Mississippi Baptist leaders react to report on sexual abuse allegations with Southern Baptist Convention

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – A brand new report claims Southern Baptist Conference leaders mishandled allegations of intercourse abuse for practically 20 years. The unbiased investigation was commissioned by the Southern Baptist Conference final yr.

The doc was made public Sunday and means that members of the conference’s govt committee stonewalled and intimidated victims after they got here ahead with abuse allegations.

Many questions at the moment are educated on how you can forestall future abuse and higher reply to new allegations. So, we went straight to the Mississippi Baptist Conference Board for his or her response and to be taught what present protocols, if any, exist.

“I feel the accountability is, goes to be the healthiest factor for us,” defined Dr. Shawn Parker, Mississippi Baptist Conference Board Government Director-Treasurer. “Clearly, I do have considerations that this would possibly jade individuals of their notion of Southern Baptists and extra importantly than that, the Christian church. And I’d hate to see that be the case. Actually, I’d perceive that there can be disappointment and frustration, and presumably even the event of some cynicism over this. However I’d be, I’d be dissatisfied to see that grow to be such a deterrent to individuals’s non secular well being and development that, that they not look to the church for non secular steerage.”

So, what’s the present construction for reporting abuse allegations? To start out, you want an understanding of the Baptist governing construction.

“Baptist church buildings are all autonomous, which means that they’ve a cooperative relationship with the Mississippi Baptist Conference and the Southern Baptist Conference,” described Parker. “But it surely’s not a hierarchical relationship. We don’t present supervision for them. They aren’t answerable to us. They’re self-governing. So when such an incident ought to happen, there’s no mandate that they report that to the Mississippi Baptist Conference.”

We reached out to Gore Springs Baptist Church Pastor Eric Sherwood, who filed a movement on the 2021 state conference annual assembly to create a state-level sexual abuse activity power. It failed.

“The report from the SBC Sexual Abuse Job Drive is a surprising and needed indictment of the conduct of a few of our SBC leaders over the previous 20 years. The movement we offered was an effort to be proactive towards educating native church pastors in Mississippi in regards to the actuality of sexual abuse and equipping them to reply with trauma-informed sensitivity to potential SA disclosures of their church buildings. I used to be, after all, saddened that it didn’t cross, however I’ve been very inspired over the previous yr by the dedication and cooperation of the MS Baptist Conference Board management, particularly Dr. Parker, to take this matter significantly and take motion within the spirit of the movement. Now could be a time for all Southern Baptists to repent and humble ourselves, then take motion to look after survivors and make sure that these sinful acts don’t proceed,” mentioned pastor Sherwood.

Parker says within the final 9 months, they’ve taken steps on the state degree, together with a evaluation of procedures and protocols for reporting, and redoubled their efforts to offer church buildings coaching for figuring out predators/stopping sexual abuse/caring for survivors. Proper now, they encourage church buildings to have a look at intercourse offender registries earlier than hiring however know that doesn’t cowl situations of credible allegations not tied to an indictment.

“I feel that there’s a means for us to handle our church polity, and on the similar time, develop some mechanism for recording credible allegations, after which making certain that church buildings have entry to that. Honestly, at this level, I don’t know precisely how that’s going to pan out, however we’re working, and we’ll be working diligently on that,” Dr. Parker mentioned.

One of many examples within the report is of a pastor in Texas allegedly permitting an accused abuser of younger boys to be quietly dismissed in 1989. He didn’t report that abuse to police. The person, John Langworthy, was later charged with abusing younger boys right here in Mississippi in 2011. A test within the intercourse offender registry reveals he has since died.

To view the total assertion launched by Dr. Shawn Parker, click on HERE.

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