In the SBC, It's Time to Mourn and Repair

Over the last seventy-two hours, reports of sexual abuse within the SBC Executive Committee have come to light, exposing the past two decades’ cover-ups, lies, and harm coming at the hands and words of the denomination’s most powerful leaders. In the coming days the Executive Committee will reveal the list carrying the names several more abusers, which will further carry the wave of anger and disappointment around the world.

As documented by the Washington Post, Christianity Today, and virtually every other news service across the country, subjects of shock, awe, and hypocrisy were the main takeaways. David French called the report by Guidepost Solutions LLC “A Southern Baptist Horror.” Russell Moore, former president of the SBC’s policy arm, the Ethics, and Religious Liberty Commission, took it a step further, naming it the “Southern Baptist Apocalypse.”

In the aftermath, several pastors who served as SBC president were mentioned as abusers or complicit in abuse, including Steve Gaines, Frank Page, former seminary president Paige Patterson, Johnny Hunt, and Jack Graham. Dr. Graham, who served as president from 2002-04, and the people of Prestonwood Baptist Church immediately deemed the report faulty. Despite Graham’s unwillingness to speak to Guidepost throughout the investigation, they denied the findings. Hunt, who was named as a sexual abuser of a fellow SBC pastor’s wife, also rejected the report. 

Too Close to Home

A 2002 Boston Globe report documenting the sexual abuse in the Catholic Church set off the flame of uncovering instances of sexual violence and abuse within the Church around the world. The #meToo movement opened the door for women to speak the truth about personal episodes of abuse, bringing down formerly powerful men like super producer Harvey Weinstein of The Weinstein Company and Dr. Larry Nassar of Michigan State University and USA Gymnastics in the process.

I had no connection in the formerly mentioned reports movements of #meToo and the Catholic Church. There is no personal story of sexual abuse in my life. I am not Catholic, but I would consider myself a massive fan of the 2016 Best Picture-winning movie Spotlight, which dives deep into the investigative reporting done by the Globe. The recent SBC findings do, however, hit close to home. 

I was raised in the SBC. I graduated from a Baptist high school, where my mother has worked for two decades, and my father serves on the board. My parents and eldest sibling have graduated from an SBC-affiliated university, the same one where I plan to graduate next May. I worked a Disciple Now weekend at Prestonwood. Jack Graham spoke the concluding message of the weekend. 

At First Baptist Bentonville, where I interned last summer, Johnny Hunt stepped into the pulpit. He was immediately met with applause across the congregation. I have seen these men in action, preaching God’s Word in front of thousands. They have been praised by many. They have contributed significantly to the SBC in addition to decades of services to their respective congregations. The most dominant Evangelical denomination, which has made up a drastic part of my intellectual, social, and spiritual development, is imploding. 

At the moment, I had no idea what to think outside of anger and rage, but now I would take these feelings one step further. It is time to lament and mourn in the SBC and across the Christian faith. There is no need to point fingers at these abusers, laugh in the face of their downfall, and tout one denomination as better than another. This is not a battle between them and us. It is time to receive this report honestly rather than spout in disbelief. Guidepost Solutions came to the table without an agenda or aim to tear the SBC apart. The uncovering of the information was voted on by representatives of SBC congregations last year. In their own words, Guidepost investigated “with determination.” The thorough and sometimes repetitive nature of the 288-page report dictates precisely that. 

A Time to Lament

The most famous psalm of lament is Psalm 51. The supposed event that leads to the oft-quoted lamentation comes to the reader in 2 Samuel 11. From a place of power at the top of his palace, King David spots a woman bathing. It comes to his knowledge that she is Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite. David takes this word, disregards it, and uses his place of power to sleep with the woman. The shepherd boy who became king, a man after God’s own heart, took advantage of the woman for his own gain. 

Later, it becomes known that Bathsheba is pregnant. David tries to hide the report of her conception in several ways. Still, he ultimately sends Uriah to the front of the battlefield for his untimely death. Instead of coming clean to his sin and infidelity, David had the trauma of an innocent woman and the blood of an innocent human on his hands.

This is when the prophet Nathan comes to the king. Nathan does not pat the king on the back and say, “It’s okay, your highness, God still loves you. Don’t sweat it.” He rebukes the king in 2 Samuel 12 and voices the profound level of disappointment God has in David. 

If you’re starting to connect the boxes, that was expected. So, let’s go to Psalm 51, where David calls for mercy, compassion, and justice according to the unfailing nature of God’s love. David desires to be cleansed and healed from the sins he has brought about. In verses 10-12, David calls for a new spirit to live within him:

Create in me a pure heart, O God,

    and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

 Do not cast me from your presence

    or take your Holy Spirit from me.

 Restore to me the joy of your salvation

    and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me. 

God ultimately forgives David and restores him, but the child who was going to be born of Bathsheba in this episode died after seven days. Not only that, but God says to David in 1 Chronicles 28 that his particular project, the Temple, would be built by the son. This son would reach adulthood and ascend to the throne, and his name was Solomon. Who was Solomon’s mom? Bathsheba.

There is much more to learn from this story, but this truth comes clear. We should pray for justice to be faithfully executed. These men and all who enabled them should admit to the truth, confess their faults, and ask for forgiveness. Those who call themselves Southern Baptists should pray for the abused, care for them, and help rectify their wrongdoings. Because, at the end of the day, God’s name was blasphemed in these actions, and all wrongs will be made right. 

There should not be an expectation of smooth sailing, either. The SBC should not be surprised by the coming punishment. Like David, the judgment should be received, understood, and embraced. We can no longer accept the cover-up of sins. If not, the response from God and our neighbors will be drastically worse. 

A Call for More

Christ had one command greater than any other. Love God and love your neighbor. The SBC world should accept the report and move forward to right the wrongs. Before we begin to repair, we must make room for God to tend to this situation in the best way he sees fit. That should be echoed to every abuser, Southern Baptist Church, and follower of Christ. The SBC needs help, and it is the responsibility of all Christians, at home and abroad, to see the meet the needs of the least of these and hear the voices of the forgotten. 

To the abused named and unnamed, you are seen, heard, loved, and appreciated. Still, no report can genuinely and fully document the horrors and pains of these abusers. Your stories matter, and I pray that this report marks a path forward for correction, reproof, and training in righteousness so that they will be equipped for every good work centered on the Word of God and the gospel of Christ.

Pray for the justice of God be faithfully executed in the life of the abusers in the best way God may see fit. Pray that they truly see the wrongdoing, accept any and all consequences, and invite the judgment of God. Then, may we as a Church begin to heal and reform. May we lament and mourn as the people of God, united and full of faith.

Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,

    you who are God my Savior,

    and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.   

Psalm 51:14