The Southern Baptist Convention will hold a special called meeting Tuesday to address a newly-released report about sexual abuse claims in the denomination.
The report details that the Executive Committee refused to act when notified of sexual abuse by pastors and those employed by the church.
They also didn’t document and track the offenders, as requested by congregants of Southern Baptist churches. Instead, the investigation found that a secret list was kept by some officials. Nine people from that list remained active and connected to ministries.
SBC Executive Committee member Adam Wyatt says that was dishonorable.
“I thought it was shameful. Because, for one, survivors have been asking for something like that for years apparently and always were being told it’s not possible,” Wyatt said. “Only to find out that some people had some information on it.”
Creating a database is one recommendation listed in the report, in part to prevent churches from hiring abusers.
That almost happened to First Baptist Clarksville when looking for a new pastor. Their lead candidate, Wes Feltner, had been accused of sexual abuse while a youth pastor two decades ago. The report also describes multiple sex abuse cases — some involving children and one by the SBC’s former president accused of abusing a pastor’s wife.
Pastor Grant Gaines of Belle Aire Baptist Church in Murfreesboro fought for an independent investigation.
“The real test is going to be whether are not we act on what we know and make the changes we need to make,” Gaines said.
Any recommendations will have to be approved during the denomination’s annual meeting in June.
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