In the June 2007, Wade Burleson of Enid asked the convention's executive committee to study the development of a database identifying sexual predators within the nation's largest Protestant denomination. The response to Burleson’s resolution was over 8600 Southern Baptist messengers directed this group to study the feasibility of creating a database of ministers who have been credibly accused of sexual abuse, or who have confessed or been legally convicted.
After the convention, in September of 2007, Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests and other Clergy, (SNAP) sent a letter asking the members of Bylaws Workgroup of the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention, Dr. Frank Page, President of the Southern Baptist Convention and Dr. Morris Chapman, President of the Executive Committee of the SBC for more information. The letter asks for an update on the progress looking at ways to make kids safer in church. The letter from SNAP also asks the committee for openness and transparency during the ongoing study by asking, "we urge you to set an example of transparency in the study process itself. Be open and transparent about your study’s methodology and resources."
Seems fair enough to me. Especially in light of the overwhelming support from the messengers of the SBC.
For those who might question why it is necessary to bring this up..here is your answer. I'm a mother. I minister as a counselor/mentor for women who have been released from prison. How many of them have suffered from abuse? Overwhelmingly, most of them. I believe our responsibility as believers is to watch, protect and value children as well as any who are weak or vulnerable and in cases of abuse, children, teens and women are just that.
Some are concerned that the perpetrator is given more grace that the victim. Such as one church in Denton, Texas, where the minister publicly confessed to "making a terrible mistake" last November after a woman sued, claiming she'd been raped as a teen. Church members responded by throwing the minister a retirement party and raised $50,000 as a "love offering." To this day, he has a church building named after him. Now keep in mind he confessed. He admitted his crime against this young girl.
The Southern Baptist Convention said the problem is neither widespread nor systemic. But this story is not going away.
We sat and watched with disgust the Catholic Church cover up for priest who for years abused children. Are we guilty of the same?
In a 20/20 program titled "Preacher Predators," Frank Page said he agreed to be interviewed to provide balance to a story he predicted may be "overwhelmingly negative." He responded by saying "Some persons have accused Southern Baptists of ignoring the issue and hiding behind our polity," Page said. "Let me clearly state that we believe in the autonomy of the local church as a biblical mandate. We are not hiding behind anything, except the Bible." In Baptist governance, Page said, "The local church is where accountability must be enforced." He called upon every Southern Baptist church to have a system in place for handling accusations of clergy sex abuse and to prosecute any abuses of trust "to the fullest extent of the law."
Christa Brown responded by saying, "Leaving it up to local church leaders to review allegations of abuse against a colleague "within an insular system, now causes many cases of abuse to go unchecked and allows predatory ministers to move on to new churches, where they can find new prey." Page said "even one instance of sexual abuse by a minister is too much," but Brown said victims that speak up are "treated like disposable trash" by the denomination's leaders. She said 18 leaders in four states received substantiated information about her own abuse, which occurred decades earlier when she was a teenager in a Southern Baptist church, and none thought it was important enough to take action. "Instead, I was ignored, insulted, given misinformation and intimidated," she said. "Those kinds of deeds do not send a message of 'even one is too many.' They send a message of 'what was done to you doesn't matter.'" Brown said she has talked to other survivors of sexual abuse by clergy who report similar experiences.
Page called on churches to "provide an atmosphere where trust will not be abused." Brown responded that trust is abused not only by acts of perpetrators, but also by "many, many more who turn a blind eye." Are we?
In March of 2007 Timothy Byers resigned as minister of youth, education and music at Springhill Baptist Church in Dyersburg, Tenn., following his November arrest on charges of rape, sexual battery by an authority figure and aggravated statutory rape. He is still identified, however, as a staff member on the church Web site and in a minister-search database at the Southern Baptist Convention Web site, SBC.Net. Of course the SBC does have a disclaimer on this database, it says, Disclaimer: This database of Southern Baptist ministers should not be taken as an endorsement of any individual by the Southern Baptist Convention or as an indication of accountability to the Southern Baptist Convention with respect to any person named.
Recently a Nashville television station, WSMV posted on their web site (WSMV.com) the request by SNAP for the SBC to hold public and private hearings with victims, experts and other religious leaders who have dealt with this issue for that database. Convention relations vice president Roger Oldham responded this way, “The database by itself would be an insufficient safeguard of our children. We're looking at a much broader, multi-pronged approach of how we can best, first of all, protect the autonomy of the local church, and second, protect the children, too,” Please note the progression of this response. FIRST, protect the autonomy of the local church and then SECOND, oh yes later protect the children TOO? This is appalling.
“Our request is that Baptist officials do not take the most narrow view possible, but in fact create a broad, true helpful list of dangerous predators,” said SNAP national Director David Clohessy. In addition, the group wants the SBC to release its study methodology and its budget. SBC officials said they do not plan to release the status of the study.
Why not? Is anyone asking this question? Why not?
I would like an update on the status of the study. It's time to open our eyes, perhaps then we could actually catch a sexual predator. I don't for a minute think that Frank Page, Morris Chapman or the members of the Bylaws committee think this is a insignificantt issue. I'm simply asking for information, updates and an openness to the progress being made. As a mother, mentor, member of an SBC church, messenger, I need to know. I don't want to keep my eyes closed any longer. One abuse is too many.
For more about these stories, go to SNAP website
7 comments:
Also in AA 90% have had a major trama in life as the women coming out of prison.
Thanks Paul, I found it much easier to have compassion for women, when I heard their stories.
Mothers beating and throwing hot coffee in the face of their child, children 9 years of age being molested by step-fathers and no, these weren't told by the children of incarserated women, this is their stories.
Hearing these things drove me to my knees praying God would deliver.
Some time ago I told the story about being adoptee at 5 months old. Some 30 years later I talked to my birth mother and 4 siblings. They all lived this life.
Beaten, molested, abused by the man who would have been my step-father.
Why was I delivered? I don't know, but I do know that anyone could find themselves in that kind of circumstance in that kind of family.
This experience changed my thinking radically and God gifted me with compassion for those victims of such horrors. I will always speak on their behalf.
So, a woman abused in a local church is a local church issue that we can't do anything about but let that woman teach men in a local church and all of a sudden this is a first tier convention issue. I sure am proud to be Southern Baptist.
Strider, my husband said "that is a great point."
thanks
One abuse is too many, I agree. Sadly it's more than one abuse and to make other things more the issue than this is very disturbing and just says that ignoring the messengers(2nd time now) is the norm.
It is simply amazing how the SBC as a whole and how its entities have handled various issues over the past few years.
It is dangerously close to the appearance that women and children matter little to the convention. For example:
Klouda vs SWBTS
Predator database dodge by SBC
What next? I hope some changes for the better.
Alycelee,
This is the first time I have seen your blog -- found it from Christa's website. Please ask your readers to read the Survivor Stories on her website. You would more likely get a feel for what people are experiencing and have endured in the past.
I have no clear memories of clergy abuse. My abuse was mainly by my evil grandfather, and my parents, MR AND MRS BAPTIST CHURCH. I grew up in Oklahoma and moved to Memphis when I was 16. My father was usually chairman of the deacons, my mother was GA director, they both taught Sunday School, and we always went to FIRST BAPTIST whatever town we lived in (until we moved to Memphis and we went to Ardmore Baptist).
I am probably telling more than I need to tell. Please know, though, that just because someone looks good, acts good in public, even smells good, does not mean they are good at all. You do not always know what goes on behind closed doors of very religious people. Take my word, it is not always good.
I will stop for now. Let me only say, I am not SB anymore - tried for years even after I started remembering the abuse -- my husband even entered the ministry when we lived in Houston for 8 years.
My true feelings about SBC higher ups who claim there is very little proof that much of this stuff goes on -- those people have either been abused themselves and are so much in denial this is the stance they have to take or they are sexual abusers themselves and I think plenty of them are.
Thank you for your time.
Phyllis Gregory
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