Don’t Buy The Lie

There has been a lot of activity within the SBC lately regarding the Sexual Abuse Task Force (hereafter known as the SATF), with not one but two Executive Committee (EC) meetings and apparently a third scheduled for this week to discuss the waiving of attorney client privilege (tl;dr — they are against it). There are likewise a ton of stories coming out of the SBC related to this topic, some of which I have curated and posted at the bottom of this article.

This belated action by the SBC EC comes three years after Paige Patterson was fired as President of Southwestern Baptist Seminary in May of 2018 under allegations from multiple people that he had terrorized and silenced rape victims during his tenure there; there are further allegations that he did the same to at least one then-student at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary as well. In February of 2019, the Houston Chronicle published a series of articles alleging that more than a few SBC churches and entities had been sheltering sexual predators, with some of them even holding positions as pastors or officers in the convention. In October of 2019, the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, lead by then-President Dr. Russell Moore, launched the “Caring Well” initiative. All of this was heading for a showdown at the 2020 SBC Annual Meeting, which was cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Things reached a boiling point with the leaking of internal correspondence between Dr. Moore and J.D. Greear, then President of the SBC, in June just prior to the 2021 Annual Meeting. When SBC EC members Ronnie Floyd and Mike Stone tried to spin Moore’s allegations away and do damage control, another SBC leader, Philip Bethancourt, published an open letter that not only corroborated Moore’s allegations but actually provided audio recordings of some of those conversations Moore referenced. A few days later, at the 2021 Annual Meeting, the church messengers (people who are appointed by the local churches to speak for their assemblies) spoke with a clear and loud voice that the SBC EC was to fund and fully cooperate with a newly formed SATF, including the waiver of attorney-client privilege, and all was well and good.

Until the EC decided, on September 21st, that they didn’t really need to comply with what they were told to do by the Messengers, setting up a constitutional crisis and opening the EC up to litigation. The SATF responded by noting that as per consultation with another legal firm (Linklaters), the members of the EC have now exposed themselves invidually to litigation in their quest to…avoid exposing themselves to litigation. There are lots of fascinating quotes circulating from these meetings — you can watch the meetings here — but the gist of the EC’s opposition is that if the SBC EC was to waive privilege, it could cause material harm and impede the SBC’s ability to evangelize.

It’s a good argument, couched carefully in language that will appeal to many Baptists, but it is poisonous. Do not accept it.

Ronnie Floyd, acting on behalf of the Executive Committee, later sent an email around in an attempt to put oil on the troubled waters. Here are excerpts of the email:

We are a mission-driven network of churches that voluntarily cooperate together to reach the world for Christ. We cannot be driven by policy, but we are driven by our mission…the Great Commission of Jesus Christ! Policy is one of our important tasks on this committee, but policy serves our mission; mission does not serve our policy…

I stated then and now I say again: I will filter all decision-making and leadership of the Executive Committee with this compelling vision and passionate obsession of reaching the world for Christ….

…In June 2021 at the SBC Annual Meeting in Nashville, Tennessee, messengers spoke loudly and clearly by asking the newly-elected President to appoint a task force who would hire a third-party independent firm to do a thorough investigation and review of the actions and deliberations of the SBC Executive Committee members and staff all the way back to the year 2000.

The SBC Executive Committee fully welcomes this review. The debate has not been about conducting this review. We want this review to be thorough, fair, and reveal the truth. We have nothing to hide, and if something is discovered that we are not already aware of, it is past time for it to be discovered and handled in a more appropriate manner. Anything discovered needs to be revealed, repented of, and addressed in every way possible.

What Ronnie Floyd and the holdouts at the EC continue to miss (although I believe that they don’t miss it at all, but choose to sacrifice it in favor of “the Bubbas and the rednecks that pay the bills”) is that even more foundational to the ministry of the SBC — more than evangelism — is the doxological purpose of Christians everywhere. We are demanded to live and act in ways that glorify our Lord in Heaven. Our efforts at evangelism flow out of that foundational purpose. Many churches talk about the doxological purpose of man, and here are some quick Bible verses to support that argument:

· I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever. — Psalm 86:12

· In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. — Matthew 5:16

· May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. — Romans 15:5–6

· Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. — 1 Peter 2:12

If the SBC Executive Committee, and particularly Dr. Floyd, continue to insist that the SBC is a business, and that they must act in the best interest of the SBC’s business interest for the purpose of evangelism, this issue will never be resolved. The question is not a matter of evangelism because we are all committed to that. The question is will the EC do its’ Scriptural duty and glorify God by addressing the unfruitful works of darkness (Ephesians 5:11), and by repudiating the evil and sin within the camp á la Ephesians 5:

But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person — such a man is an idolater — has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. Therefore do not be partners with them.

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret.

- Ephesians 5:3–17 (NIV84)

In addition, the idea that any entity that identifies itself as Christian ought to be familiar with 1 Corinthians 5. While the passage is specifically addressing the case of a man who ‘has his father’s wife’ — scholars debate whether it is the man’s own mother or a stepmother, which seems more likely — the specific and clear admonition by Paul should apply to any Christian entity that would shelter any kind of sexual perversion or abuse:

It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you…And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have been filled with grief and have put out of your fellowship the man who did this? Even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. And I have already passed judgment on the one who did this, just as if I were present. When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord. Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast — as you really are…But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat. What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked man from among you.”

I could write much more on this subject, but let me bring this article to a close with a series of clear and pointed statements in order to recap this most shameful chapter of SBC history.

· God will not bless the SBC’s efforts at evangelism if the EC is aware of both sinful and criminal activity but refuses to address it. The EC’s attempt to CYA and stonewall this investigation into oblivion is reprehensible, immoral and evil. Not just sinful, but Satanically-empowered evil.

· God is far more concerned with purity in His people and being glorified by His people than He is in evangelistic efforts. He will never bless direct disobedience to His Word, and if any of the pastors on the Executive Committee had rebellion against their authority as a minister in their local church, there would be swift and decisive action.

· Ronnie Floyd is at the center of a series of issues, including the mishandling of Jennifer Lyell’s sexual assault case, which places him in a position of both having say into the investigation into sexual abuse cases and as a person who should be investigated by the SATF. He has a clear conflict of interest and must resign from this matter. If he refuses to resign, he must be removed as a threat to the integrity of the investigation itself.

· The Executive Committee’s decision to rebel against the directives of the SBC Messengers constitutes a clear violation of the SBC’s constitution, in addition to disobedience to the Messengers’ mandate and brings into question how many other Executive Committee decisions have been made for the benefit of the Executive Committee and not the Convention as a whole.

· The Executive Committee continues to attempt to shroud its own dealings regarding the SATF in secret correspondence and executive sessions that block clarity and transparency into this process, creating more distrust and suspicion into what the actual purpose of their actions are. An example of this was the change within the Guidepost agreement with the EC so that only Officers of the EC were permitted to negotiate with GuidePost. It should be noted that Ronnie Floyd is an officer of the EC.

· This summer, the Executive Committee attempted to modify the Business and Financial Plan in what many saw as an attempt to solidify its control over the SBC by giving itself the right to escrow Cooperative Program funds at its sole discretion. The plan was resoundingly defeated, but one now wonders if this recommendation was designed as a way to neuter any potentially funded investigations into the EC, particularly regarding the sexual abuse scandals that have plagued the Convention. In short, was this a legitimate request or was it an attempt to control the battlespace before the battle was fought?

My friends in the SBC — you are dealing with massive issues within your convention. I am not sure what the best course of action is for you individually, nor am I in a position to order your actions, but my encouragement to you is to fight against this monstrous use of authority and power by your supposedly accountable leadership. This is evil and abusive behavior. You must fight this without hesitation, and I would strongly encourage you to follow the lead of several State Conventions by immediately defunding the Executive Committee and cutting off their power, authority, and ability to act. You have been plagued with this issue for literally decades, and the only way you will ever see the Lord’s blessing on your organization and your ministry efforts is to purge the evil from your midst. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren, but fight for your sisters, your brothers, your children, and your churches. Fight for integrity. Fight for transparency. Fight to glorify the Lord, and let your light shine — the light that demonstrates to the world that we are truly different and that we do serve the Lord as “Children of Light”.

If the EC wins, and this investigation is buried under legalese and hidden backroom dealings, the only thing to come will be judgment and further chastisement. It may already be too late for that, but it is never too late to glorify God. Don’t buy the lie that God will bless your evangelism by destroying your own integrity.

Pertinent links:

09/21/21
- Video of the SBC Executive Committee Meeting (SBC.net)
- SBC Executive Committee Balks at Directive to Open Up to Abuse Investigation (Christianity Today)
- Observations from a Task Force Member (SBC Voices)
- SBC faces a test of its governance with tug-of-war over sexual abuse investigation (Baptist News Global)

09/22/21
- The SBC Executive Committee Betrays Its Mandate (Patheos)

09/23/21
- A Fascinating Twist: ONLY EC Officers Are Authorized to Negotiate with the Task Force (SBC Voices)

09/28/21
- Southern Baptists, at impasse, postpone vote on sex abuse probe for a week (Religion News)
- A Twitter Thread YOU Need To Read (SBC Voices)

09/29/21
- Seminary President Speak Out on Executive Committee Failure (SBC Voices)
- New details emerge about how SBC Executive Committee wants to control the sexual abuse investigation, as outrage mounts among other Southern Baptist leaders (Baptist News Global)

09/30/21
- State Conventions Speaking Out About Executive Committee Failure (SBC Voices)
- The SBC’s Ronnie Floyd fails his Ezra moment on sexual abuse (Religion News)

10/01/21
- An Open Letter to All Southern Baptists (Baptist Press)
- Important Update From The Task Force (SBC SATF)
- Some SBC EC Members Say They Were Not Consulted About New EC Statement (Church Leaders)