In a separate tweet, Keahbone said, “I believe it is important for you to know that as an @SBCExecComm member that I do not authorize this type of anonymous unattributable statement being released by SBC executive committee leadership. It further divides us and further erodes our credibility.”
EC member Adam Wyatt also commented on the situation, saying, “I am very tired of one sided statements coming out of Nashville supposedly being from the @SBCExecComm when they clearly are not. This is ridiculous. We were not consulted, and I do not agree with this statement.” Wyatt further stated that the EC does not have an official spokesperson and that he had “specifically asked @ronniefloyd to not put out information ‘from’ the @SBCExecComm unless, indeed, it was.”
The SATF posted an update Friday morning, announcing that efforts to come to a resolution with the EC had deteriorated and that the task force would therefore only be considering the “Messenger Model” in its efforts moving forward. This option “waives attorney-client privilege as to ensure an open, timely, and thorough investigation. The other models discussed needed good faith cooperation, which has eroded.”
READ: Is the SBC ‘Sinking Its Own Ship’? — Christian Twitter Stunned After Exec Committee Meeting
The SATF also posted documents that included a new contract, which has not yet been approved, and a paper assessing the risks to waiving and not waiving attorney-client privilege.
Shortly after the SATF posted its update, EC president and CEO Ronnie Floyd sent out an email titled, “An Open Letter to All Southern Baptists.” In it, he did not mention the question of waiving privilege and maintained that the EC welcomed the independent investigation. “To my knowledge, no one is trying to defy the will of the messengers,” said Floyd, “rather to prayerfully and carefully fulfill the will of the messengers.”
“It’s unclear where this goes next,” tweeted Washington Post reporter Sarah Pulliam Bailey. “On Tuesday they will discuss again. Some people think Ronnie Floyd, head of the executive committee, will have to resign. Some see churches leaving the convention. What’s caught in the middle are abuse survivors watching it unfold in real time.”
