The improper sexual escapades of the Catholic clergy throughout the ages are not locked in a secret closet. Their reputation precedes them as possessing a fond adoration for their hand-selected batch of angelic-like choir boys. The ones with the most appealing features. But suddenly a new contender has appeared to steal some of the perverted white-collared priest’s hard-earned thunder. It might surprise you to learn that the Southern Baptists have a few skeletons frolicking in their baptismal waters as well.
A damning new investigative report shows that while the Southern Baptist Convention was piously waving their good book in the red faces of the spawns of Satan Catholic priests, they were drawing attention away from their own sinful misgivings. They too had a fondness for Underoos.
Survivors of sexual abuse, along with concerned members of the denomination, have continually brought allegations of sexual abuse before the Southern Baptist Convention “only to be met, time and time again, with resistance, stonewalling, and even outright hostility from some within the EC,” the report details.
After several delegates at last year’s Southern Baptist Convention’s national meeting pressed for an investigation by an outside firm into the allegations, Guidepost Solutions was hired for the job.
After seven months, the firm’s final report said, “Our investigation revealed that, for many years, a few senior EC leaders, along with outside counsel, largely controlled the EC’s response to these reports of abuse … and were singularly focused on avoiding liability for the SBC.”
Hell hath no fury like the report’s next statement. “In service of this goal, survivors and others who reported abuse were ignored, disbelieved, or met with constant refrain that the SBC could take no action due to its policy regarding church autonomy – even if it meant that convicted molesters continued in ministry with no notice or warning to their current church or congregation.”
The Executive Committee admitted to keeping a list of accused Baptists ministers, but the report said that there is no evidence that anyone ever “took any action to ensure that the accused ministers were no longer in positions of power at SBC churches.”
A review of the list found hundreds of reported abusers’ names, many of whom are serving in positions to this very day. Survivors and advocates are screaming loudly for a public database so they too can know who the perverted wolves in sheep’s clothing are.
The details of the report are going to be read aloud at SBC’s upcoming annual gathering in Anaheim, California. Here’s but one example of what they are going to hear.
Georgia-based pastor Johnny Hunt, a former SBC president, was on a beach vacation in 2010 with another pastor and his wife. At the opportune moment, Hunt sexually assaulted and raped the other pastor’s wife.
The other pastor, instead of going to the police as he should have, took the matter to the SBC as all good little pastors are instructed to do regardless of the vileness of the purported crime.
At the time, Hunt was serving as the senior vice president of evangelism and leadership at the North American Mission Board, a position he resigned from several months after the incident.
When Kevin Ezell, president, and CEO of the SBC outreach organization was asked about Hunt, he said he was “not aware of any alleged misconduct” prior to Hunt voluntarily resigning. “Nope. Don’t know a thing.”
This is but one horror story of many yet to be told. The SBC is vowing to change its ways by reorganizing this and that to better control the sexual abuse problem it’s been aware of for years but refused to fix.
Which denomination is next. The Methodists? Church of God? Surely not Synagogues. No church of any denomination is going to realize any type of change until they first realize the source of the problem.
It’s their leaders. The ones who lead them in prayer and praises. The ones who baptize their congregation’s babies in the name of the same God they spit on without conscience. It’s then and only then that worshippers can go back to the reasons they attend church without the concern of who the next victim of organized religion will be.