Posted on Jun 16, 2022
Southern Baptists vote to fight sexual abuse and elect a leader eager for change
411
14
2
10
10
0
https://www.npr.org/2022/06/15/ [login to see] /southern-baptists-vote-to-fight-sexual-abuse-and-elect-a-leader-eager-for-change
The annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention put dissonance on display.
The mass gathering Tuesday and Wednesday in Anaheim, Calif., entailed two days of bickering over hot-button religious topics — ordaining women, denouncing the LGBT movement, applauding abortion bans — interspersed with 15-minute blocks of worship, prayer and preaching.
Repentance was the dominant theme of the spiritual interludes.
There is much to repent for after the bombshell third-party investigation by Guidepost Solutions, authorized at last year's meeting. The report, made public May 22, revealed widespread silencing of abuse victims. The denomination even kept tabs on hundreds of credibly accused ministers but allowed them to move to other churches without sharing that information, the report noted.
"Today we will choose between humility or hubris. We will choose between genuine repentance or continually being passive to our approach to sexual abuse in the Southern Baptist Convention," the Rev. Bruce Frank of North Carolina said Tuesday before a vote on several reforms he described as the "bare minimum" of what needs to be done. Frank led the denomination's Sexual Abuse Task Force, which oversaw the outside investigation.
The annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention put dissonance on display.
The mass gathering Tuesday and Wednesday in Anaheim, Calif., entailed two days of bickering over hot-button religious topics — ordaining women, denouncing the LGBT movement, applauding abortion bans — interspersed with 15-minute blocks of worship, prayer and preaching.
Repentance was the dominant theme of the spiritual interludes.
There is much to repent for after the bombshell third-party investigation by Guidepost Solutions, authorized at last year's meeting. The report, made public May 22, revealed widespread silencing of abuse victims. The denomination even kept tabs on hundreds of credibly accused ministers but allowed them to move to other churches without sharing that information, the report noted.
"Today we will choose between humility or hubris. We will choose between genuine repentance or continually being passive to our approach to sexual abuse in the Southern Baptist Convention," the Rev. Bruce Frank of North Carolina said Tuesday before a vote on several reforms he described as the "bare minimum" of what needs to be done. Frank led the denomination's Sexual Abuse Task Force, which oversaw the outside investigation.
Southern Baptists vote to fight sexual abuse and elect a leader eager for change
Posted from npr.org
Religion
Christianity
Sexual Assault
Posted 2 y ago
Responses: 2
3
3
0
I am Baptist and it is about time the SBC stood up for this. HOWEVER, we are not the only ones that have this problem. We all know about the Catholics...but there are a lot of others that have issues as well and need to address them. Good on SBC for finally tackling this ugly issue head on. Gonna be brutal for several years but now it is something that will be addressed. It has already been addressed in our local congregation.
(3)
(0)
1
1
0
PO1 William "Chip" Nagel Hmmmm...
..."The newly elected Southern Baptist president, Bart Barber, supports a resolution asking state legislatures to shield churches from civil liability to make them more willing to share information. The measure also prods state lawmakers to increase criminal penalties for abuse by a pastor, akin to when a physician violates a patient.
But beyond new laws and policies, the Rev. Marshall Blalock, pastor of First Baptist in Charleston, S.C., said church leaders need a change of heart.
"I think our instincts sometimes are about protection of the institution," he said, adding that his first instinct when cases of abuse arise had been to call an attorney. After serving on the Sexual Abuse Task Force, Blalock said he's learned the first move is to care for abuse survivors.
"It wasn't that I didn't care. It wasn't that I didn't want to do the right thing," he said. "I didn't know the right thing."
..."The newly elected Southern Baptist president, Bart Barber, supports a resolution asking state legislatures to shield churches from civil liability to make them more willing to share information. The measure also prods state lawmakers to increase criminal penalties for abuse by a pastor, akin to when a physician violates a patient.
But beyond new laws and policies, the Rev. Marshall Blalock, pastor of First Baptist in Charleston, S.C., said church leaders need a change of heart.
"I think our instincts sometimes are about protection of the institution," he said, adding that his first instinct when cases of abuse arise had been to call an attorney. After serving on the Sexual Abuse Task Force, Blalock said he's learned the first move is to care for abuse survivors.
"It wasn't that I didn't care. It wasn't that I didn't want to do the right thing," he said. "I didn't know the right thing."
(1)
(0)
Read This Next
Continue with Facebook 
Continue with Google