{"id":1513172,"date":"2022-06-13T08:20:21","date_gmt":"2022-06-13T12:20:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1513172"},"modified":"2022-06-13T08:20:31","modified_gmt":"2022-06-13T12:20:31","slug":"southern-baptists-gather-in-anaheim-to-grapple-with-hot-topics-including-abuse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/southern-baptists-gather-in-anaheim-to-grapple-with-hot-topics-including-abuse\/","title":{"rendered":"Southern Baptists Gather In Anaheim To Grapple With Hot Topics, Including Abuse"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fsouthern-baptists-gather-in-anaheim-to-grapple-with-hot-topics-including-abuse%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1513172&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/southernbaptistconvention2022.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/div>\n<p>More than 8,200 Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) pastors and lay leaders from across the United States have descended on Anaheim, California for the denomination\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/sbcannualmeeting.net\/events\/\">annual meeting<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>A convention center packed with preachers in tan slacks wielding well-worn Bibles may not seem all that newsworthy. But as the nation\u2019s largest Protestant denomination\u2014with more than 13.7 million members and $30 billion in assets\u2014the SBC provides an influential example of the faithful banding together to grapple with current issues intersecting faith and culture.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat\u2019s happening in the SBC is probably going on in other similar denominations at a smaller level,\u201d said Todd Benkert, pastor of Oak Creek Community Church in Mishakawa, Indiana, who has attended SBC annual meetings for years. \u201cWhat we do, positive or negative, is going to have a ripple effect on other similar groups.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>This year\u2019s meeting in Anaheim comes only weeks after the release of an <a href=\"https:\/\/religionnews.com\/2022\/05\/22\/sbc-abuse-report-for-decades-southern-baptist-leaders-denied-abuse-misled-trustees-mistreated-survivors-guidepost-johnny-hunt\/\">explosive report<\/a> that revealed shocking incidents of sexual abuse involving SBC clergy and subsequent cover-up.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe problems we\u2019ve seen revealed are an abomination,\u201d said seminary teacher Mark DeVine, who is based in Birmingham, Alabama. \u201cIt puts us into the conversation that Roman Catholics have been in for so many years. My hope is that real change will happen\u2014and I believe accountability occurs close to home.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While Southern Baptists funded that report by an outside investigative firm, their resolution on what specific steps to implement in response is expected to generate heated debate.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2>One Top Issue: Selecting a New SBC President<\/h2>\n<p>Abuse prevention is only one among many topics at hand for Southern Baptist clergy and other leaders who attend, known as \u201cmessengers\u201d at the convention.\u00a0If trends hold from recent years, they <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thegospelcoalition.org\/article\/know-sbc-resolutions\/\">will vote<\/a> on about a dozen major resolutions on a variety of topics ranging from <a href=\"https:\/\/religionnews.com\/2021\/06\/11\/at-least-three-critical-race-theory-statements-proposed-for-southern-baptist-meeting\/\">critical race theory<\/a> to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/ct\/2021\/june-web-only\/uyghur-muslim-genocide-southern-baptists-sbc-resolution.html\">international religious freedom<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Priorities and budgets will be discussed for SBC-affiliated entities that give humanitarian aid (Send Relief), lead evangelistic missions overseas (the International Mission Board), reach underserved U.S. communities (North American Mission Board), and seek to influence public policy issues (Ethics and Religious Liberty Council based in Washington, D.C.), among others.<\/p>\n<p>Importantly, messengers will also decide on a new SBC president from among <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baptiststandard.com\/news\/baptists\/presidential-candidates-present-competing-visions-for-sbc\/\">three announced candidates<\/a>: Tom Ascol, a Florida pastor and leader of Founders Ministries, known as a staunch conservative; Bart Barber, pastor of a church in Farmersville, Texas with past experience in SBC leadership roles; and Robin Hadaway, formerly an overseas missionary. The three candidates\u2014like all sources quoted in this article\u2014state that they affirm the doctrines outlined in the <a href=\"https:\/\/bfm.sbc.net\/bfm2000\/\">Baptist Faith &#038; Message<\/a>, the denomination\u2019s statement of faith.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Serving for a one-year term, the role of SBC president is mostly a figurehead who \u201chas no effect whatsoever directly on any Southern Baptist church,\u201d said DeVine. But he adds that the SBC president\u2019s power to appoint members of various SBC committees does matter in the long run.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>DeVine backs his <a href=\"https:\/\/founders.org\/interviews\/tstt-mark-devine-the-reformed-resurgence-in-the-sbc-retrospect-and-prospect\/\">longtime friend<\/a> Ascol, whom he says will \u201cchange the direction\u201d set by recent SBC presidents Alabama pastor Ed Litton and North Carolina megachurch minister J.D. Greear. DeVine, like Ascol, <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/03\/17\/how-partisan-politics-captured-and-fractured-the-evangelical-industrial-complex\/\">contends<\/a> the \u201cseeker movement\u201d and \u201cblue-community universities\u201d have \u201cled the SBC to emphasize liberal priorities.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>By contrast, Indiana pastor Todd Benkert stated he plans to vote for Barber. \u201cI believe we need someone who stands on the Bible and who can bring all these various factions together,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I think this year that\u2019s Bart. For over a decade, I\u2019ve known him to be genuine even when we\u2019ve disagreed.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>With Hadaway positioning himself primarily as a \u201cmessage candidate\u201d to bring attention to missions, one of the other candidates is likely to lead the SBC. How those two pastors address the pressing issue of preventing sex abuse will likely influence whom messengers select.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2>Debate About Steps to Prevent Sex Abuse<\/h2>\n<p>Richard Land, who served in SBC leadership roles for 25 years and remains a prominent voice among Southern Baptists, said he read the entire 288-page SBC Sex Abuse Task Force <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sataskforce.net\/updates\/guidepost-solutions-report-of-the-independent-investigation\">report<\/a> shortly after it was published.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was nauseous by the time I finished reading it,\u201d he said in <a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/after-the-explosive-southern-baptist-abuse-report-dr\/id1575202122?i=1000565189386\">an interview<\/a>. \u201cFor those who were ignoring or downplaying or denigrating the accounts of sexual abuse, [the] controlling value of legal liability seemed to be to the exclusion of all else.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Notably, the report emphasizes how longtime SBC legal counsel Augie Boto continually <a href=\"https:\/\/baptistnews.com\/article\/who-is-augie-boto-the-central-figure-in-the-sbc-sexual-abuse-cover-up\/\">sidelined<\/a> efforts at sex abuse reforms, including at the 2008 SBC annual meeting. Boto retired in 2019. (Weeks ago, the current SBC Executive Committee <a href=\"https:\/\/religionnews.com\/2022\/05\/24\/sbc-exec-committee-repents-for-past-augie-boto-statements-about-abuse-survivors\/\">apologized<\/a> for past statements that Boto made on the SBC\u2019s behalf to abuse survivors.)\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>When the Houston Chronicle <a href=\"https:\/\/www.houstonchronicle.com\/news\/investigations\/abuse-of-faith\/\">published<\/a> in 2019 a statewide investigation of Texas SBC churches\u2019 handling of sex abuse cases, it put the issue back at the forefront of Baptist life.\u00a0Many pastors have since sought to become better equipped to deal with abuse allegations that come forward and not repeat past mistakes. Last year, after a resolution from two pastors to investigate sex abuse was tabled, Benkert <a href=\"https:\/\/religionnews.com\/2022\/05\/24\/how-the-apocalyptic-southern-baptist-abuse-report-almost-got-derailed-waiver-floyd-denhollander\/\">raised a motion<\/a> on the floor and resurrected it.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis might be a new issue on my radar and a lot of Southern Baptists\u2019 radar,\u201d said the Indiana pastor, referring to abuse prevention. \u201cIt\u2019s not a new issue for Christa or Debbie or any of these people who were abused decades ago. They\u2019ve been trying to get the denomination to do <em>anything<\/em> and then they\u2019ve hit up against leaders who don\u2019t want to be challenged.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Some Baptist voices are skeptical of the potential costs of proposals being floated\u2014an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sataskforce.net\/updates\/task-force-challenges-and-formal-recommendations-sn54p\">estimated<\/a> $3 million in one year\u2014and whether those steps will work considering the autonomy of SBC churches. In an op-ed, Ascol <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/06\/03\/the-southern-baptist-convention-must-respond-to-reports-of-abuse-with-full-transparency\/\">responded<\/a> to initial task force recommendations, claiming taking these steps \u201ccould broadly transform the polity of the SBC.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>DeVine, citing <a href=\"https:\/\/americanreformer.org\/2022\/06\/the-sbc-sexual-abuse-report-and-its-consequences\/\">analysis<\/a> from a Texas attorney, explained this reasoning. \u201cLocal churches want their relationship to the Southern Baptist Convention to be only positive,\u201d he said. \u201cIf SBC leaders start saying, \u2018We\u2019re going to get involved with your church and use money that you give us to investigate you,\u2019 it\u2019s a completely different thing than helping fund missions and outreach.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>On June 8, the Sex Abuse Task Force issued <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sataskforce.net\/updates\/task-force-challenges-and-formal-recommendations-sn54p\">revised recommendations<\/a> that, they say, take into account \u201csuggestions and requests\u201d received following SBC clergy review of the initial report.\u00a0 For instance, a so-called \u201cMinistry Check\u201d website has been proposed. It would include a record of various SBC pastors and church staff \u201ccredibly accused of sexual abuse.\u201d Echoing SBC response in 2008 to a similar proposal, some suggest it\u2019s not feasible and may not provide adequate due process to those who face accusations.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Benkert, who has followed developments, called this a \u201clegitimate concern.\u201d He said: \u201cTheir revised proposal follows common standards for lists of this kind including a proper structure that ensures due process.\u201d Recent text from the task force <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sataskforce.net\/updates\/task-force-challenges-and-formal-recommendations-sn54p\">provides<\/a> full definitions of terms.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>How the SBC will respond comes down to thousands of messengers in Anaheim.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2>Hearing Each Other Despite Disagreements<\/h2>\n<p>For Christians who attend their local Baptist church twice a week and perhaps put kids in Vacation Bible School, all these procedures and politics may seem foreign to their SBC experience.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Multiple sources echo one key reason the SBC convention matters: one-third of all U.S. seminary graduates hail from Southern Baptist-affiliated theology schools. \u201cFor the sake of pastors who will come out of those large seminaries, we need leaders committed to the Scriptures and the confession of faith,\u201d said DeVine.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Even with broad agreement on theology, pastors and leaders expect robust debate on the specific steps to live out their faith in the Baptist context.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Hailing from deep-red St. Joseph County in northern Indiana, Benkert recognizes some Baptist brethren view his stances as more liberal than their own. He says he prioritizes the prevention of clergy abuse \u201cbecause the Bible calls us to these things\u2014and if someone wants to call that \u2018woke,\u2019 then so be it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In a <a href=\"https:\/\/religionnews.com\/2022\/06\/10\/when-southern-baptists-meet-next-week-anything-could-happen\/\">statement<\/a>, current SBC President Ed Litton said he and leaders are committed to a \u201cfair\u201d process as they convene the \u201clargest deliberative body in the world\u201d and tally votes. He said: \u201cSouthern Baptists think it\u2019s best when the people are heard and when people have an opportunity to speak.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\n<p>\n  Josh Shepherd covers culture, faith, and public policy for several media outlets including The Stream. His articles have appeared in Christianity Today, Religion &#038; Politics, Faithfully Magazine, Religion News Service, and Providence Magazine. A graduate of the University of Colorado, he previously worked on staff at The Heritage Foundation and Focus on the Family. Josh and his wife live in the Washington, D.C. area with their two children.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>More than 8,200 Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) pastors and lay leaders from across the United States have descended on Anaheim, California for the denomination\u2019s annual meeting.\u00a0 A convention center packed<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":626,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1513172","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1513172","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/626"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1513172"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1513172\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1513172"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1513172"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1513172"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}