Southern Baptists Release Pastor List, Repudiate Old Approach to Survivors Kate Shellnutt
Christianity Today Magazine
More change needed, survivors say, but new lawyers bring signs of hope.
Update (May 27): The Executive Committee (EC) released a 200-page list of alleged abusers, kept in secret by former leaders, late Thursday night.
Many of the names appeared in the Houston Chronicle’s 2019 investigation. Unverified accounts—where it couldn’t track down an admission, confession, guilty plea, conviction, judgment, sentencing, or inclusion on a sex offender registry—were redacted. A few entries were names of victims and witnesses, and they were also blacked out.
“This list is being made public for the first time as an initial, but important, step towards addressing the scourge of sexual abuse and implementing reform in the Convention,” the EC said in a statement. “Each entry in this list reminds us of the devastation and destruction brought about by sexual abuse. Our prayer is that the survivors of these heinous acts find hope and healing, and that churches will utilize this list proactively to protect and care for the most vulnerable among us.”
Days after a bombshell investigative report, the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee (EC) decided to do what previous leaders refused to for 15 years: release a list of pastors who had been credibly accused of abuse.
Sitting on either side of interim EC president Willie McLaurin during a meeting over Zoom on Tuesday, a new pair of lawyers discussed the EC’s initial response. They proposed immediately issuing a statement repudiating the dismissive stance EC leaders had taken toward victims in the past and making public a list of 700 alleged abusers that former leaders kept in secret.
The quick moves contrast with the historic approach captured in the investigative report and in last year’s meetings, …
