“The statement today represents the original intent of the granted funds and the reaffirmed commitment to that intent to fund work within the SBC, not outside the SBC,” the spokesman told Religion News Service.
Abuse reforms in the SBC have stalled over the past two years, largely due to legal and financial constraints, as well as the limits of a volunteer task force. That’s raised questions of whether those reforms—passed in 2022 during the SBC’s annual meeting—will ever be fully implemented.
During that meeting, local church representatives, known as messengers, approved plans for a Ministry Check website that would include the names of pastors who have been convicted of abuse, had a civil judgment against them for abuse or been “credibly accused” of abuse. That website was launched last year but no names of abusive pastors have been listed.
The messengers also approved more training and resources to help churches prevent abuse and to respond appropriately when it happens. The task force, in a news conference Tuesday, said new training materials will be available in time for the SBC’s annual meeting in June.
Wester said that messengers at the SBC annual meeting in 2022 asked the task force to collaborate with SBC entity heads to find funding for reforms.
“We have been and remain committed to this directive as we work toward a long-term solution for sexual abuse reform. We are grateful for Send Relief’s investment in this cause, and we are hopeful that the SBC‘s national leaders will help the ARITF determine the best path forward in financing future reform efforts,” he said.
A past proposal to fund abuse reforms from the Cooperative Program, a joint funding initiative that brings in hundreds of millions of dollars for missions, was shot down in 2022. That led Send Relief to set aside $3 million for the SBC’s response to sexual abuse and another million to pay for abuse survivor care.
No funds for the Abuse Response Commission were included in a proposed Cooperative Program Budget passed during the Executive Committee meeting this week, as the denomination’s rules require those funds to go to SBC entities. No rules would prohibit entities from donating to the work of an outside group.
This week, Brent Leatherwood, president of the SBC’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, said he would ask trustees of the ERLC to contribute to the start-up costs of the Abuse Reform Commission.
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This article originally appeared on ReligionNews.com.
