On Sunday, (Feb 10, 2019), the Houston Chronicle reported in a first-of-three-parts article about issues of sexual abuse within the ranks of Southern Baptist Churches.

Today, I spoke to a reporter here in Tyler about the same issues.  I look forward to seeing that article and the ones to follow in the Chronicle.

As we jump into this topic, it seems like a good time to make sure that people know what it means that a church is “Southern Baptist”.

If you want a quick introduction to what it means that a church is Baptist, you can start here.  This is super basic, so excuse that, please.  This is how I see it.

One of the things that most people, even some connected to the Southern Baptist Convention do not know is that each Baptist church is completely autonomous from any central governing agency.

This is a distinctive of the Baptist “denomination”.

Unlike many other denominations, including some other Protestant ones, there is no central governing authority in the Baptist world.  Truthfully, part of the reason for this is so that the body is responsible to “police” itself, its staff, its workers, leaders, etc., rather that hoping for a distant body to do so.

This is not perfect by any means and though I am sure that it has created hundreds of situations where abusive, narcissistic, sociopathic people, because of their isolation, carry out horrific sins against people without much accountability, it also has probably saved thousands of other situations in which a local body of believers knew they were directly accountable to stop those kinds of behaviors… and did so.

There are 15 million or so people who are affiliated with a Southern Baptist Church, according to Wikipedia; there are tens of thousands of local churches affiliated with the SBC.

To be affiliated just means that a local church supports the extended ministries of the SBC and lives in “friendly cooperation” with the SBC.  That number obviously would change daily.

As horrific as it is, could the number offered by the Houston Chronicle (700 over 20 years) be even close to accurate in that it would be well below what you would expect for a population that size?

In an era in which it is reported that 1-in-3 women(1-in 4 girls and 1-in-6 boys before 18) face sexual abuse at some point, and other sexual crimes, I sincerely doubt it. (The article includes abuse by staff, leaders and members of local churches in its range).

It is no less disturbing that predators seek out prey and too many have sought out people to prey on in churches.   It is not only the task of the local church to do its best to not BE wolves, but to protect from wolves as well.

That wolves have gotten in and that churches have not done more to protect… It is heartbreaking and enraging.

… And perhaps that most horrific part of this is that a church is supposed to be a safe place.

People who claim to represent Jesus are supposed to be like Jesus – safe, caring, strong, loving.

In Mark 10, Jesus’ own disciples are rebuking children who want to be blessed by Jesus – shooing them away from the Rabbi.  Jesus turns the rebuke on the disciples themselves!

“Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. ¹⁵ Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”

This is the second level tragedy if there were even ONE child abused in the care of a church.  To be abused is a nightmare; to be victimized by someone who is understood to be safe doubles the nightmare.

Consider a savior who placed that kind of priority on children; now, consider someone abusing a child while claiming to follow that savior.  I cannot imagine more depths of hypocrisy.

I hope that the numbers will eventually reveal that SBC churches are safer than the general population over time, but many churches still have a ways to go to in preventing abuse – in making churches safe for kids but not safe for abusers.

I disagree with one person interviewed in the article that the lack of authority structure makes the church more vulnerable – there are no denominations with a more clear line of authority and process for ordination than the Roman Catholic Church.

The responsibility must lie, of course with the abuser first, but then with the local community to create a safe environment.

I had a professor 20 years ago at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary declare it a tragedy that the church was one of the last safe havens for abusers to get access to children – and she called for us as future ministers to make sure this ended.  In the last 20 years, schools, hospitals, nurseries and day cares, and yes, churches, have begun to make some headway toward making kids safe.

Though we were sometimes slow to catch on as to the imminent risk that predators posed to our children, the steps taken have been mostly good ones… but we are just now getting to see the effects of those changes.

As a pastor and as a licensed counselor, I see the destruction and trauma created by these abusers.  We, as Christ followers, understand people as treasure, created in God’s very image and worthy of respect and personal dignity.  This is the standard of Baptist churches.

Though we may fail, it is what we believe and work for if we are sincere.

I cannot speak as to “most” but many of the churches I know well have procedures and policies in place to help protect minors, staff and others from predators.  The main procedural plan we follow at SSBC can be found in our So Loved handbook.

This, and our staff handbook, offer some insight into the seriousness with which we take any predatory behaviors.  We are quick to seek out, confront and engage with anything that is even questionable, hopefully in the effort to prevent abuse of any kind.

These are working documents and always being worked on and improved, but they are serving our church well.

In the case of abuse of a minor, we follow the professional guidelines of reporting suspected abuse, under any conditions – within 48 hours if at all possible – to CPS and/or the police.  This is a great plan for any church to partner with the state officials when it comes to helping kids.

It isn’t perfect.  In fact, in my experience, it is hard to trust these organizations to handle things well, but partnering with them represents the best options we have for now… and partnering with us, though also imperfect, is their best shot.

If you have concerns about your local church, do not hesitate to ask the leadership about the plans, procedures and policies that your church has in regard to protecting and shepherding minors in the church.  If they lack good stuff, we would be happy to help either through SSBC and/or Alethia Counseling.  In either case, we would love to help you make sure your kids are safe to learn and grow.

Finally, let me be clear. There is no excuse for child abuse. There is no excuse for sexual predation. If you are fearful that you are an abuser or will become one, seek help.  You are welcome to contact me if you are serious about avoiding this evil.

If you are being abused, please get help.  Reach out and keep reaching out until someone will listen.  You are also welcomed to start here at SSBC or Alethia or here on my personal website.  My email is on the contacts page.  I promise that you will be listened to with compassion.

I pray that the SBC takes the publication of this scandal as insight to create urgency.

I do not claim to know what the convention’s best course of action is.  I would love to see a database hosted by the SBC in which churches could post when they have someone leave the church for reasons of being a threat to minors, but I also know there would be a lot of ramifications of that I wouldn’t know and it might create a false sense of safety if someone’s name wasn’t on it… and that would be an error.

Let’s also be careful of considering action as success.  We want to make wise choices for the best ways to improve.  I believe some ideas were on the horizon in any case.  I pray some good ones are coming.

I know there is and has been an SBC task force in place for some time trying to figure out how to help churches stay safe – especially from predators who leave one church and go to another.

Still, local churches must take the responsibility for doing everything reasonable, customary and above and beyond to protect the kids and families shepherded to us.  I am sure it is technically impossible to prevent abuse from happening in connection to churches, but I think we need to continue to investigate possibilities.

There seems to have been a pattern of encouraging silence among victims.  I do not know the motivations of other people, but to the degree that was motivated to protect the reputation of Jesus Christ or the SBC or any other group, I would think that mindset is close to the hypocrisy of the abuser themselves.

Jesus Christ is a huge fan of truth.  He is a God of truth.  It is the truth that sets us free (John 8:32).  Anytime you find yourself in a position to say “pay no attention to the man behind the curtain” for God, you are not actually following God anymore. You are serving some false god, but not the one of the Bible.  No more cover-ups for the sake of our own reputations.

“Test everything, hold fast to what is good”is an instruction from The Apostle Paul about testing prophecy… but I think the wisdom can apply with our situation.  After all, he finishes that thought with the phrase “Abstain from every form of evil.”  (I Thess 5:20-22)

This is a serious matter and must be seen so.  My heart breaks for Debbie Vasquez, Heather Schneider, David Pittman, and the hundreds of other people victimized under the name of the church – including the dozens that I know personally.  The effects are deep and often only with a healthy community, counsel and care will victims experience peace and freedom.  The Church must be part of that process as well.

And while we are a part of the rehabilitation or restoration of those who have victimized others, we must do so soberly, and with careful boundaries, accountability and monitoring.

My heart breaks with whatever energy is left alongside the indignation and anger that I feel that there are people preying on children in the name of the Lamb of God and that there are people attempting to cover that up rather than expose it to the light – and I would not want to face His fury for it when the day of judgment comes for us all.

None of us is without fault or flaw.  We make mistakes, even when trying to help people.  However, there is no sufficient excuse for intentionally and strategically abusing people.

“Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.” – Jesus Christ