Over the course of many years others began to speak up. When @megannlively exposed Paige Patterson’s coverup of her abuse, Jenn Lyell began a quiet petition to have him removed. @SusanCodone educated and pushed for change. Retaliation against them was swift and strong.
When a few leaders reached out to me to work on the Caring Well curriculum and other abuse related issues in the SBC, I expected that the trickle-down work of educating would take decades, but suggested two critical steps that could be taken immediately:
1. An audit of the convention to gather data related to abuse & mishandling, & to identify trends & patterns to inform meaningful steps forward.
2. An investigation into actions of elected, appointed or paid staff or leaders of the Convention, related to abuse & mishandling of abuse.
I expected it would take years to see this done, if at all. But survivors continued to speak up. A few brave leaders refused to silence them or the Caring Well team, even when they knew ahead of time the controversy that would ensue if we spoke freely on stage.
However, the executive committee leadership stonewalled and refused all offers of help. They defamed Jen Lyell and refused to back down. Hours upon hours upon hours of work by myself and many others was consumed, all with no expectation of seeing tangible fruit.
When @toddbenkert & @DGrantGaines reached out regarding their motions, I shared with them the steps I’d been advocating for & helped draft the motions to clearly articulate their goals without running afoul of SBC parliamentary rules.
The best I hoped for was that it would draw the lines clearly, and help clear the path for passage in a few years. But their commitment, and the commitment of so many survivors and leaders, came together to create the first steps to meaningful reform in the SBC.
What I hope we all take from this is the following: Sound theology and SBC polity is not and never has been, in opposition to meaningful steps to reform. All that is needed are leaders willing to ask those who can help “how do we get this done?” and then fighting for it.
– Change is slow. It can take decades of invested time and the work of so many before tangible fruit is seen. But that investment of love and faithfulness is not wasted.
– Fighting for truth, justice and reform is the work of a community. Caring well for those who have been deeply wounded requires the participation of everyone. Messengers had to listen, pay attention, care, and take a stand. And they overwhelmingly did.
This is the work we have been called to: Do justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly before God. I am so grateful we saw a tangible example of this in Nashville. The work is not done; but we’ll do it, together.
The SBC Executive Committee Responds to the Investigation
The Office of the President of the SBC Executive Committee (Ronnie Floyd) issued a statement after the vote to investigate their committee passed. The Executive Committee thanked the messengers “for their passionate concern.”
“We will work to expeditiously implement today’s motion,” the statement read, and reassured the SBC messengers the committee’s intention has always been to be forthright and transparent in this process. It also mentioned that the Executive Committee had voted in its meeting Monday to have Guidepost conduct an investigation.
The committee said that it is “confident” that the investigation will result in the “ultimate blessing of removing all doubt in the minds of our community of Southern Baptists, allowing us to chart a more confident future together.”
Agreeing that this cause is “important,” the committee thanked the messengers who had invested “so much righteous energy” into it.
