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 veracity.
In 2010, my heart bled for how the SBC was treating Ms. Brown. I wanted to encourage and affirm her, and let her know that, I, for one, thought her story was authentic, and her claims were valid that there was a larger problem in SBC life regarding this issue.
God always sends warning before judgment. The SBC ignored the warning from the “prophetess”—Christa Brown. Now, the SBC is facing judgment.
Another warning: Sherri Klouda, Karen Bullock, and Wendy Norvelle are three SBC women who were all mistreated professionals in SBC institutional life. They were all denied tenure, positions, demoted or fired, simply because they were women. The same conservative, inerrantist, trustee board that hired Sherri Klouda to teach the Hebrew alphabet at SWBTS, fired her because she was a woman teaching the Hebrew alphabet. Sherri Klouda’s firing was inexcusable and indefensible. Yet, SWBTS did so, unapologetically. It is no secret that SWBTS is experiencing major enrollment decline and financial challenges. Judgment for the ill-treatment of Sherri Klouda and denying Dr. Karen Bullock, tenure, may have already begun.
I would hope that SWBTS/SBC does not wait for a secular newspaper to document and detail all the women who have been professionally violated and mistreated in SBC Life before they repent, lament, and declare a change of heart, leading to a change of actions.
Wendy Norvelle was appointed Interim VP at IMB. But trustees would not support a woman being permanently named to such a position, although there is nothing scripturally that forbids a woman functioning in such a capacity. Junia, Phoebe, Huldah, Deborah, Priscilla and Lydia are excellent biblical role models that would have not been allowed to function in today’s SBC, because of views toward women, out of sync with Scripture. The three SBC women were serving in roles analogous with their biblical role models; yet, the SBC denied these women.
I, for one, want to go on record, again, acknowledging the SBC’s complicity and guilt in the maltreatment of Sherri Klouda, Karen Bullock, and Wendy Norvelle. I pray that the powers that be in the SBC would offer an apology to these women before judgment fully comes.
In 2007, I resigned as a trustee after serving for only one year for several reasons. Included were health concerns, church leadership, and my wife’s feeling as if I had been rejected by the trustees and SWBTS leadership; therefore, I could not be effective as a trustee; and Cornerstone needed, respected and appreciated my time and input, more so than SWBTS. In many respects, when SWBTS leadership recommended to the SBC that I be removed as a trustee, they were attempting to silence and marginalize me, just as they had done Sherri Klouda and Karen Bullock. Later, they recanted their recommendation and asked me to remain a trustee. By then, I was exasperated. Those factors did weigh heavily upon my thinking. But an underlying factor, that I have never expressed publicly before was, I did not feel comfortable serving on a board that could treat Sherri Klouda as she was treated without any repentance or remorse. My presence on the board made me complicit; in my conscience, I could not live with that thought. Therefore, I resigned.
The same mentality that says Sherri Klouda cannot teach Hebrew, Wendy Norvelle cannot be a VP at IMB and Karen Bullock cannot teach church history or speak in Chapel—all on the basis of gender—is the same mentality that devalues women, solely on the basis of gender and contributes to a mentality of abusing women, because they are viewed as less valuable. God, forgive us and grant us mercy as you give us space to repent (Revelation 2:20-23).
Just as sexual abuse is systemic in SBC Life, denying women professional opportunities outside of the role of senior pastor is also systemic in SBC Life; and…God is displeased with both practices in the SBC.
In January, my wife and I have re-enrolled as students at SWBTS. We are enjoying every second of it. But, I pray that the day will come that apologies are extended to Dr. Klouda and Dr. Bullock before judgment comes.
Re: the first few sentences — one of the many takeaways from this scandal is that the watchdog bloggers have been *phenomenally accurate about sexual abuse all along*, yet also — as Dwight says — “largely marginalized, rebuffed, rejected, and [their] claims were met with denial by high profile SBC personalities and official entity responses.”
I don’t think they’ve been /entirely/ dismissed, but before the Chronicle piece came out, I think they were viewed warily and seen as purveyors of gossip.
I hope that changes — yeah, they *do* often have a fairly antagonistic tone, but they come by it honestly, you know? It seems like a pretty normal reaction to being constantly doubted, regardless of how much evidence you bring to the table.
Also: I predict a *lively discussion* about the heart of this piece: the author’s contention that the SBC is in the grips of a “mentality that devalues women, solely on the basis of gender and contributes to a mentality of abusing women, because they are viewed as less valuable…. Just as sexual abuse is systemic in SBC Life, denying women professional opportunities outside of the role of senior pastor is also systemic; and God is displeased with both practices.”
So my comment wasn’t meant to, like, strike first and narrow the debate to how watchdog bloggers are treated, or anything like that. There are clearly bigger issues at play. I just thought it was, y’know, worth mentioning.
David,
Do you think the good-old-boy way of thinking is part and parcel of a wrong attitude toward women?
I think it overlaps with dismissive attitudes towards women, yes. It’s a good-old-*boy* club, after all; membership isn’t currently open to women.
The mental image I always use for the good-ol’-boy club is that people who are *in* the club are standing inside of a circle, and everyone else is on the outside. The folks within the circle receive a bunch of social and professional benefits (and, human nature being what it is, think they /deserve/ the benefits, perhaps even that they’re /entitled/ to them); the folks outside get the scraps. And this seems, to the folks inside the circle, to be the natural order of things — and indeed to be perfectly just. After all, there are *some* people moving into and out of the circle all the time! That proves it’s a meritocracy, right?
So if *everyone inside the circle* is male, what does that say about how worthy and competent women are?
(To be clear, I have zero empirical research showing that that good ol’ boys’ clubs *actually* warp people’s perceptions like that. I claim no expertise and could be wildly off base.)
Oops! Should be Sheri Klouda, not “Sherri Klouda.”
Please include Jill Sprenger who was terminated as professor of piano simply because she was a student advocate who expressed concern about music school issues affecting students whose academic needs were being left unattended. Interesting that she received top student and peer reviews under three deans (McKinney, Harlan, and Johnson), as well as three presidents (Dilday, Hemphill, and Patterson). The Patterson administration treated Jill with respect and professionalism for the ten years of the Johnson deanship. Her superb teaching and full engagement with SWBTS can be confirmed by 100% of her students and colleagues.
Respectfully,
Benjamin Harlan
Dean, School of Music
1993 – 2002
Faculty,
2003 – 2005
Harlan5113@att.net
Duly noted, Dean Harlan, Thanks.
Overwhelming majority of victims in my home state were males mirroring similar trend found in Catholic system. There is little to no discussion about aggregate trends. All perpetrators from my home state are in prison or served significant time in prison.
Southern Baptists and leaders reward those who fight on the “right side” such as the Conservative Resurgence. Those who fight against Calvinism are rewarded, those who fight for Calvinism are rewarded. Males are rewarded for fighting doctrinal fights in this denomination. That same beat them up, fight using whatever means necessary is also used against women and yes children. Then one is rewarded with a high position in some high paying job or position. We have gotten too rich and too away from the Bible that we are supposed to believe. Instead passages are taken out of context and used to beat people with who do not conform.
Then so many follow that leadership and take up the Bible as a weapon, using it to beat those who do not conform. Southern Baptists have strayed from the Gospel that they yell we should be proclaiming. And the result is the horribleness that is being seen now and has been seen for many years. Southern Baptists are seen as mean, vindictive, use the Bible as a sword people.
Our numbers are down because of abuses like this. Our numbers are down because hurt people, wounded people leave. Our numbers are down because of response letters like Paige Patterson’s recent debacle of a response and CJ Mahaney’s debacle of a response to the 3 part Houston Chronicle articles. https://www.paigepatterson.org/blog/letter-to-the-editor https://www.sgclouisville.org/from-the-pastors/post/a-response-to-recent-media-reports
Pedophiles were hidden, pedophiles were protected. They were in the perfect place. Leaders who are supposed to love and protect, instead hated and spiritually, without remorse at the time, internally destroyed innocent women and children. This will forever be a part of Southern Baptist legacy.
But God is a restorer.
Christa Brown was not just ignored, she put up with more abuse from our leadership and Southern Baptists in general. She and others who attempted to warn both male and female were spit on. Christa had leadership literally turn their back on her, by turning their chairs around when she spoke. She was thrown out of places, guards at the Convention door, lies told about her character which spread like a fire among dead wood, and I could go on. 10 years ago this could have all been resolved by listening, and so many, chose instead to not only ignore but turn it into an all out assault on anyone who tried to bring these victims justice.
Debbi, she endured all of that and more. We can’t say that we were not warned. The SBC now appears poised to address her concerns and acknowledge the magnitude of the problem. I remain grateful and supportive of her efforts.
Brother McKissic,
Some problems, although very important in and of themselves, pale in comparison to the tragedy, evil and injustice of some other problems–so much so, that to present them in a way that implicitly frames them with a sense of equal importance borders on obscenity. Presenting the discrimination against women in employment as comparable to the sexual abuse of children does incredible injustice to the latter issue.
False equivalence is a common fallacy used in debate today but I don’t think that Dwight is guilty of it here. I don’t understand him to be saying that those who professionally mistreated women are the same as those who molested children. I understand him to be saying that the same ethos that demeans women in the workplace is the same ethos that leads to serious abuse. People with evil in their hearts will harm others of course, but the ethos of setting up women as inferior to men must be eradicated. Yes we can discuss what the Bible says about men and women and how they relate in God honoring ways but we must rise above culture which subjugates women both on the political right and left in our society.
Thank you Dwight for saying this so clearly.
Strider,
It would have taken me a very lengthy response to communicate what you said in a few words. You explained my position better than I could have, & certainly more succinctly. Thanks.
Fundamentalist behaviors in evidence by our so-called leadership for years. Will it change?