Home Christian News SBC Leader’s Holy Week Plagued by Leaked Story of Wife’s Abuse

SBC Leader’s Holy Week Plagued by Leaked Story of Wife’s Abuse

Notably, April 1 is the same day Florida pastor and then SBC presidential candidate Willy Rice revealed that his church had knowingly ordained a deacon who had previously “committed a sexual sin that could also be described as abusive.” 

Rice’s public disclosure and removal of the deacon from his church’s board apparently came under some pressure, as Rice explained that a fellow pastor had called to confront him. Further, on April 1, anonymous Twitter account The Baptist Blogger threatened to break a story if the person involved didn’t come forward. The account later confirmed that the threat was in reference to Rice, after Rice’s video statement was published the same day. 

Rice withdrew from the race for SBC president less than a week later on April 6. The next day, it was announced that Texas pastor Bart Barber would be nominated. 

Both Barber and Ascol, the two front running candidates for SBC president, have also criticized BNG’s report. 

“Hey @baptist_news,” Barber tweeted. “Victims get to decide when, how, and what to share about abuse. Period.”

“Co-sign,” Ascol replied. “To virtue-signaling pastors who want to be seen as caring for abuse victims & yet wickedly work in the dark for political purposes treating victims as disposable tools to be used regardless of consequences: It is time to turn on all the lights & let the roaches scatter.”

Though they are competing for the same denominational office, Barber and Ascol have been publicly cordial toward one another, highlighting their personal friendship and encouraging charity among Southern Baptists. However, some within the SBC who support their respective visions for the denomination have been far less amicable. 

Of grave concern to many observers, particularly some abuse survivors and advocates, is the possibility that shining a light on particular abuse cases has been more a function of political maneuvering within the SBC than actual advocacy. 

“BNG prides itself on being advocates for survivors. Several of us have trusted them with parts of our story,” said abuse survivor and advocate Hannah-Kate Williams in a statement to ChurchLeaders. “When we do that, we do that with the expectation that they are acting out of truth and not with an agenda.”

Williams further expressed that she has felt used for political ends under the guise of advocacy within the SBC, particularly at the 2021 meeting where confronting abuse allegations was a main point of contention.

“Last summer, SBC pastors across all political and theological spectrums used my story as a framework for attacking one another. By doing so, it made me the target of harassment, threats, emotional distraught leading to suicide attempts, and eventually to having to relocate my residency for safety,” Williams said. “When we use the stories of the wounded beyond consent and intent of their sharing, we reduce the victim to an ‘issue’ rather than the person they are. Not only that, but it actually undermines what the survivor needs…which is justice fought for righteously.”

ChurchLeaders has reached out to Tom and Jennifer Buck for comment and will update this article in the event of their response.