The two SBC churches that have empowered Hunt’s defiant return to the pulpit are now the subject of an inquiry by the SBC Credentials Committee, which will determine whether to recommend disfellowshipping them from the denomination.
The inquiry process was initiated by Todd Benkert, a member of the ARITF who reported the churches to the Credentials Committee. Benkert has since resigned his position on the task force amid the ongoing dispute.
Earlier this month, one of those churches, Hiland Park Baptist Church in Panama City, Florida, of which Hunt is now a member, fired back at the inquiry with an open letter in which they called into question the SBC’s definition of “credibly accused.”
Characterizing the phrase “credible allegations” as “troublingly ambiguous,” Hiland Park Baptist Church leadership argued that there is “no proof whatsoever” that Hunt is guilty of sexual abuse.
The current standard of credible allegations, which was adopted by the vote of SBC messengers in 2022, includes anyone who “has confessed in a non-privileged setting, who has been convicted in a court of law, or who has had a civil judgment rendered against them.”
“Additionally, a qualified, independent third-party investigative firm hired by any church or other Baptist body may determine, by preponderance of the evidence following an inquiry, that a pastor, denominational worker, or ministry employee or volunteer is credibly accused,” the now-approved recommendation states.
Having been investigated by Guidepost Solutions and determined credibly accused by a preponderance of evidence, Hunt falls within the current standard of someone deemed permanently disqualified from pastoral leadership.
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“There is a new day dawning across the SBC,” Blalock said on Monday. “Abusers go where they think they can hide. We have chosen to make sure they have no place to hide in our churches.”
