The decision before the EC was not to vote on the motion—rather, it was to vote on whether to consider the motion, and this the members refused to do. “The Executive Committee just voted down the opportunity to even discuss this motion,” Wellman said in a tweet. “Lord, have mercy.”
In another tweet, he said, “Argument made against the motion consisted of ‘wasting CP dollars on an investigation,’ but we already use CP dollars for lawyers that ‘protect’ the EC from concerns raised by sexual abuse survivors. Where is the ‘integrity, excellence, transparency, and accountability’?”
Christianity Today’s Kate Shelnutt reported, “An EC officer from the stage said allowing a widespread investigation would challenge church independence and suggested that SBC churches are safe from abuse because Sunday schools are run by kids’ mothers and grandmothers.” Shelnutt later clarified, “That was Joe Knott, EC secretary. Knott is also a member of the steering committee of the Conservative Baptist Network.”
Reactions on Twitter to the EC’s refusal to consider discussing a more thorough investigation into its own potential failures were swift. Survivor Anne Marie Miller said, “This being voted down is indicative of evil. May the fires from whence these actions came burn down the evil that they bring.”
Pastor and author Griffin Gulledge said, “Not only did they reject it, what they actually rejected was being willing to even *discuss* it. In case you’re wondering how entrenched this is.” He called on messengers to help Wellman’s motion pass tomorrow, saying he is “optimistic.”
“This can all be ENTIRELY undone by the messengers,” said Gulledge. “We—not this small jam packed room—are the final authority. Want to change it? Change it. Be in the room Tuesday by 9 AM.”
Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary president Daniel Akin said, “It is hard to imagine under any circumstances that a body of believers of the Lord Jesus would vote to limit in any way an investigation to find the truth when there are serious allegations related to sexual abuse. Praying our Convention charts the right course tomorrow.”
Survivor Christa Brown had some words for the this year’s messengers: “You wade through an arena floor covered in the blood of #SBCtoo survivors. A few Band-Aids aren’t gonna do it.”
