Is the Southern Baptist Convention on Life Support, or Has it Already Died? Part 1

Pride deafens us to the advice or warnings of those around us.
—John C. Maxwell—

---

Key point: Well-meaning Christians would be a great deal more effective for the kingdom of God if they were as shrewd as they are well-meaning.

---

You can access all the articles in this series here.
A streamlined version of this article is available here.

In the 1977 made-for-television movie The Death of Richie, Robby Benson plays teenager Richie Werner, a young man who, unfortunately, has been taken captive by drug abuse. His parents try to help him on their own, but the whole family actually needs help. The father, George, refuses professional counseling. Eventually, the difficulties surrounding Richie’s addictions and the emotional storms they generate work to destroy any hope of healthy relationships between parents and son — and any hope of getting the wayward youth to take and travel a path out of his plight. Emotions run hot and get out of hand. Richie’s parents watch their son descend into an abyss they know will either permanently ruin his life — or put an end to it.

George loves his son, but he’s also angry with him. As Richie’s situation continues to unravel, George becomes desperate. Wanting and willing to do anything he can to help his son but unable to think clearly because his strong feelings and the family’s circumstances have overwhelmed him, George reports his son to the police.

The movie’s climax comes when…Richie confronts his father in a drug-induced rage…threatening him with an awl. George retreats to the basement in the family’s home, where Richie follows him. George retrieves a revolver from his toolbox and aims it at Richie, but does not fire it, cocking the hammer back in an attempt to convince his son that he is not bluffing. Richie screams repeatedly for his father to shoot him. George manages to overpower Richie by knocking the awl from his hand, but Richie retreats upstairs and returns to the basement with a pair of scissors and taunts his father over and over again, daring him to shoot him, approaching him closer, thinking that George doesn’t have the nerve to do it.

With a steady hand, George pulls the trigger. A blinding flash from the gun’s barrel then morphs into a bouquet of flowers on a mahogany casket in the cemetery

viewers saw in the early moments of the movie. Standing by Richie’s casket, the minister reads the twenty-third psalm. Sadly, The Death of Richie is a true story.

---

Shoot me! Shoot me!
—Richie Werner to his father just before the tragic end to the movie The Death of Richie—

---

The main takeaway I’d like to offer my readers with this illustration is that out-of-control emotions can utterly destroy. They can destroy people, and plans, and goals, and entities, and organizations. They can destroy cooperative efforts, even noble ones. In the heat and passion of a moment, or a movement, recommended actions can seem right but be thoroughly wrong. Of all people, Christians should be able to look beyond emotions and appearances. The Bible tells us, “There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.”

Scripture also says, “The first one to plead his cause seems right, Until his neighbor comes and examines him.” Let’s suppose, though, that the members of a jury allow themselves to get carried away in the emotional fervor of the first presenter’s arguments, so much so that they turn deaf ears to the one who makes the counter-presentation. What then? True justice is less likely to prevail. Certainly emotional arguments can be made on the right side of a dispute, but such arguments often are manipulative and deceptive. For justice to prevail, reason and objectivity must remain at the forefront.

---

Emotions do not constitute a reliable path to justice.

---

While emotions should be acknowledged because they are present and real, they do not constitute a reliable path to justice. As we learn from The Death of Richie, intense emotions can compel people to reach conclusions and to take actions they sooner or later come to regret. And realize this: It isn’t just emotions like anger, desperation, and intense frustration that can lead to avoidable tragedies. Powerful feelings like compassion, sorrow, sensitivity, and concern do as well. Moreover, feelings of guilt and responsibility readily can take their toll and obscure reason and objectivity, two necessary ingredients in the formula for arriving at authentic justice.

---

It isn’t just emotions like anger, desperation, and intense frustration that can lead to avoidable tragedies. Powerful feelings like compassion, sorrow, sensitivity, and concern do as well. Moreover, feelings of guilt and responsibility readily can take their toll and obscure reason and objectivity, two necessary ingredients in the formula for arriving at authentic justice.

---

The Death of the Southern Baptist Convention

After attending the Southern Baptist Convention in Nashville in 2021, I published a list of ten items I considered to be cringeworthy. Today, a year later, I could make minor adjustments to only a few of them and repost all ten as a list of elements that distressed me about the 2022 meeting of the SBC in Anaheim. Here I’m posting items 2, 3, and 4 without adjustment. What I wrote last year about the convention in Nashville describes perfectly elements that were present and operative at the just-completed SBC meeting in Anaheim. Although I didn’t attend the convention in person, I saw enough to realize that nothing has changed. The following items concern me greatly.

• • • The raw and blatant attempts of leaders to manipulate messengers with emotional rhetoric.
    • The bandwagon mentality shown by both leaders and messengers to support popular and even legitimate causes (opposing sexual abuse and opposing racism are two excellent examples) without weighing carefully the consequences of the specific approaches recommended or taken to address these issues.
    • The applause in response to leaders’ manipulative rhetoric. Discernment was in short supply.

These elements highlight intense emotions; emotions that, I believe,

• • • can lead to,
    • are leading to, or even
    • already have led to

the death of the Southern Baptist Convention. Yet I want to be very clear. I’m not calling out emotions alone, but also deceptive, manipulative, and coercive tactics on the part of leaders to herd messengers and other Southern Baptists in ways reminiscent of the way the Pied Piper directed the children of Hamelin to a place from which their families never heard from them again.

Am I saying those who approach church leaders with stories of abuse should be ignored? Quite the opposite! They must be respected and carefully heard, and their stories must be investigated. While the Caring Well Initiative and its curriculum say Believe women, a more biblical approach, at least initially, is Don’t disbelieve women! Actually, leaders shouldn’t initially disbelieve any accuser, whether male or female. Investigate their stories, gather evidence, and let the evidence guide you to reasonable conclusions. Use your head! Contact local authorities. An article at The Stream titled “Five Key Points for the Southern Baptist Convention Vote on Sexual Abuse Response” by Tom Gilson offers excellent insights and advice on dealing with sexual abuse in the local church. Although it was written before the SBC meeting in Anaheim and messengers didn’t heed everything Gilson advised, readers still can benefit from his wisdom; it will help them steer clear of mistakes in dealing with sexual abuse when this issue arises in their churches or in other immediate settings.

Well-Meaning, But Also Misleading

Having said all of that, I would emphasize the importance of getting a clear understanding of the big picture in the Southern Baptist Convention. The Guidepost report, which is being used to call for drastic action (policy changes that clearly will alter the very structure of the SBC), actually doesn’t indicate there are widespread problems of sexual abuse among Southern Baptists.

In fact, it shows just the opposite. In a recent three-part series, we examined Kyle Whitt’s convincing arguments that the report demonstrates that incidents of sexual abuse are not pervasive or systemic in the SBC — not even close. The report found only two ongoing cases — just two. Of course, even one is one too many. We must work to bring the number down to zero; but until then, we need to be fair to the SBC, to the churches participating in it, to the pastors and other leaders in those churches, and yes, to the survivors as well. Ultimately, the truth is a friend to everyone. Sexual abuse is not rampant among Southern Baptists!

Other observers validate Kyle’s claims. Megan Basham writes,

While purple prose has been flowing freely in regards to the SBC, little of it has bothered to detail what the apocalypse looks like in hard statistical terms. That’s likely because, according to the recently released report generating all the coverage, a total of 409 accused abusers were found over the course of 21 years in approximately 47,000 SBC churches.

Lyman Stone, demographer at the Institute for Family Studies, told me the actual data contained in the abuse report, the result of an eight-month investigation by Guidepost Solutions, does not come close to meriting the hyperbolic terms that are peppering coverage in The Washington Post, The New York Times, and CNN.

“Statistically speaking,” he said, “there were not that many cases. This is not actually that common of a problem in this church body.”

Stone went on to estimate that there are about 100,000 to 150,000 staffers in SBC churches, but many thousands more volunteer in their ministries. Of all the allegations that Guidepost investigators reviewed, they found only two  that appear to involve current SBC workers.

“If you wanted to argue that based on this report, executives of the SBC mismanaged the cases that were brought to them, then fine,” Stone said. “But if you want to say this shows that [the SBC] is corrupt, hypocritical, and rife with sexual abuse — the report doesn’t demonstrate that.”

The Rush to Issue a Corporate Apology

If justice prevails, it must prevail in each individual case, based on facts and evidence. I believe it is unfair and even dangerous to paint the SBC with a broad brush regarding sexual abuse, especially in light of the fact that the Guidepost report did not indicate the presence of widespread or systemic abuse within the SBC. Against this backdrop and the reality that each individual case is fact-dependent and could be decided either for the accuser or the accused, I believe a corporate apology could be seen as an admission of guilt on a broad scale. Such an apology very easily could tilt the perspectives of those involved in deciding specific cases, even when the apology and/or lament knew nothing of the specific case being considered. Understand that Scripture teaches individual responsibility; corporate guilt is a tenet of critical theory and social justice.

---

Scripture teaches individual responsibility; corporate guilt is a tenet of critical theory and social justice.

---

Never mind all of that! Messengers resoundingly passed Resolution 6 “On Lament and Repentance for Sexual Abuse.” Keep in mind that many pastors have not dealt with a sex abuse situation in their churches because none has arisen. Moreover, others have handled well some very difficult scenarios involving abuse. Tell me, of what do these pastors need to repent? Despite this reality, the resolution states,

WHEREAS, Sexual abuse has occurred in and among our churches, sometimes at the hands of church members and sometimes at the hands of pastoral leaders…

RESOLVED, That we publicly lament the harm our actions and inactions have caused to survivors of sexual abuse; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we publicly apologize to and ask forgiveness from survivors of sexual abuse for our failure to care well for survivors, for our failure to hold perpetrators of sexual abuse adequately accountable in our churches and institutions, for our institutional responses which have prioritized the reputation of our institutions over protection and justice for survivors, and for the unspeakable harm this failure has caused to survivors through both our action and inaction; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we publicly repent and acknowledge our need for comprehensive change in caring well for survivors of sexual abuse….

Do not misunderstand. I am not saying Southern Baptists should be indifferent to abuse, even that which has occurred far away. However, one’s response to incidents of abuse that took place far away obviously will be different than it would be to abuse in one’s own church. It should be. We oppose mistreatment wherever it happens, and we do what we can to prevent and to address it. But not all Southern Baptists are guilty of abuse; in fact, the vast majority are innocent!

Of course, when we learn leaders we have trusted have violated others or otherwise failed to act properly, we must address these offenses appropriately, always seeking justice. We also ought to work to implement reforms when they are needed, and reforms that genuinely are needed.

We must not blame leaders for weighing the costs of unintended, negative consequences of implementing the recommendations being considered; we actually ought to want them to do this! In addition, we must be careful that we, and they, don’t endanger or kill the patient with the cure or cures we seek to prescribe and implement. More on that in a moment.

Resolution 6 mentions several accusers specifically, and yes, the ones named gave their permission to be publicly singled out:

RESOLVED, That we recognize and appreciate the work and advocacy of sexual abuse survivors, repent of our resistance and neglect of their efforts, and unreservedly apologize to survivors mentioned in the report, including Christa Brown, Susan Codone, Megan Lively, Jennifer Lyell, Anne Marie Miller, David Pittman, Tiffany Thigpen, Debbie Vasquez, Hannah-Kate Williams, and Jules Woodson, for our not heeding their collective warnings and taking swift action to address clergy sexual abuse sooner.

Note that Jennifer Lyell’s name is included. Often her case is used as the signature case of abuse in the SBC. Jon Harris indicates that this is the case..

Megan Basham notes this in her article at Daily Wire,

From the broad outlines of Jennifer Lyell’s story, it’s easy to understand why the members of the executive committee might have felt some hesitation to unquestioningly label her as a victim of abuse.

In 2004, Lyell was a 26-year-old master of divinity student when she met cultural anthropology professor David Sills, who is 23 years her senior, on the Louisville campus of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Shortly after, she became close with the entire Sills family, including David’s wife, Mary, as well as his college-age son and teenage daughter. She alleges that it was on a mission trip with Sills and his daughter that Sills first “sexually acted” against her.

That incident, she says, began a pattern of abuse that lasted 12 years until she was 38, continuing even as she moved to Chicago in 2006 and, later, Nashville, to further her career in publishing. During the time that Lyell was a publishing executive, she often worked with Sills, contracting with him for books, and, arguably, holding more power over his career than he did over hers.

I’ll let you read the article yourself to get the full story, but it is not unreasonable to question how this relationship of “abuse” could have gone on for 12 years if it indeed really were abuse. Doesn’t the reality that a relationship lasted for 12 years indicate it was consensual? Not according to the Me Too movement! Hear Jon Harris once more:

This, of course, is evidence that SBC leaders are operating, not from the perspective of biblical justice, but social justice, including the assumptions of the Me Too movement. Add that to the corporate apology and lament in Resolution 6, and it’s no wonder that certain lawyers and other nefarious players smell blood in the water.

Mark it down; the Southern Baptist Convention is now a target for these people. They are salivating! It baffles me that SBC leaders seem to be going out of their way to make it easy for them.

---

Why are SBC leaders going out of their way to make it easy for crooked lawyers and other nefarious players to sue the convention?

---

• • One possible explanation is that SBC leaders are more concerned about what the world thinks than what God thinks.
  • Another is that social justice is a religion, and apparently our leaders have embraced its tenets, including critical theory. This means that, at least in practical terms, our leaders have rejected Christianity and its teachings for social justice and its unbiblical ideas.

Either of these is beyond terrible. Their actions very well may have sealed the Southern Baptist Convention’s doom. And of course, in and through the entire series of events on this issue, God’s name has been dragged through the mud. How so? Convention leaders and those supporting them are not upholding biblical teachings. Regardless of intentions, authentic justice isn’t been pursued. A problem is being misrepresented as being far more widespread than it really is. It is clear that the truth is being sacrificed for the goal of being liked by the world.

Don’t misunderstand. I’m not minimizing the reality of the problem or its seriousness where it has occurred. Nevertheless, the foolish actions our leaders have taken as they have followed the wisdom of the world are going to exact a very heavy price.

Blood in the Water

Take a minute to recall the tragic story of Richie Werner as presented in The Death of Richie. Richie was shot to death by his own father. Both Richie and his dad were being carried away by intense emotions; and, in the heat of the moment, when Richie yelled out to his dad, “Shoot me! Shoot me!” George did, killing his own son.

Surveying the landscape surrounding the SBC, any clear-thinking observer will recognize that SBC leaders have effectively caused the convention to say to, and even to beg, any and all interested parties, “Sue me! Sue me!” This is utter folly. I assure you, they will. And they won’t stop. There won’t ever be enough money to cover the damages, either.

---

Sue me! Sue me!
—the Southern Baptist Convention to crooked lawyers and other nefarious players in 2022—

---

There’s more! I fear that through Resolution 6, the SBC already has admitted its own guilt — and in practical terms has embraced its own liability — even for sexual abuse cases for which it holds absolutely no responsibility. Will this be the end of the Southern Baptist Convention?

What would you do if you were part of a church that hadn’t seen one sexual abuse case? In years past, you’d given money to the Cooperative Program as a worthy missions cause, but the CP now is being used to pay damages being awarded to accusers who win lawsuits or even reach settlements, which, though less costly than litigation, also can be extremely expensive. This hasn’t happened yet, but it is a very plausible and even likely scenario given the path we’re on. The question is not whether real victims should be recompensed, but who should pay damages and the other costs involved. Will you and your church continue to give money to the CP to pay for someone else’s sins and crimes? This is a far cry from justice if there ever were one!

Remember, corporate guilt is a tenet of critical theory and social justice. Biblical justice, on the other hand, opposes the idea of corporate guilt. Instead, it acts with impartiality and proportionality to render to everyone what he or she deserves according to the rightness of God’s perfect law.

SBC LAWSUIT ADS.pptx from RickPatrick9

Do you remember the quote at the top from Dr. John Maxwell? He said, “Pride deafens us to the advice or warnings of those around us.” Southern Baptists who opposed going down the “Me Too” path (a path that includes two recommendations from the Sexual Abuse Task Force that messengers approved resoundingly in Anaheim) warned the convention about the dangers. Sadly, they have been ridiculed as insensitive to and dismissive of abuse. And their wisdom has gone unheeded.

Next time, we’ll hear about — and from — a Christian statesman who who didn’t get carried away by high sounding, emotional rhetoric. He sounded the alarm and gave wise advice.

I hope it’s not too late to act on his wisdom.

 

Copyright © 2022 by B. Nathaniel Sullivan. All rights reserved.