The leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention stonewalled and insulted survivors of clergy sex abuse for almost two decades while trying to protect their own reputations, according to an investigative report issued Sunday.
These survivors, and other concerned Southern Baptists, repeatedly shared allegations with the SBC's Executive Committee only to be met, time and time again, with resistance, stonewalling, and even hostility from some within the EC.
The Executive Committee contracted Guidepost Solutions to conduct a seven-month investigation after delegates demanded a probe by outsiders.
A few senior EC leaders, along with outside counsel, largely controlled the EC's response to abuse reports for many years.
In service of this goal, survivors and others who reported abuse were ignored, disbelieved, or met with the constant refrain that the SBC could take no action due to its polity regarding church autonomy, even if it meant that convicted molesters continued in.
There is no indication that anyone took any action to ensure that the accused ministers were no longer in positions of power at the churches.
The names of hundreds of abusers are included in the most recent list. A public database of abusers has been called for by survivors and advocates.
The president of the Southern Baptist Convention said in a statement Sunday that he is "grieved to my core" for the victims and thanked God for their work. He called on Southern Baptists to change their culture and implement reforms.
I pray that Southern Baptists will begin preparing today to take deliberate action to address these failures and chart a new course when we meet together in Anaheim.
The report has key recommendations.
Establish an independent commission and establish a permanent administrative entity to oversee long-term reforms of sexual abuse and related misconduct within the SBC.
An Offender Information System should be created to alert the community to known offenders.
A comprehensive Resource Toolbox includes protocols, training, education, and practical information.
Nondisclosure agreements and civil settlements that bind survivors to confidentiality in sexual abuse matters, unless requested by the survivor, should not be used.
The interim leaders of the Executive Committee welcomed the recommendations and pledged to eliminate sex abuse within the organization.
They said that there are no quick fixes and that they must do so with Christ-like compassion.
The Executive Committee is going to discuss the report on Tuesday.
A report from the Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News documented hundreds of cases of sex abuse in Southern Baptist churches, and several of the alleged perpetrators remained in ministry.
Thousands of delegates at the national SBC gathering made clear they did not want the Executive Committee to investigate their actions. They voted to create a task force to oversee the third-party review. The panel was appointed by the pastor of Redemption Church.
The task force was given a week to review the report. The task force's recommendations will be presented at the meeting.
The report offers shocking details on how Johnny Hunt, a Georgia-based pastor and past SBC president, sexually assaults another pastor's wife during a beach vacation in 2010. Hunt denied having physical contact with the woman, but admitted to interacting with her.
Kevin Ezell, the organization's president and CEO, said that Hunt resigned from his post at the North American Mission Board on May 13. He was not aware of any alleged misdeeds on Hunt's part before May 13.
Hunt arranged a meeting a few days after the alleged assault between the woman and her husband. Hunt admitted to touching the victim in a way that was inappropriate.
Russell Moore, the former head of the public policy wing of the Southern Baptist Convention, left the organization after accusing top Executive Committee leaders of stalling efforts to address the sex abuse crisis.
Crisis is too small a word. After reading the report, Moore wrote for Christianity Today that it was an apocalypse.
Guidepost's investigators spoke with survivors of different ages and ages and said that they were equally traumatized by the way in which churches responded to their reports of sexual abuse.
The survivors spoke of trauma from the initial abuse, but also of the effects that came from the response of the churches and institutions that did not believe them, ignored them, mistreated them, and failed to help them.
The case of Dave Pittman, who from 2006 to 2011 made phone calls and sent letters and emails to the Georgia Baptist Convention Board reporting that he had been abused by a youth pastor, was cited.
Several people have come forward to say that Wiley has abused many people at Georgia Southern Baptist churches.
According to the report, an official from the Georgia Baptist Convention told Pittman that the churches were independent and there was nothing he could do.
The story of Christa Brown, who says she was sexually abused as a teen by the youth and education minister at her church, is told in the report.
She was told not to talk about the abuse after she told the music minister about it.
Brown, who has been one of the most outspoken survivors, told investigators that she has received a lot of hate mail over the past 15 years.
Brown told The Associated Press that the report confirms what sex abuse survivors have been saying for decades.
I see this report as a beginning and not an end. The work will continue, Brown said.
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