responsible for hiring Aderholt knew. If they knew nothing, why?
- David Platt needs to address the situation directly rather than relying upon a spokesperson. Why was a former missionary who was credibly accused of sexual assault hired at two churches and a state convention after resigning from IMB in disgrace? Dr. Platt was not the leader at IMB when Aderholt resigned, but he is now. IMB needs him to lead.
This must stop. Abusers cannot be allowed to resign quietly and then move along to another position of ministry without someone standing up and saying something. Blow the whistle. Reveal the abuser. Protect the abused.
I have been preaching through the book of Amos over the last several weeks. Through Amos, God said of the people of Israel’s worship, “I hate,” “I despise,” “I take no delight,” “I will not accept,” “I will not look,” and “I will not listen” (Amos 5:21-23). Why such harsh language? Because God’s people were marked by idolatry, immorality, and injustice, yet they thought all was well with God.
Brothers and sisters, we have a problem. The problem will not be addressed by silence and secrecy. Silence is NOT golden.
Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. -Amos 5:24
Adam, thank you so much for writing about this painful, but important topic. I hope your advice will be taken seriously. This article reminds me of one of my most painful experiences in ministry. A student at a bible college overseas where I was teaching (not affiliated with the SBC or IMB) shared with my wife that a top leader at the school had asked her to sleep with him. This led to an investigation, initially led by my wife and I and then by school leadership, which turned up many accusations against this leader. When the school chose not… Read more »
There have been many blogs across the spectrum agonizing over the internal investigation and follow-up on sexual assaults within (and without) the SBC. But very few address the very first stumbling stone—the initiation of a criminal investigation with the proper law enforcement agency, I respectfully submit that church leaders are patently inexperienced to investigate criminal matters and, therefore, should not muck around. Law enforcement must be involved if there is even an inkling of crime—and incidentally this takes care of the issues of being unbiased and completely transparent. Moreover, it ensures the victim with Victim Assistance Programs. Then, and only… Read more »
Bart Barber has addressed this extensively.
What about the pastor or church leaders that do nothing to help the issue or the victims?
I’ve been reading the various accounts of sexual impropriety as a means of dismissal from ministry positions and am amazed at the content of the conversation. When I graduated from seminary in 1986, my first pastorate was in a small church outside of Fresno, CA. where the previous pastor has “taken up” with a choir member, returned in repentance to be restored, then took off with the woman again and I believe married her. The church that had ordained this man rescinded his ordination, however, within weeks I was contacted by a church some 150 miles away about this man’s… Read more »
There’s a difference between illegal and unethical conduct. I’m with you. The answer is that no one tells any local church what do to, who to hire, who to fire, who to discipline, who to restore, who to cast out…sometimes not even Jesus.
“Sometimes not even Jesus.”
Ouch. And True.
For me personally, there is no difference between the illegal and unethical for the Christian. Both are equally huge in importance.
Deliberately naive, eager-to-hire churches never acknowledge or admit their role. Never.
I second every word of this. Thank you.
Churches must always be a safe haven from predators. I applaud the convention for taking a strong stand to support women who have been violated and then bullied into silence. Some of the most beautiful words that a pastor can hear from the women in their church is: “Pastor I feel safe and protected in my church.” We must continue to send a clear message with strong actions and words that we will not tolerate abusive behavior, and the good old boy attitude toward the damaged emotions and scarred minds of vulnerable women that have been violated must end forever.
Adam, I don’t want to focus too much on a church, but could you clarify whether the first church Aderholt went to in Arkansas was Central Baptist Church in Little Rock, Arkansas, or Central Baptist Church in North Little Rock, Arkansas? The former is independent Baptist and the latter SBC. Thanks.
This article has a link to the church in question. The reporter has sent the church some questions, which they have yet to answer.
https://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/crime/article214965680.html
The article had the link right but had the church as Central Baptist Little Rock. Part of the problem of using repetitive names in the Metro Area!
I’ve been told that it is North Little Rock. I’ll update the post.
Thanks, Hunter and Adam. I think it is fair that the wrong church not be implicated in the issue.
CBC North Little Rock.
And, of course, given the way things go: neither CBC North Little Rock nor Immanuel, Little Rock, have the same pastor they had when Aderholt was there, which means that many of the support/administrative people are different, too.
So, you send a question to CBC NLR, and Wyman gets it (current pastor) but he doesn’t know and neither do any of his staff folks, so he doesn’t answer, so now CBC looks like they aren’t helping, but really they actually don’t know.
Potentially the same for Dr. Smith at IBC.
Absolutely, facts are important in cases like this. But if the question went to the wrong church and/or the correct church has turned over in staff and leadership, those are pretty easy questions to answer. Circling the wagons and refusing to even answer simple questions isn’t a good practice either (I’m not saying either church is doing that in this instance, but the newspaper noted they haven’t gotten any response as of yet). So much of what we have seen is because people in the ministry and various institutions simply refuse to respond to basic requests for information. “Autonomy” is… Read more »
There are not going to be answers given when staff has changed.
Then in that case the answer is “Our staff has changed and we have no information on this person’s employment because our church doesnt keep personnel records.” This isnt hard. Just stop circling the wagons and tell the truth.
This is sad, but good news. It’s good that we are continuing to see the culture in the SBC slowly start to change on this issue. I know that I have been reading and writing about it for almost 10 years. There have been significant barriers to this being addressed before, but I think that the #metoo movement, and the recent allegations relating to Dr. Patterson combined to overcome previous thinking and the reticence to open matters that would reflect poorly on other high profile leaders who had achieved celebrity status. As to the specifics of this IMB situation, the… Read more »
What roles should/can local associations and state conventions play in situations where a church responds poorly to an obvious case of serious misconduct by it’s leadership? This assumes that they somehow learn about it, which in some cases they might not. Does association leadership usually check in with a church when there is a turnover in leadership other than due to a planned retirement? What ways can they help while honoring the autonomy of the local church?
That is a great question.
A seemingly quick and easy solution – one that I hope the IMB and other entities have/will implement is something like this: Every employee, when hired, signs a legal dicument allowing that entity to release to any potential employer who inquired information regarding any and all work history including circumstances surrounding resignation/termination that involves verified incidents of moral turpitude. In fact, Might even add language stating we WILL notify future employers…. DONT SIGN? No Hire. It’d be nice if all our churches would do the same….but …. autonomy. They’d have to do that on thier own as they see fit….but… Read more »
Love to hear some legal counsel on this as an idea, but it seems like a good one to me.
Dave: I’m not now and never have been an employment lawyer, but I’ve been lawyering for 30 years, so I’ll offer this take. You would want to check with legal counsel before requiring such a document. First, it probably depends on your state laws. It wouldn’t surprise me if states like California don’t permit such documents. Second, you’d have to be very careful to make sure the kinds of information given to the asking entity were very specifically laid out in the document (you wouldn’t want general statements about moral failures) – you wouldn’t want such a document to be… Read more »
Yeah, I feel ya. Thanks.
These issues are sticky for sure.
I’m only considering a “hold harmless” (or whatever you lawyers would call it) document for passing on information relating to sexually predatory and abusive behavior.
We’re in the SCBC and it was front page news here. Aderholt was also volunteering at a large church in Columbia working with 9th-10th graders. In their defense they say they knew nothing of these allegations, but they already have a case against them working it’s way through the courts from issues a decade ago involving a youth volunteer. Optics are horrendous. We need to know if IMB was ever contacted by any of the employers after he resigned. They were by far his longest tenure of employment, so heaven help us, I’d hope someone in one of these churches… Read more »
I realize he is on his way out, but David Platt really needs to address this personally.
Putting this verse into practice is difficult, but it would help:
NIV 1 Timothy 5:20 But those elders who are sinning you are to reprove before everyone, so that the others may take warning.
“2. Anyone at the IMB, SCBC, or these churches who knew about Aderholt’s assault and did nothing should be terminated immediately.”
The possibility that this might actually happen is the real reason no one is talking. Everything else is a convenient fig leaf.
I realize this word is fraught with issues, but we also need better spiritual discernment in our churches. The “just trust us” model is not good enough. Some questions and thoughts: 1. Who on your pastor search committee has good spiritual discernment? Do you know? 2. Who in your congregation seems to unerringly spot wolves & true troublemakers, even as the majority continue to fawn over them? 3. Does your church culture allow gracious truth-telling and facing real issues & problems? Or are sin issues deemed personal and private, so everyone goes about like free electrons minding their own business… Read more »
According to Anne Marie (the victim in the Aderholt case) the Baptist Press didnt even bother to contact her before publishing their article with the IMB statement. She is pretty easy to get in touch with via her social media account, so really not sure why Baptist Press couldnt get her side of the story. She posted this just last night: I really had hoped that the Southern Baptist Convention would do the right thing here. By the right thing, I simply mean that they would have protected potential victims and supported current ones. I have still received zero response… Read more »
I’ll admit, I first read about this story on this site yesterday. I have not dug into the details, but I don’t understand the mindset that she needs to hear from “the SBC”; whoever they are. No entity head would contact her; the entities lawyers would have a fit even if no SBC entity has done anything wrong. The IMB may or may not have acted inappropriately; but that will only be determined down the road. And if they did hide this, then the IMB should be unloaded on w/both barrels. But what “the SBC” should she be wishing to… Read more »
She feels that the IMB and its lawyers have misrepresented her, as well as Baptist Press. Both are SBC organizations. No one is labeling the entire organization as problematic, but this idea that there is no leadership and it is just a bunch of loose churches with no connection to each other is simply not true. The IMB has a President and Trustees. They have not reached out to her. The SBC has leaders who tweet storms about all the things going on in the world we disagree with. Look at Russell Moore’s twitter. Al Mohler’s twitter. Constant finger pointing… Read more »
I am not surprised the IMB has not reached out; that is probably the 1st thing the IMB legal staff told them to do. I agree the SBC has connection, but until we know what the IMB did or did not do I fail to see what they should say to her; because any interaction on their part would be seen as an admission or denial of something depending on which side of the fence you are on. I have no idea what Moore or Mohler regularly tweet, and don’t know why their Twitter accounts should be used to address… Read more »
I guess my point is simply that there was a lot of talk at the SBC concerning valuing abuse victims, listening to them, and providing them a safe place to tell their story. I believe in this case we failed. My point on the twitter is not that they should address her there – but the larger issue (as both did during the Patterson case when so much attention was on us). Now that the attention has gone away, it simply seems we are back to business as usual. I also think there is a tendency in the church to… Read more »
I can understand the frustration, but that is why time is needed. I just read the correspondences she posted. I think her portrayal of a cover-up is disingenuous at best. The “let it go” is at the end of what appears to be a back and forth (mentioned again in 2018 as “advice”). They asked questions b/c they were conducting an investigation. They followed her in not reporting. This almost smells of a setup (almost mind you). Again, if the IMB hid this; then take all those responsible down in broad daylight. I just don’t see it right now though.… Read more »
We will just have to agree to see it differently. I definitely don’t think there is any reason to dismiss it as a set up. Having said that, I am more than willing to listen to the IMB’s side if they choose to articulate their role in all this.
Walk in my shoes first, experience the victim shaming and Jesus-tinted “let it gos” (multiple times), the reminders from the IMB to essentially keep my eye on my own sinful nature, and then call it disingenuous.
Anne, I will admit being one a little confused about some of the intricacies of this situation, but I hope you understand that the vast majority of us now are a) ashamed of the victim shaming that you mention b) committed to reporting and cooperating with authorities and not trying to play amateur detectives c) horrified by what you went through even in the most IMB-sympathetic interpretation and d) committed to serving and helping women who have suffered as you have. I hope a corner is being turned and I am grateful to women such as you who have allowed… Read more »
Dave Miller, I wholeheartedly agree. I also don’t understand everything that happened and am just looking for answer. My call for SBC leadership to address this is not because I am looking to cast blame – I just want to believe our leadership would be as gracious as you just were in that response. Kind words can bring healing.
Hi, Dave. I’m happy to help explain anything I can. I realize some of things can be confusing simply due to the fact I have chosen to keep pieces of the investigation private or need to because of the criminal investigation. However I am willing to be as open as I can be and definitely want to help others if I can in any way. I do want to note that any negativity I express toward the IMB is mostly due to the fact they have not been supportive with my reporting, other than saying the words “we support her.”… Read more »
The IMB did nothing to stop Aderholt from repeating his actions, and allowed him to continue working in ministry in the SBC without informing other churches/organizations. They gave him easy access to more potential victims.
IMO, they protected the “brand”.
Michael,
In issues like this particular issue, we need the wisdom of Solomon, but we should protect possible victims (I say possible, before investigators review), and possible future victims. We need to support Anne Marie.
But what is disturbing, secondarily to Anne Marie’s well being, is hasn’t the SBC learned anything from the dumpster fire that is Willow Creek?
Willow Creek and Highpoint Memphis are textibook cases of how not to handle these issues. Denial, silence, victim shaming, followed by an outcry at the churches’ behavior, which leads to a bunch of half hearted apologies and people being fired. The SBC has the opportunity to not go down this road.
The IMB, SBC, and the South Carolina Baptist Convention have had that opportunity time and again. The fall out should cause the whole convention to fall to it’s knees and beg God for fresh eyes, tender humble hearts, and a determination to protect the most vulnerable instead of protecting their salaries.
The SBC has already been down this road.
I am not against protecting the victim. And I think Anne Marie is a victim; she was victimized by Aderholt. I do not think as of yet she was victimized by the IMB. We are dealing with events from over a decade ago. It is unfair to ask if we learned anything from an event this year and if so, why didn’t we do anything with that info 11 years ago. Should the IMB have reported against her wishes (as expressed from the IMB’s side in the email) yes. They didn’t, I hope they are cooperating now. I’m commenting on… Read more »
Michael
Fair enough
Thank you for respectfully expressing your opinions. One of the basis for my strong opinion is I asked how can Mark continue to serve in the SBC as I was led to believe he was terminated and only found out he resigned when I directly asked this year. I was never given any explanation for my questions which I asked because I wanted to ensure there were no other victims. That, in addition to the commentary that was not ever encouraging me to report it criminally (by alluding to the fact I had to prove it in a more rigorous… Read more »
Anne, has anyone since answered your question as to why/how Aderholt was still employed within the SBC? In case not, I hope to offer a partial explanation of how (not why) he could still have been employed. This seems to me to be one of the ways the Baptist denomination is different from many others and lots of people don’t understand this about Baptists general or Southern Baptists particularly. Think of it in terms of an industry- cell phone service perhaps. An employee at AT&T is let go for at fault issues. He applies at Verizon and they hire him.… Read more »
Thank you. It is helpful. The Star Telegram learned that Aderholt personally listed two employees of the IMB as *personal* references on his resume post-resignation. They did not comment on his abuse. This is concerning to me.
Texas and other states have implemented laws to prevent schools from “passing the trash” (their terms; I do not see any human as “trash”) so that this stops happening. I am glad they see the moral responsibility. I wish the SBC entities do too. https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/texas-news/abbott-signs-passing-the-trash-bill-cracking-down-on-predator-teachers/443034840
I asked Baptist Press if they reached out to Anne Marie before publishing. They just responded by email from Art Toalston that they did receive a statement from Anne, but would hold it “for awareness” in case future developments in the case came to light. So to be clear, a statement from the IMB warranted an update, but not a statement from the victim.
Email response from Baptist Press, posted with Anne’s permission: Hello Anne Marie – Thank you for reaching out to Baptist Press with your comments and clarification. We received them by email and see they were also posted to Baptist Press’ Facebook page shortly thereafter. Currently, then, there is the Baptist Press July 16 update occasioned by the Star-Telegram story and your posted response on Facebook. As new developments may unfold relative to Mr. Aderholt’s arrest, we will hold your comments for awareness and possible use at the appropriate time. If your comments become part of a new BP story, we… Read more »
We have now seen many of these situations, not just with SBC entities but in the US at large. What can be done so that the victim goes to the police at the time of the incident? Instead, time after time, the victim, especially with minors, seeks to avoid controversy and shame, so they do not go to the police. For example, where I live in KS a local high school had a situation where boys were posting nude photos of girls that the girls had sent out. In the end, people were mad but no one wanted to talk… Read more »
There are many reasons victims don’t go to the police some of which involve the dynamics of abuse particularly on minors. Others are better informed than I on this and can explain why this is.
Agreed that the best time to handle it is when they occur. But abuse can take years to manifest. I would also draw a distinction between reporting and prosecuting. It is up to the victim to decide whether to press charges, but that doesnt mean the church can’t or shouldn’t report to the police. They are the experts in this, not us. Let law enforcement know, regardless of how long ago it happened.
One reason victims don’t go the police is that later on people in positions of power accuse them of setting other people up falsely in order to damage reputations. Not that anyone on this blog would ever do that, but it happens.
In a perfect world, reporting a potential crime to the police is enough… but it isn’t. Have you heard of Chuck Phelps? He was an independent Baptist church pastor in NH where a teen was raped in 1997 by church member. The crime was at home. The pastor reported the crime but the police bungled the investigation because the family was uncooperative. Years later, the victim sued everyone. Phelps was able to clear himself by showing he called the police, but not before an ABC 20/20 episode featured him. If you want a place to start if you’ve never heard… Read more »
I was under the impression that I could not go to the authorities because of the state I was in and was not encouraged by the international mission board to do so. They were required by law to do it. They should have walked me, I traumatized and emotionally raw young woman, through this process because that was the right thing to do.
Anne, assuming you are the victim in this story I will not address you directly. That would be unkind and unwise for many reasons. I was speaking generically to make this a larger point about crimes of this nature. May you get justice for any crimes, and may you find peace in Jesus Christ.
Thank you Mark. At the time of the investigation, the IMB could have supported me by informing me how to go to the police and also emotionally supported me through that. My comment was not meant as an attack; just clarification. Please forgive me if it came across as such.
There are legal obligations to report when minors are involved. If the victims don’t talk to the police that is up to them. But it is not up to organization or churches to choose whether or not to report.
Adam, I am not sure your claim about the mandate for organizations to report will hold. In my state the only required reporters are educators and medical and police. Churches and clergy are not included. If a person is now an adult and does not want to report, it is not clear that we are morally or legally required to go behind their back and report.
A couple of months ago, Mr. Mohler wrote an article in which he seemed to compare the sexual abuse problem in the SBC to that which has been occurring in the Catholic Church. Does that mean pedophilia is rampant in the SBC? I am not a Southern Baptist but you seem to have a problem. If there has been wide spread abuse in your denomination, then why hasn’t it been reported. As a former law enforcement officer I can assure you a significant number of people knew, including some of those voicing concern about it. If people knew and did… Read more »
Baptist Press has released what I believe is a new article detailing the response of the IMB and of Anne Miller.
http://www.bpnews.net/51282/imb-exmissionarys-accuser-differ-over-abuse-response
Why are Paige and Dorothy Patterson still living on the campus of SWBTS in Pecan Manor? His firing was on May 30 and it was said they were to be moved out by July 7? Their presence on campus can only be causing division and cannot be permitted to continue. Patterson’s well-publicized “break her down” comments regarding a rape victim, among other serious failures in moral leadership (lying, etc.) mean he is a lightning rod for more conflict. Why are they still there in public sight-a shame to SWBTS and Christ’s name?
Anne, you are brave. You have done a hard thing coming forward – again – with your abuse. Thank you for joining this thread and voicing your concerns and thoughts. Even if no one is trying to be deliberately unkind to you here, your joining the conversation triggers many horrible things from the past -for you personally. I’m truly sorry for this. Yet, your courage informs the uninformed, softens the doubters, and emboldens us all. I’m praying for healing for you and those near you, and for even more courage to face all of your tomorrows.
Thank you, Suzanne.
The Southern Baptist Convention of South Carolina has issued a statement. In part, it says that extensive background checks, including references, were done in 2016. They state the references were all “impeccable”. The reporter covering the story for the Star-Telegram has now released Mark Aderholt’s resume which include two IMB personnel: The Regional Strategist for Eastern Europe and the Associate VP for Finance. Note that these “impeccable” references from the IMB would have come after their investigation into Mark Aderholt’s sexual misconduct and his resignation.
Everything you have stated is true. It’s also worth noting, however, that we do not yet know if the IMB references included on the resume knew about the sexual assault investigation.
Agreed, we don’t know. Which is why the IMB needs to be more public with answers. One of the references was the regional director for Eastern Europe, so I would have a hard time believing he was unaware of the investigation, since that is the area Aderholt served in. And if he did not know, then that is itself a problem – and goes back to the larger issue of whether the IMB has communicated to churches in Europe where Aderholt served to let them know this was an issue. The local Richmond affiliate of ABC just a ran a… Read more »
Hunter, no disagreement here. IMB may think they’ve said enough. They most certainly have not.
which they wouldn’t have to hide behind lawyers if they would just be honest. All we voted for in Texas means nothing if this is the type of behavior we can still expect from agencies and churches. It was a token vote and that is all it was if not put into practice.
I wonder if the reluctance to report is due to a lack of education on what the next steps are that the law enforcement agencies take. It’s easy for us on this side of such an instance to say it should have been reported, because now we know that the accusation was credible. And something like 80% (or more?) are. But when these things are first brought to light, I have to think that the initial gut reaction by the accused’s employers includes some kind of reticence to expose the accused to public shame if he (or she) turns out… Read more »
Stephanie: It doesn’t matter what the next steps that law enforcement take are. It needs to be reported. Period. No one outside of the police are capable of investigating any crime. That is why we have trained police.
Hi Stephanie, I agree that every church can and should have someone educated in the underlying issue (sexual abuse, domestic abuse, etc.) including the legal aspects and local resources available. I found a curious naïveté and … pride? fear? denial? in several staff-misbehavior situations, in which the church actively refused offers of information & resources – despite a public arrest. That was hard to understand.