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Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

Executive Committee sets up hotline for abuse claims

By Baptist Press NASHVILLE (BP) – A hotline has been established to allow those affected by sexual abuse within Southern Baptist churches. The number is 202-864-5578. According to the joint statement from the SBC Executive Committee, Guidepost Solutions and the SBC Sexual Abuse Task Force, “Since the release of the Guidepost report on Sunday, the SBC Executive Committee, Guidepost Solutions, and members of the Sexual Abuse Task Force have been fielding calls from survivors regarding allegations of sexual abuse.” A 288-page report on the alleged mishandling of sexual abuse claims was released on May 22. In the initial statement from the SATF, one of the initial needs was, “We recommend that the Executive Committee hire a subject matter expert(s) to receive calls, provide initial guidance for reports of sexual abuse, and work with state conventions for training and educational opportunities.” “This hotline will be an important stopgap measure for survivors between now and the 2022 SBC Annual Meeting in Anaheim when the messengers can pass even more meaningful reforms,” the statement said. The hotline will be facilitated by Guidepost Solutions. All information will be held as confidential. In addition to being … [Read more...]

SBC Sexual Abuse Task Force releases report

By Message staff NASHVILLE, Tenn. (LBM) – Nearly a year after messengers to the 2021 Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting called for the creation of a task force to oversee an independent review of the SBC Executive Committee over allegations of mishandling reports of sexual abuse, the task force released its findings on May 22. The 288-page report -- that can be found on sataskforce.net -- outlines the Executive Committee’s handling of sexual abuse cases between 2000 and mid-2021. The independent investigation was conducted by Guidepost Solutions. BACKGROUND In 2019, the Houston Chronicle and the San Antonio Express-News released reports relating to convictions, confessions and credible accusations of sex abuse involving 380 Southern Baptists pastors, deacons, staff, ministry leaders and volunteers and 700 victims during a period of two decades. About 220 of the perpetrators were convicted or made plea deals. The Houston Chronicle database included information about four men who previously served as Louisiana Baptist pastors, youth ministers and volunteers and were convicted of or pled guilty to sexual abuse crimes: — Holland Farrell McMorris, former pastor of Paradise Baptist Church, Ball, was convicted … [Read more...]

Three candidates to vie for SBC president

By Message staff ANAHEIM, Calif. (LBM) – Following the announcements that incumbent Ed Litton, pastor, Redemption Church, Saraland, Alabama, will not run for a second term and that his presumptive replacement, Willy Rice, pastor of Calvary Church, Clearwater, Florida, had withdrawn his name for consideration, three individuals have declared their candidacy for president of the Southern Baptist Convention. Litton has been plagued by revelations of extensive sermon plagiarism, and Rice came under fire for ordaining a deacon who as a teacher had sexual relationships with a high school girl. CANDIDATES As a basis for assessing the data provided for each candidate’s home congregation, the following averages (based on worship attendance for a per-capita comparison) are provided for the SBC: -- attendance to baptisms, 23:1 ratio (how many people in the pew it took to win a soul to Christ) -- portion of congregation baptized that year, 4.3 percent -- per-capita giving through the Cooperative Program, $53.30 Tom Ascol is pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Cape Coral, Florida and president of the Founders Ministries, a network of Calvinist Southern Baptists. His bio on founders. org states he earned a … [Read more...]