Southern Baptist Conference Votes to Examine Leaders’ Response to Sexual Abuse | Life-style
Nashville, Tennessee — A delegation of the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday and established a task force to oversee an independent investigation into the treatment of sexual abuse denominations.
Separately, the treaty endorsed the most absolutist statement against abortion. This is a resolution that demands an immediate ban without exception and calls it “a crime against humanity that must be punished equally under the law.”
The bill requires the newly elected President of SBC, Alabama Rev. Ed Litton, to appoint a task force.
People will vote for the first vote of the President of the Southern Baptist Convention at the sect’s annual meeting in Nashville, Tennessee, on Tuesday, June 15.
We will also investigate the activities of the Qualifications Commission, which was established in 2019 with the mission of identifying congregations that are unable to respond to sexual abuse cases.
This was a radical change for SBC’s largest rally in decades.
The SBC Business Committee had planned to refer the proposal to the Executive Committee, the same organization that allegedly failed to respond to the abuse case, but church representatives voted in the morning. Submitted the issue to the convention floor and approved it with minimal opposition. Opposition.
Rev. Ed Ritton of Saraland, Alabama will answer questions after being elected President of the Southern Baptist Convention in Nashville, Tennessee on Tuesday, June 15.
The Task Force is a letter and secret recording by Tennessee minister Grant Gaines claiming that some leaders have delayed their accountability efforts and attempted to intimidate and retaliate against those who advocated the issue. Was proposed by leaking.
Executive Committee Chairman Ronnie Floyd defended the organization’s response, but last week announced that the Panel had retained an external consulting firm, Guidepost Solutions, to investigate the allegations. On Wednesday he told the convention that he would accept a proposal for a more independent investigation.
“I listen to you,” Floyd pulled out his words and told the rally. “This will strengthen our practice, and that’s what I want.”
Votes will be collected on the first ballot of the President of the Southern Baptist Convention at the sect’s annual meeting in Nashville, Tennessee, on Tuesday, June 15.
Georgia minister Troy Bush said in a brief floor debate that the Commission was unable to adequately investigate cases involving ministers accused of abuse in multiple churches, including his own. ..
“We believe the Executive Committee does not have the capacity to handle this task force and investigation alone,” Bush said.
Prior to the vote, critics said it would be a conflict of interest for the executive committee to oversee its own investigation.
“The only thing that brought their case (to the SBC authorities) was that they felt beaten, ignored, and turned away,” said the survivors of the abuse, Mr Gaines said.
People will vote for a motion at the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting in Nashville, Tennessee on Tuesday, June 15.
Rachel Denhollander of Louisville, Kentucky, a prominent defender of survivors of abuse at SBC, praised the move towards a more independent investigation. “Truth never opposes sound theology.”
The vote is the latest action in response to the 2019 groundbreaking report by the Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News, which has documented hundreds of abuse cases at the Southern Baptist Church and has been identified as a perpetrator. Several people remain in the ministries.
Discussions on the survey took place on the final day of a two-day rally of the country’s largest Protestant denomination, attended by 15,726 voting representatives, and was the most frequent in at least 25 years.
Another proposal for an external audit of the SBC’s treatment of the abuse issue was referred to the sect’s policy arm, the Ethics and Religion Freedom Commission, and the acting chairman of the commission said the agency’s trustee would consider it.
“We want to do our best to serve the Southern Baptist to keep the Church safe from abuse,” Daniel Patterson said in a statement.
Also on Wednesday, the delegation overwhelmingly approved a longer resolution than any previous statement in SBC’s 40-year strong defense against abortion.
“The SBC has passed many resolutions reaffirming the importance of human life at all stages of development, but has not yet called for the immediate abolition of abortion without exceptions or compromises,” the resolution said. ..
Past conventions included a single exception that abortion was allowed when the mother’s physical life was in imminent danger, but Wednesday’s resolution did not mention that exception. It was.
The convention’s resolution committee said the convention’s opposition to abortion was already well established and had no plans to provide it for voting, but the delegation voted to bring it to the floor. ..
The bill declared that “the killing of prenatal children is a crime against humanity and must be punished equally under the law.” It was not stated who would be prosecuted and whether it would include women raising abortions. Another resolution was approved the day before, opposed taxpayer funding for abortion and called on Baptists to “love, care for and serve women who have been victims of an unjustified abortion industry.”
Edstetzer, secretary-general of the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College, said he sought a second solution because of his frustration with a long battle over what the Southern Baptist Convention considers to be an urgent moral issue.
“They are worried about the foetation, and many are worried about the slow pace of progress,” he said.
The day before, the delegation elected Ritton as the new president and turned back a push from conservatives who aimed to portray Rev. Alabama, known for his work on racial unification, as too liberal.
Litton is seen favorably by survivors and supporters of abuse.
Fred Luther, the only black minister who nominated Litton and served as SBC president, told him on Wednesday that the vote signaled him that “people are fed up with division and everything that separates us.” It was.
Preparations for the meeting included the resignation of Russell Moore, Chief Public Policy Officer of the Southern Baptist Convention. Beth Moore, a mega-seller Christian writer. Several prominent black clergymen in the midst of controversy over sexual abuse, racism, politics, and the treatment of women.
Others threaten to leave as a self-proclaimed Conservative Baptist Alliance, a critical academic tool for analyzing systematic racism targeted by Republican-controlled legislatures in at least 16 states. He urged action on cultural war issues such as racial theory.
“We were upset because we felt the treaty denied the fact that there was systematic racism in this country from the perspective of African Americans …. We need to accept the fact that there is systematic racism, and it shouldn’t be at all in our conventions, “Luter said.
Tuesday’s delegation approved a consensus on critical racial theory that was not mentioned by name, but rejected the view that racism was rooted in “other than sin.”
But that wasn’t the end of the debate on this topic.
In a report to the convention on Wednesday, the president of the Southern Baptist Theological School doubled the controversial statement they made months before condemning critical racial theory. They called it “toxic” and incompatible with Christian doctrine.
However, Adam Greenway, chairman of the Southwestern Baptist Theology Seminar in Fort Worth, Texas, acknowledged the opposition of some black clergy.
“They heard from us that we were denying the reality of structural or systematic racism … in any way I personally hurt you. I apologize, and I ask you to forgive me, “said Greenway.
———
Loller reported from Nashville and Smith reported from Pittsburgh.
———
The Associated Press’s religious coverage is supported by Lilly Endowment through The Conversation US. AP is solely responsible for this content.
Southern Baptist Convention Votes to Investigate Leaders’ Response to Sexual Abuse | Lifestyle
Source link Southern Baptist Convention Votes to Investigate Leaders’ Response to Sexual Abuse | Lifestyle
Comments are closed.