“From the beginning the outcry and false reporting of a systemic sexual abuse problem in the SBC has been a hoax,” Pastor Jack Graham wrote. “The damage is done and now the SBC is facing the consequences. The proponents of this disaster should be held accountable.”
Pastor and former EC member Mike Stone said, “So, I guess that means if a high-ranking official claimed personal knowledge of such coverups, but said nothing for 2 years, and only then for political expediency, then such allegations would be false?”
Former EC member Rod Martin posted, “The lie continues to unravel. DOJ announces that its sex abuse investigation into the Southern Baptist Convention is officially closed, with no charges filed. This follows the much-talked-about Guidepost Report, which found zero wrongdoing at the @SBCExecComm.”
“There was never any truth in it,” Martin said. “It’s one of the most shameful episodes in our history. And it isn’t over. But the investigation that was ‘for sure this time’ going to catch all those terrible conservatives is indeed closed. And everything the ‘advocates’ told you about it was bunk.”
Pastor Timothy Pigg said, “The ‘sexual abuse coverup’ narrative caused harm to the people who stood against the power-hungry platform-builders in the SBC. For instance, SBC members slandered Fellowship Church and me.”
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Pigg shared that his “wife received messages on social media encouraging her to leave our marriage due to her being married to someone who covers up abuse. Other pastors’ wives on my staff were urged to persuade their husbands to leave the church.”
Boyce College Professor Denny Burk said, “So here’s bottom line on the SBC abuse ‘crisis.’ There wasn’t one.” Burk continued, “A federal investigation closed after making one arrest—not for abuse but for making false statements under oath. An independent investigation by Guidepost Solutions found no systemic problem with abuse at the SBC Executive Committee.”
“We have spent about 14 million dollars in legal fees as a result of investigations that uncovered no systemic problems with abuse,” Burk added.
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“The problem here is not with the good intentions of Southern Baptist messengers who were doing their level best to address a problem that was presented to them,” Burk said. “The problem is with the misinformation they were given about a ‘crisis’ that in the end no one can find any evidence for.”
, the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) was informed that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation into whether the denomination was criminally responsible for mishandling sexual abuse allegations is closed. ){kind=link}