ANAHEIM, Calif. –
The Southern Baptist Association voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to create a way to track down trusted pastors and other church employees accused of sexual abuse and launch a new task force. to oversee further reforms in the nation’s largest Protestant denomination.
The vote comes three weeks after the release of a blockbuster report by an outside consultant into the long smoldering scandal, revealing that Southern Baptist leaders mishandled abuses. and the victims were stoned for years.
Thousands of Southern Baptists were in Anaheim for their big national meeting.
Also on Tuesday, delegates debated but did not vote on whether to remove one of its largest and most famous churches – Saddleback Church, the California megacity run by Rick Warren, author of The blockbuster best-selling series “The Purpose Driven Life” was at the top or not — because it ordained women pastors. The denomination’s statement of faith states that the pastor’s office is open to men only.
Warren himself spoke briefly at the end of the day, indirectly alluding to the controversy by saying that Baptists should unite about ambitious missionary goals.
“Are we going to continue arguing about the side issues, or will we keep the main thing as the main thing?” he say.
The sex abuse reform vote fell short of what some Southern Baptist abuse survivors sought, such as victim compensation funds and an independent commission. and more powerful to monitor the church’s handling – and mishandling – abuse. And it has also been opposed by some who say the crisis is exaggerated and that it hinders the independence of Baptist churches.
But Bruce Frank, who led the task force proposing reforms, made an emotional plea for church representatives to accept them as their annual two-day meeting got underway. He calls the steps “the bare minimum,” adding that it will take time to change SBC’s culture.
He challenged those who would say these steps hinder the Baptists’ focus on the mission, saying “protecting the sheep from the wolves” is essential to carrying out the mission.
“How would you tell a watching world that Jesus died for them… when his church didn’t even do its best to protect them?” Frank asked.
He acknowledges the high cost of implementing these recommendations. “But it won’t be nearly as expensive as the survivors paid,” he added.
Abuse survivors Tiffany Thigpen and Jules Woodson, in tears, said they were overwhelmed to see messengers raise their hands in support of the task force’s recommendations. “It’s not perfect, but it’s a small step and a healthy, healing step in the right direction,” says Woodson.
But Christa Brown, who has campaigned for more than a decade on behalf of survivors of abuse in Southern Baptist institutions, called the reforms disappointing. She and other survivors sought a standing committee to oversee compliance, while Tuesday’s vote created a one-year deadline for a task force, with the option of an extension. She also called for a more “survival-centered” list of clerics accused of being charged.
“I know people like happy endings, but I just don’t feel it,” Brown tweeted afterward. “…I feel grief. It’s better than nothing but it’s too low.”
During the debate, some members opposed even the proposed reforms. They note that the consulting firm that made the report, Guidepost Solutions, tweeted in support of Pride month, which goes against the SBC’s view that homosexuality is a sin.
Pastor Tim Overton of Indiana said: “We have a group that celebrates sexual sins, advising us on how to deal with sexual abuse. “That’s the problem.”
Frank replied that he didn’t like Guidepost’s tweet either: “It’s not a matter of, what does Guidepost think about LGBT? It’s about what Southern Baptists think about sexual abuse.”
The Guidepost report, which focuses on how the sect’s Executive Committee handles abuse cases, also revealed that it had secretly maintained a list of clerics and other church employees accused of abuse. even after declaring that they could not do so without violating the congregation’s right to self-determination. The commission later apologized and released the list, which contained hundreds of accused workers.
Frank said a database has been discussed by the SBC for more than a decade, adding that it is important to ensure abusers don’t go from church to church, hurting vulnerable people. more damaged.
Brad Eubank, senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Petal, Mississippi, urged messengers to approve the recommendations. Eubank, who was included in the Guidepost report, was sexually abused as a child by a music minister at a Southern Baptist church in Mississippi.
“As a pastor, I have spoken to countless survivors and victims,” he said. “This isn’t everything that needs to be done, but it’s a starting point.”
The Saddleback debate, which has been going on for a year, follows the ordination of three women as pastor in 2021 and the recent announcement that retired Warren will take over as chief pastor later this year by Andy Wood. His wife, Stacie Wood, will become a teaching pastor.
“Sadddleback ordained women, they celebrated that,” said Pastor Tom Ascol of Florida.
Initially, the SBC’s Certification Committee recommended that another panel study the interpretation of the denomination’s doctrine about who could serve as a minister. After objections, the committee finally decided on Tuesday to study further on the matter itself. Most Southern Baptists agree senior pastors must be male, but disagree if the ban applies to other roles of the ministry, it said.
Saddleback has long been seen as a role model for Southern Baptists’ ideals of church growth and evangelism, growing from a small startup in 1980 to attracting more than 24,000 people per week on multiple facilities as of 2019, according to Baptist Press.
Later that day, Warren sent an emotional address. He is about to retire after more than four decades leading Saddleback Church.
“It is customary for a man to be hanged to speak his dying words,” he said as the crowd erupted in laughter. However, Warren insists he is not there to make excuses, pointing out that “the gift of shepherding is different from the office of teaching.”
He is so grateful to SBC for the opportunity to build a multi-site church and thousands of home Bible study sessions across Southern California.
“Southern Baptists taught me to respect and love the local church,” he said as his voice cracked. “I owe you all so much.”
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Smith reports from Pittsburgh.
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