The resolution states that “any person who has committed sexual abuse is permanently disqualified from holding the office of pastor; and be it finally,” and recommends “that all of our affiliated churches apply this standard to all positions of church leadership.”
In the meeting with Rice, Tom Buck says he had submitted to the advice of the SBC’s leadership team tasked with handling sexual abuse mismanagement claims within the Executive Committee. Following that, Tom says he began to receive troublesome calls from other pastors who somehow received the information regarding his meeting with Rice and his elders.
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Tom Buck told ChurchLeaders he was accused of trying to destroy Rice’s ministry, Ford, and others at Calvary Church even though he says he biblically and graciously confronted Rice for allowing Ford to serve as a deacon. Tom says after the meeting, Rice texted him thanking him for reaching out.
Tom Buck says if he hadn’t submitted to SBC’s leadership (SATF) and met with Rice regarding negligence toward the “On Abuse And Pastoral Qualifications” resolution, the appearance of a potential SBC President’s shortfall could have damaged current and future abuse reforms the denomination has implemented.
One of the phone calls Tom Buck says he received was from a caller informing him that someone had leaked Jennifer’s unpublished personal story of abuse and that individuals were threatening to make the story public.
Because of the threat to publish Jennifer Buck’s rough draft, Jennifer decided she would not allow anyone to “hijack” the story she and Tom had shared with others for years and use it to discredit the work God had done in their lives. She says she also wanted to protect private information about her previous sexual abuse that she was not ready to be in the public arena. Taking control of her story gave her the opportunity to tell it the way she chose to before the draft version was leaked, Jennifer says.
Days after Jennifer released her story, Baptist News Global released an article detailing how it received a copy of Jennifer’s leaked draft. The article stated that “the accounts in the 2018 draft and the article published by G3 differ vastly in content, detail, scope and length.” The article suggested that Jennifer intended to publish her story under a pseudonym while making it appear the abuse situation was ongoing and Jennifer was writing from an ongoing victim perspective. Jennifer says none of that was true, but because of vague details in the article, Jennifer felt forced to reveal her past sexual abuse.
Jennifer Buck says she wasn’t going to allow painful truth hidden in the shadows to be used as a weapon against Tom.
The Bucks say they’ve had multiple meetings with those inside the SBC with information regarding who leaked Jennifer’s draft. They say they have been promised help by some, but those people have either changed their minds, lied, blocked them on social media, or labeled Tom a bully for standing up for his wife.
Jennifer’s Request to Barber
Jennifer emailed SBC President Bart Barber on the afternoon of September 14, 2022, in another attempt to resolve the hurt she’s experienced stemming from her abuse story being leaked. She asked Barber to meet with her, Tom, two of their church’s elders, and anyone he wanted to bring with him so she can share her story and be heard.
Barber and the Bucks both live in Texas approximately an hour-and-half away from each other by car, a drive the Bucks say they are more than willing to make.
