By Landon Coleman
Pastor, Immanuel
I am a lifelong Southern Baptist, a two-time graduate of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and the pastor of a Southern Baptist Church (Immanuel Baptist Church). I love Southern Baptists because we are committed to the inerrancy and authority of God’s Word, we are committed to the task of church planting and missions, and we are serious about theological education and disaster relief. Despite these positive commitments, there are serious issues in the Southern Baptist Convention.
Last Sunday, May 22, Guidepost Solutions released their independent investigation of the Executive Committee of the SBC. The final report was almost 300 pages long, and most of the information in that report confirmed what Southern Baptists either suspected or already knew about sexual abuse within the SBC.
Some of the information in the Guidepost report was new, including horrific details about a prominent Southern Baptist pastor and former convention president committing horrible acts of sexual assault. Also new was the revelation that some convention leaders had compiled a secret list of men within the Southern Baptist Convention who had been accused or convicted of sexual assault.
Southern Baptists had repeatedly been told that this kind of list or registry of offenders was not legally possible because of the unique structure of the SBC. Nevertheless, the list was compiled but apparently never used or made public in efforts to protect people from the abuse of repeat offenders. The bulk of the report details ongoing efforts of convention leaders to cover up abuse and silence victims over the last 20 years.
As a lifelong Southern Baptist, as a two-time graduate of the SBC’s flagship seminary, and as a Southern Baptist pastor, I have several thoughts about the final report issued by Guidepost Solutions. One, SBC leaders and pastors have clearly done a poor job of listening to victims of abuse and taking action to remove abusers from positions of leadership within the SBC. To make matters worse, SBC leaders and pastors have at times acted to cover up instances of abuse and silence victims of abuse who have been brave enough to tell their stories.
Two, SBC leaders and pastors have been guilty of horrible lapses in judgment. Furthermore, as evidenced by ongoing, unrepentant sin, some of the leaders and pastors within the SBC are most likely unregenerate, that is, they are not genuine Christians. We have confused giftedness and charisma for godliness and true spirituality. This mistake has resulted in the wrong people being put in prominent positions within the SBC.
Three, the overwhelming majority of SBC leaders and pastors grieve the contents of the Guidepost report, and the vast majority of SBC churches are both embarrassed by and angry at the things that have happened within the SBC. It is worth noting that the investigation of the Executive Committee and the subsequent Guidepost report was demanded by the messengers of the 2021 Southern Baptist Convention, showing that the rank-and-file members of the SBC want the truth to come out on this issue.
Four, the SBC clearly has a longstanding and ongoing problem with promoting, platforming, and protecting celebrity pastors, even when some of those pastors have committed heinous sins. Additionally, Southern Baptists have made idols out of evangelism, baptism numbers, the size of membership rolls, and unity within the convention. These idolatrous commitments have led Southern Baptists to ignore and cover up abuse in the name of unity, gospel advance, and the work of the convention. Clearly, we have operated as if the Lord could not advance his kingdom without us, and our arrogance has resulted in both silence and complicity in instances of abuse.
As a Southern Baptist pastor, I lament the sinful mistakes that have been made by SBC leadership and pastors. Real people have been hurt by these transgressions, and we grieve the pain that has been caused by leaders and pastors who knew better. I pray that our convention would repent of our idolatry, cowardice, and sin. I hope that the light of the Guidepost report would bring change to the Southern Baptist Convention, and I pray that our convention would seek to live out what we claim to believe about the Word of God. May God have mercy on the victims of abuse, and may justice be done within the SBC.
