Barber told Jennifer in his letter that he is “so sorry about what happened to you. As I have stated publicly, I believe that any survivor of abuse has the right to determine whether their story remains private or is shared.”
The SBC President explained to Jennifer that she is “important,” but that he has made the decision to prioritize his time on instances regarding criminal activity, “particularly as perpetrated against minors or the disabled by Southern Baptist churches or church leaders. It seems to me that this set of priorities delivers the help most needed to the people least able to help themselves,” Barber said.
Therefore because of that reason, he states he is unable at this time to schedule a meeting with her.
The following is Barber’s letter to Jennifer in its entirety:
Dear Mrs. Buck:
I have received your request for a meeting with me at which you wish to share with me your story regarding the dissemination of the article you wrote about your past abuse. I am so sorry about what happened to you. As I have stated publicly, I believe that any survivor of abuse has the right to determine whether their story remains private or is shared.
As we have stated publicly, since the establishment of the SBC abuse hotline, some 200 cases of abuse have been reported through that hotline. Also, I have had numerous people contact me about ways that they believe that they have been the victims of spiritual abuse by church leadership. All of these people are important. You are important.
In choosing where to prioritize my time and how to advise the Abuse Reform Implementation Task Force, I have chosen to focus first on the problem of any instances of criminal activity, particularly as perpetrated against minors or the disabled by Southern Baptist churches or church leaders. It seems to me that this set of priorities delivers the help most needed to the people least able to help themselves.
For this reason, I am not presently able to schedule a meeting with you. I regret that this is not the answer you surely sought. Please pray for me as I try to address these many needs presented by the day in which we live.
Sincerely,
C. Bart Barber
Jennifer’s Response to Barber’s Letter
“Why is Bart Barber investigating criminal activity happening in SBC churches?” Jennifer rhetorically asks. “I thought that was not to be investigated by the church but the police.”
Jennifer said that in Barber’s attempt “to make me feel important, he actually made me feel that my pursuing this was taking his valuable time from other more important situations. He also said I should have the freedom to tell my story when and how I want, yet Bart Barber put Todd Benkert on his Sexual Abuse Implementation Team, a man who solicited my rough draft without my permission. How can any survivor feel safe when they realize their private information could be stolen and one of the persons who has done it to someone is on a task force that is supposed to protect them?”
“It angered me to be essentially told that I would be behaving selfishly to pursue further action. The fact that he didn’t offer any other recourse, communicated to me that the SBC only cares about certain victims who have been mistreated, and I am certainly not one of them,” she says.
ChurchLeaders reached out to Barber and Mike Keahbone (Abuse Reform Implementation Task Force’s Vice Chair) for comment. Keahbone told ChurchLeaders he was unaware of Barber’s letter to Jennifer and wants to connect with the Bucks in order to hear Jennifer’s story.
RELATED: Blalock, Keahbone To Head Abuse Response Implementation Task Force
The Bucks say they reached out to Keahbone this past August. After a brief acknowledgement in which Keahbone said he wanted to hear Jennifer’s story, but no meeting resulted. They reached back out the day Jennifer received Barber’s letter. Keahbone expressed his desire to still hear Jennifer’s story and said he is attempting to fit her in his busy schedule. Keahbone and the Bucks have played “phone tag” in recent days in an attempt to make that connection.
Keahbone heard Jennifer’s story during a 90 minute telephone conversation on Monday, September 26.
Barber replied to ChurchLeaders saying that he had nothing to add.
Will the SBC protect its messengers from retaliating attacks when messengers abide by and practice the SBC’s abuse reform guidelines? Jennifer Buck told ChurchLeaders she is losing confidence that anything will change, but says each new attempt helps to hold the SBC accountable.
