By Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message staff writer
NEW ORLEANS (LBM) – A year after voting to form a task force to investigate sexual abuse allegations in Southern Baptist churches, messengers to the 2023 SBC Annual Meeting, June 14, extended the Abuse Reform Implementation Task Force another year.
Additionally, the task force announced the formation of a new website to help churches keep track of “credibly accused’ individuals and access a toolbox with prevention resources and response information.
The page, found on sbcabuseprevention.com, offers resources such as a sample application, sample reference questions, sample interview questions, Fair Credit Reporting Act Summary of Rights and authorization for background check form.
Marshall Blalock, chairman of the ARITF and also pastor of First Baptist Church, Charleston, S.C., told messengers that an allegation alone will not place anyone on the list. Rather, he said the “credibly accused” individual will be investigated by a licensed and qualified firm, have the charge or charges reviewed by an independent Christian legal team, and have the opportunity to appeal.
“My heart breaks for those young people who have been burdened with this horrible pain,” Blalock said. “So where do we go? The Bible says let us not love in word and speech but in deed and in truth. So united in our words, we want to also have our words and actions match. Which is exactly why I was so encouraged last year when this body with one heart said let’s work together to help stop sexual abuse and minister to survivors.
“The real genius of the Southern Baptist Convention is cooperation and together we can do what we can’t do separately,” he continued. “We do so out of love, love for God, love for one another, and the only way we can help make our churches the safest place on earth is to help each other in that endevour.
The ARITF serves at your direction. And we’re committed to carrying out your mandate to assist in implementing more reforms so churches can be more equipped to prevent sexual abuse and care for survivors.”
In a time of debate, Jamie Arnette, pastor of First Baptist Church in Dillon, S.C., objected to extending the task force for another year.
Arnette explained that after the SBC Executive Committee released a database with a list of churches with abuse cases, his church was among those on the list. However, Arnette said he believed this was unfair because a volunteer committed his act online and at the school where he was working, away from the church.
“As a church we definitely agree with protecting our members, especially the vulnerable children,” he said. “We provide safety measures, training for our church and our leaders. However, I do have some concerns with this issue of being credibly accused and how that’s going to be vetted.”
Blalock responded that the database on the new website will not list church names on this new website. He said only the name of the credibly accused individual along with his or her conviction, birthday, city where the action place and mugshot will be listed.
“The other piece is that we have a legal review team that is vetting, even the names that were put on last year’s website from the EC,” he said. “And so all that will be reviewed carefully before it gets on this website.”
Griffin Gulledge, pastor from Madison Baptist Church, Madison, Georiga, spoke in favor of the recommendation.
“To fail to approve this recommendation would make that day nothing more than an unkept promise – an unfinished work,” he said. “To fail to see the ARITF through, and let them continue their work, would be the greatest failure of moral responsibility of this convention in half a century. There is no replacement plan. This task force is our abuse response. Will we quit now?”
