BY ASSOCIATED PRESS
The largest evangelical denomination in the United States on Monday announced its initial recommendations for addressing revelations of widespread sexual abuse in Southern Baptist churches across the country.
“There is a problem,” said the president of the Southern Baptist Convention, J.D. Greear, according to his prepared remarks to the executive leadership of the denomination. “It’s time we back up our words with actions that demonstrate our concern about this.”
Nearly 400 Southern Baptist leaders have been accused of sexual misconduct or crimes against more than 700 victims since 1998, according to an investigation by The Houston Chronicle and The San Antonio Express-News published this month. Offenders included pastors, youth pastors and volunteers.
Greear called for a range of actions, including potential background checks before ordination, a task force to develop curriculum to train ministers about sexual abuse, and a possible database of offenders. A study group on sexual abuse, which was created last year, offered the proposals. Greear also announced an agreement by the six Southern Baptist seminaries on how to approach sexual abuse, including making training on abuse prevention mandatory. The Southern Baptist state conventions, or the associations organized by region, will train their staff on abuse prevention and promote training on abuse prevention among their churches.
The speech is the first time Southern Baptist churches are hearing in-depth from their highest leadership about how the denomination plans to address the abuse crisis. The revelations have rocked the tens of thousands of churches in the Southern Baptist Convention.
Addressing sexual abuse will also be a primary theme of the annual convention of thousands of Southern Baptist pastors in Birmingham, Ala., this year, Greear said.
Now the president of the Southern Baptist Convention, Greear addressed plans to combat sexual abuse in a speech to denominational leaders on Monday.
He also called out 10 churches, by name, that are embroiled in prominent allegations related to abuse. Greear recommended that the Southern Baptist Convention’s governing documents be amended to make clear that churches with “a wanton disregard for sexual abuse and for caring for the survivors are not in good fellowship with this convention.”
In addition, he raised the possibility that churches could be expelled from the Southern Baptist Convention for their actions and handling of the cases.