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Christianity Today, June (Web-Only), 2008 |

Southern Baptists Elect President, Dismiss Abuse Database

Johnny Hunt says he'll be challenging spirit of lethargy.

Adelle M. Banks, Religion News Service | posted 6/11/2008 09:10AM

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Chapman cited Prestonwood Baptist Church, a prominent Dallas-area Southern Baptist megachurch, for the way it responded upon learning that a minister on its staff had been charged with soliciting a minor online in May. The church, which is pastored by former Southern Baptist Convention president Jack Graham, immediately asked the minister to resign.

"Let it be said of every pastor, every staff member, and of every layman in the Southern Baptist Convention, we shall not tolerate the sex offenders," Chapman said.

In other business, several proposals suggested by Southern Baptists were referred to the Executive Committee for a response at next year's convention, including:

— To consider churches with women senior pastors to not be "in friendly cooperation" with the denomination.

— To reconsider the denomination's decision in 2004 to break ties with the Baptist World Alliance because of a perceived "leftward drift" in the global body.

— To prevent presidents of Southern Baptist entities or of the Executive Committee from serving as president of the denomination.

Related Elsewhere:

Ted Olsen posted an analysis of the SBC presidential election yesterday.

Baptist Press, the official press arm of the SBC, and Associated Baptist Press also reported on the election.

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June (Web-Only) 2008, Vol. 52

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Raleigh

Posted: June 13, 2008 6:42 PM

I have mixed reviews on my former church. The most recent case was from 2006, in which a youth director in West Virginia was caught by the police soliciting sex from a minor online ended in his being defrocked. Another case, not well documented, in 2002, was in my local church in the Houston area. The elected unpaid pastor felt that part of his duties as pastor was "counseling" single women in the congregation by way of acting as a sexual surrogate. There was no investigation--he simply resigned the post and retained his ordination. In a third event televised by the local consumer action TV station, a convicted. inordained sex offender was found to be in violation of his parole by being allowed to work in the church resale shop where women and children visited. The priest in charge of the facility was caught by the TV crew unawares, but the man was reported to his parole officer and arrested.

Mark	Posted: June 13, 2008 2:48 PM

I'm surprised at the survey results that 59% said the church would ty to determine if it was a valid accusation. It is not their job to investigate. If there is ANY suspicion of child abuse it needs to be reported. Yes, there will be false accusations but that's the way it goes. Most people in the helping professions are mandated to report even based on a hunch. They need not wait for evidence or a valid accusation. The trauma inflicted on a child from abuse lasts a lifetime. And I don't really care about a stigma.

Glenn

Posted: June 11, 2008 6:32 PM

As implied in the article, a denominational database of sex offenders wouldn't be very effective given the nature of the autonomy of the Baptist churches -- and the fact that there are some pastors who cross over from one denomination or tradition to another. However, having some experience in the social work side of abuse cases, I have to say I applaud any church that has the guts to report the allegations to the proper authorities before beginning any witch-hunt or rug-sweeping of its own. Believe it or not, the police really are better equipped to investigate such things, and if the pastor is cleared or convicted, there is no stigma attached to the church either way, as a third party did the work. Let's not let things happen the way they have for so long in other churches around the world, where clergy were moved and allowed to continue their crimes.

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