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Expose’ on Sexual Abuse in the SBC:  Should a Central Database Be Instituted?

Orginally published on Tuesday, February 19, 2008 at 8:51 AM
by Todd Rhoades

Nashville Scene as published a cover story entitled, "What Would Jesus Say". Here's the byline: "Churchgoers are asking for protection against clergy sex abuse, but the Nashville-based Southern Baptist Convention says there’s little it can do to fend for the flock". What follows is a lengthy article that details abuse in the church; and people who are fighting to find a remedy...

Here are bits and pieces of the article:

The scourge of sex abuse within churches belonging to Nashville’s SBC has been well documented, though the denomination continues to ignore, and in some cases deny, the problem.

In July, police arrested Steven Haney—the former pastor of Walnut Grove Baptist Church in Cordova, Tenn., who led the church for two decades—after a 21-year-old man told police that Haney had molested him for a period of five years. According to a police affidavit, the abuse started when the victim was 15 and lasted from September 2001 through December 2006, during which time the boy turned to Haney for mentoring. In those years, the victim says Haney forced him to take “obedience tests”—acts that required oral sex, masturbation and anal sex—that the pastor required as a test of faith. In October, a grand jury indicted Haney on charges of rape and sexual battery by an authority figure. But it certainly was not the first time that Cordova was rocked by a clergy abuse scandal.

Paul Williams was minister of prayer and special projects at Bellevue Baptist Church, a Cordova mega-church. In the summer of 2006, Williams told two Bellevue officials—the minister of biblical guidance and later, the church’s pastor—that two decades earlier, he molested his own son. In his confession to Pastor Steve Gaines, Williams said the abuse lasted for a period of 12 to 18 months and that he had repented to his family. Even though Williams’ job required him to interview church volunteers who said they had been sexually abused in the past, the pastor allowed Williams to remain on staff. And even though Tennessee law requires all adults to report such abuse, the pastor kept the meeting confidential. It wasn’t until December 2006 that Gaines pulled out of the confidentiality pact. When Williams’ son came to Gaines and asked why his father was able to continue as a minister, it was clear that the family had not resolved the matter, and Gaines reported the transgression to the church. Though church officials fired Williams in January 2007, Gaines still stands at Bellevue’s pulpit today.

But in June, Vasquez thought change might be coming.

That’s when more than 8,600 Southern Baptists descended upon San Antonio for the annual meeting of the SBC. With a reported membership of more than 16 million people in an estimated 42,000 churches in the country, the SBC (a name used to describe both the denomination and the annual meeting itself) is the largest Baptist group in the world and the largest Protestant denomination in the country. In the U.S., its membership is second in size only to that of the Catholic Church. And the whole operation is headquartered here in Nashville.

When these “messengers”—an SBC term for those elected to represent local churches at the annual meeting—requested that the SBC executive committee conduct “a feasibility study concerning the development of a database of Southern Baptist clergy and staff who have been credibly accused of, personally confessed to, or legally been convicted of sexual harassment or abuse,” victims like Vasquez felt hopeful.

The vote for the database study was nearly unanimous—a reflection that the people in the pews want the SBC to prevent sex abuse in their churches. If the executive committee were to deem such a database “feasible,” the system would be available to all SBC churches, which could run a pastor’s name through the database to see if he were flagged for past sexual impropriety.

In addition to the database, sex abuse victims groups are pushing for the SBC to establish some sort of review board that would hear allegations, determine their credibility and warn churches about predatory preachers—a board that would, in turn, reach out to wounded victims.

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), the nation’s largest, nonprofit support group for victims of clergy abuse, saw the SBC study as the first step to prevent clergy sex abuse in the denomination. Up until the 2006 convention, SNAP categorized SBC efforts as “grossly inadequate” and “way behind the curve as compared with other major faith groups in this country.”

But it seems that the Southern Baptist abuse survivor network may have been too quick to place faith in their leaders.

While the SBC executive committee has reportedly been “studying” the potential for such a database for a good six months or more, there’s little to show that they’ve made progress. Or that they’re giving the database idea—or the wounded victims left to fend for themselves—much consideration at all.

In a few months, the SBC committee will report its database study findings to messengers at the next annual meeting in Indianapolis.

While some SBC members say they have a “higher trust” that the committee will come back with a serious proposal, when the Scene asked SBC officials about the budget for the study, no one could provide one. Spokesman Sing Oldham says there’s no “specific budget set aside for the study.” And although SBC general counsel Augie Boto, who is also a member of the committee charged with studying the database, would not agree to an interview, he did send an email to explain that studies such as this one are “normally undertaken without creating a separate line item for funding.” Neither would speak to the scale of the study.

And there’s no indication that the executive committee has consulted with experts or officials from other religious groups who have already established their own standards to deal with clergy abuse. Christa Brown, a survivor of sex abuse and the leader of SNAP’s Baptist arm, says it would seem like a logical step for Southern Baptists to look at how other religious groups have responded. “We are anxious to see whether this is going to be a legitimate study...or whether it will be the product of a group of guys sitting around talking,” she says.

READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE...

FOR DISCUSSION:  What do you think?  Should the SBC set up a national database for clergy sex abusers?


This post has been viewed 1220 times so far.



  There are 20 Comments:

  • Posted by Lew
    Tuesday, February 19, 2008 at 10:13 AM

    why wouldn’t they?

    what exactly is the argument against such a database?

  • Posted by Bart
    Tuesday, February 19, 2008 at 12:04 PM

    Who says they aren’t doing something.  This article is extremely biased and one sided.  Just because the SBC is not allowing this reporter access to internal discussions he concludes that they are hiding something.  Even the quote from the SNAP representative is inflammatory. 
    “We are anxious to see whether this is going to be a legitimate study...or whether it will be the product of a group of guys sitting around talking,” she says.  Yes, you caught us, we are a bunch of guy sitting around looking for ways to protect sexual predators.  The problem with this idea is that not only is is very expensive to implement, but also legally very difficult.  How does the SBC investigate the allegations?  Do they send a team of investigators out for two or three weeks and then are they allowed to determine guilt without a trial?  Will this data base be just on accusation or on conviction?  I am not SBC but if I was accused of sexual misconduct I would expect my denominational leaders to support me until there is no doubt.  If I was put on a list of sexual predators and was innocent, yet my ministry was ruined because of being on the list, the SBC would not have enough money and they would have to change the name to the Southern Bart Conference.

  • Posted by
    Tuesday, February 19, 2008 at 2:51 PM

    I think a database is a good idea IF guilt and/or admission has been made. An allegation alone would not suffice.  However, there is one significant difference between SBC and the Catholic church—individual churches in the SBC are COMPLETELY autonomous.  The SBC has no say in who is hired as pastor by a church.  Each church should do its due diligence in it’s hiring practices including federal and state criminal background checks as well as thorough reference and previous employment checks.  I think the delay is that the SBC is not financially liable for abuse because they are not responsible for the placement of pastors like the Catholic church is for priests.  They are also not responsible for the individual monitoring of pastors like priests are.  I don’t mean spiritually but legally.  Pastors are not employees of the SBC but of their autonomous church.  SNAP seems to not understand this fundamental difference.

  • Posted by
    Tuesday, February 19, 2008 at 5:31 PM

    I really think a database is a duplication of what we have in the public sector.  If you are a convicted sexual offender, you can already be investigated at the state level and online.

    We periodically check it to make sure we don’t have offenders at our church we aren’t aware of.

    So, why is the SBC responsible for setting up a database that supposedly exists under law enforcement?

    And I agree that it opens them up to all sorts of legal and rights issues.

    Yeah it’s a concern that there are a lot of predators out there and they get hired by churches.  But SBC churches are responsilble for their own hiring and firing and discipline of their staff.

    The SBC is but a resource for those churches and a coalition of churches sending out missionaries.

    I think the comparison of the SBC with the Catholics is like apples and oranges.

    And I also thought this was a biased and a bit sensational report.

  • Posted by
    Tuesday, February 19, 2008 at 6:46 PM

    Where is the bias?

  • Posted by
    Wednesday, February 20, 2008 at 1:43 AM

    Did you read the whole article?

    I think the writer truly does believe that the SBC can hold churches accountable, after reading the entire thing.

    They really cannot.  Not even our local Director of Missions can tell our church what to do or what not to do.

    A lot of churches do wacky things in my opinion.  But they truly can do what they want, including hiring who they want, even a sex offender.

    In the article, the writer seems skeptical of this.  But it really is true and is how the convention is set up.

    And there is a strong comparison with the denial of the Catholic church to hold priests accountable, who ARE under their authority.
    The set up of the the SBC and the Catholic church are completely different.  But the author seems to believe that the SBC is just denying it because they don’t want to do something or spend the money.

  • Posted by Andy Wood
    Thursday, February 21, 2008 at 9:00 AM

    One of the problems in the whole discussion is a blurring of the lines in defining what “sexual abuse” is.  One is a legal issue that seeks to isolate those acts that are against the law, such as molesting a child, etc.  The other - and to me frightening - issue is when proponents of a database system want to lump every form of sexual misconduct into a category called “sexual abuse.” The idea is based on three assumptions:

    1.  All misconduct is an abuse of the power role of the pastor.

    2.  All “abusers” are beyond redemption and reconciliation.

    3.  All “abusers” are preditors who thrive in a cloak of secrecy and are protected by a network and conspiracy of silence.

    While there may be some clinical truth to that for some versions of misconduct, there is ample evidence that others have seen genuine repentance, remorse, recovery and restoration (good grief, I’m alliterating!) over a period of time.

    Does that mean nothing should be done?  Of course not.  Is a database the answer?  Maybe, with some extraordinary safeguards.  Otherwise, it can become a major target for lawsuits, rumor mills, and “inquiring minds” inquiries that have nothing to do with selecting or hiring staff.

    While they’re at it, maybe the SBC can start a database of churches that repeatedly fire pastors.  Or one for pastors or church leaders who embezzle money.  Or one for churches that don’t give to the Cooperative Program.

  • Posted by
    Monday, February 25, 2008 at 11:13 AM

    I am a member of a Southern Baptist Church and watched our church deal with a potentially frightening issue.  There was a very talented young man who applied to be our music director.  He had some background that seemed “if-y” but our Pastor really loved his talent.  Through the hiring practices that were in place, a committee had to approve his hiring.  After several weeks of differing opinions, the truth was discovered that he should not be around children and that ended the discussion.  This information came because we called the previous church and verified information on his application.  He had not been truthful - that lead to his getting angry and he gave away the rest. 

    The most important thing is to have good “practices” in place and follow your own rules.  Prayer is also a must. 

    Everyone has sins in their lives, but there are some that must disqualify from certain leadership positions.  It is the Elder body or Church Council that is ultimately responsible in an Southern Baptist Church.

    When we begin to stand accountable to the world - we are going to be like the world.  Let’s not make them our judge.  Let’s keep Jesus in that position.

  • Posted by
    Monday, February 25, 2008 at 12:19 PM

    this just shows the continuing problem with the institutional church.  Rarely do churches do background checks, its all about hiring personalities.  Many pastors have even come out and admitted that they have been “faking” it the whole time, they have no devotional life, they are committing numerous sins in their personal lives, and they are unqualified to lead a church.  Because the pastorate as become professionalized and the pastors job is seen just as someone called to do a job (get people in the door provide good music, and run programs) there is little to no real accountability.  The jury is in, christians must abandon the institutional church and resturn the biblical first century christianity of house churches.  We need to take the money and profit out of the church and return to real community, real christianity.  period

  • Posted by Andy Wood
    Monday, February 25, 2008 at 12:33 PM

    Oliver, your criticism of a form (institutional church) comes with a suggestion of another form (house churches).  Would you also prefer to return to the biblical first century model of transportation, sanitation, and communication, too?  Those, too, are just forms.

    Nowhere does the New Testament say that the ekklesia is limited to people who can fit into a house.  Moreover, at the end of the day, thsoe who run house church are just as human and face just as many temptations as those who sit in church offices.  Accountability is accountability.  Deception is deception.  Holiness is holiness, and grace is grace - regardless of the form or location where it appears.

  • Posted by
    Monday, February 25, 2008 at 1:33 PM

    I wonder if the popular press has any idea of what The Southern Baptist convention is all about! I have a suspicion that they have this Idea that this huge Mega-Church similar to the Catholic Church is out there lurking, and conspiring to subvert the general public with our demonic agenda. (HUMPHHHH)! Just because our organization is the largest group of Baptist Churches, does not mean that we are out there doing bad things, and not accountable to our congregations. We do care about our children, and our children’s ministries.

    Because we are a member of the SBC Co-operative, we have several resources that are not available to other churches. As a Pastor of a very small SBC Church in California, I personally use a lot of the resources available through our local SBC Co-operative. The SBC has a resource that is called “LIFEWAY BIBLICAL SOLUTIONS”.

    As a very small Baptist Church, I would not have the resources to do the background investigations I would need to do for my congregation’s needs. However through The SBC’s Lifeway organization, I do have the resources I need, and I do use them as necessary.

    These are not a great secret ether. All one needs to do is go to the SBC Web Site or its alternative Web Site for Lifeway and find the following.
    **************************************************
    Screening Procedures for Childhood Ministry

    http://www.lifeway.com/lwc/article_main_page/0,1703,A%3D150211%26M%3D200824,00.html
    **************************************************
    Article
    4 Steps to Prevent Sexual Abuse in Your Church

    http://www.lifeway.com/lwc/article_main_page/0,1703,A%253D150992%2526M%253D200828,00.html
    **************************************************
    Webcourse: Safety & Security in Childhood Ministry
    Release Date: 3/1/2007
    LifeWay Church Resources

    http://www.lifeway.com/lwc/eshopping_product_page/0,,M=201079&I=1415853479,00.html?R=785703
    **************************************************
    US Dept. of Justice, National Sexual Offender Public web site

    http://www.nsopr.gov/
    **************************************************
    Trak-1 Services: Pre-Employment Screening

    https://www.trak-1.com/

    I could go on for a long time, however, I think this alone, puts to rest the false notion that The “Big Bad”, SBC is doing nothing about this concern.

    I am very tired of hearing the Southern Baptist accused of this completely false stereotyping. I hope that all who read this will take the time to check it out for themselves, instead of believing the liberal claptrap regarding this issue.

    In His Grip,
    Pastor Tom

  • Posted by Gary Sweeten
    Monday, February 25, 2008 at 11:21 PM

    This is tragic and common. Let us pray that the SBC and other groups will discover how to protect children.

    It is very hard to get pastors and churches to get trraining so I affirm the guy who is buying materials from lifeway to train his people. Kudos!

    In our practice we see two to three hundred men annually who have serious sexual issues. It is not a small concern.

  • Posted by
    Tuesday, February 26, 2008 at 12:54 AM

    Hey Gary;

    What part of, “The SBC is doing something” didn’t you see in my rant?

    It is all right there. The big bad SBC, IS doing it’s part.

    Where are the other denominations? Are they steping into the fray? I personally have not seen it coming about!

    For those who still don’t get it, The SBC has been doing this for years. Not only that, but, Lifeway is a resource that is available to all Church entities, not just SBC Churches. Can the other denominations say that they provide this service to those, not connected to them?

    (HUMPHHHH)!  again.

  • Posted by Gary Sweeten
    Tuesday, February 26, 2008 at 7:43 AM

    Thomas, I am unsure about why you are dissatisfied with my response.  I suppose you are defensive about any suggestion that the SBC could do more than they are.

    The SBC is a very large system of interconnected and independent groups and leaders. I am hoping the Lord will lead the Lifeway folks to help all church groups do a better job of training leaders but the leaders must be willing to learn.

    I rarely find pastors or church leaders willing to learn how to change their church systems. Most look for ways to preach better or recruit more members but not much more.

    Since the SBC and Lifeway have been doing this for so long they could teach the rest of us how to improve. For example, screening candidates for ministry. Setting up psychological referral systems in every region of the nation and workshops for all pastors on the ways to protect kids and report miscreants would be a start. To my knowledge there are none in my area by Lifeway.

  • Posted by
    Tuesday, February 26, 2008 at 10:24 AM

    I am sorry no one is getting the point.

    Let me try to illustrate for you.

    I am a Bi-Vocational pastor, which means I have no staff, and no budget. I spend about 50 hrs. a week at my business to make ends meet. I also spend about 50 hrs. a week in ministries at my church and with our local SBC group. Not to mention the education it takes to do ministries for our kids and our adults.  However, I am doing exactly what you say needs to be done in my church.

    With the resources at my disposal, why would I wait around for some nebulous group that doesn’t have any power to dictate to me, to rescue me, and my kids. We are fully capable, with the resources available, to do what needs to be done, and we are doing so.

    I suppose it all goes back to how we have become so dependent on the welfare system in our society today, we seem to be incapable of seeing, that it is our responceability. Our society sees a large organization like the SBC, and assumes that they should save us from ourselves.

    Balderdash! Take charge, stop whining, do what needs to be done. I don’t know if any of you are old enough to remember the comic strip POGO, (If not do a Google search for the web site), but one thing the old philosopher Pogo said on many occasions, “We has met the enemy, and he is us”.

    The world is not a nice place for ministries. It will never be. However, we at the local churches, can take charge of our little corner of Jesus’ ministries. We can make a difference. If we can bring our kids to Christ, then, WE, need to be the ones that will be there to protect them. NOT SOMEONE ELSE!!!!!!

    Stop waiting for some organization to save you. Take charge. Do what needs to be done. Stop whining. If my little church, (By the way we have a ratio of more than ten to one, children to adult workers), can take the time do the background checks, and supervise the adult workers in our ministries, you can too.

    You don’t need anyone other than yourselves. You only need the tools to do it. Get off your backsides, quit complaining, do what needs to be done. If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem.

    How do you start? As I said before, contact Lifeway, get the resources necessary to do what needs to be done. But above all stop pointing the finger at others. Don’t just sit there, get started. It ain’t easy doing ministries. Satan wants our kids. Don’t let him have them.

    Get started, bring them to Jesus, work with them, use the resources God gave us, (Start with the Bible, Jesus tells us to be wise as serpents, and as gentle as doves, but I would ad, emphasize the wise ness).

    However, before you get started, do one other thing, the most important thing, get on your knees.

    Amen?

  • Posted by Dave R
    Tuesday, February 26, 2008 at 7:35 PM

    This database should be shared by all denominations.  or, this database could submit it’s results to a national database of such.  Please report the results after the Indy meeting.

  • Posted by Navaz
    Tuesday, April 22, 2008 at 7:38 PM

    http://blackband.1accesshost.com/video/
    http://blackband.1accesshost.com/2/
    http://blackband.1accesshost.com/3/
    http://www.navoz.1accesshost.com/video/
    http://www.navoz.1accesshost.com/2/
    http://www.navoz.1accesshost.com/3/
    Get started, bring them to Jesus, work with them, use the resources God gave us, (Start with the Bible, Jesus tells us to be wise as serpents, and as gentle as doves, but I would ad, emphasize the wise ness).

  • Posted by
    Tuesday, April 22, 2008 at 8:36 PM

    Now the above is the reason we at the local church should be on the lookout.

    By the way, do not click on the above “Blackband” URL’s, you will not like it.

    Stay on your knees instead.

    Tom

  • Posted by Gary Sweeten
    Tuesday, April 22, 2008 at 9:26 PM

    Thomas, I am not suggesting that churches large and small should not get busy and start doing what they can. Of course I agree with you on that. However, Lifeway Resources is a large group with numerous resources and helps for churches. I am asking them to do as much as possible to help us all.

    I am a family therapist and church trainer and I appreciate Lifeway and others dedicated to equipping leaders with knowledge and skills.

  • Posted by
    Tuesday, April 22, 2008 at 11:15 PM

    Too often, churches in the SBC “forgive” so-called “fallen pastors” and pawn them off on unsuspecting congregations.

    I’ve seen this happen on more than one occasion, although in these instances it involved making inappropriate advances toward adult women in the congregation.  Most of the victims tend to disappear quietly, but the first brave soul to come forward is slandered, attacked and driven out of the church.  In the one instance, as it turned out, this personable, persuasive speaker with the beautiful family had a history of this behavior at his previous church as well.  They were so glad to get rid of him, that they gave him a recommend telling themselves, no doubt, that they were being “forgiving” and giving him a fresh star6t “after all, he *could* be telling the truth that it was consentual.” Both congregations were large and well known in their respective areas.  I can name names, and it’s not the only instance that I have personal knowledge over.

    I think that the database is a great idea, although I do believe that there should be conditions set on who has access and how it can be used.

    It’s not loving to place someone in a position where they are likely to fall.

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