Seven Years of the SBC Sex Abuse Disaster

Seven Years of the SBC Sex Abuse DisasterHeath LambertIn February of 2019, the Houston Chronicle ran a story entitled “Abuse of Faith,” which detailed various reports of abuse connected to churches in the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). The reports were a mixed bag: some involved cases with guilty verdicts in courts of law, others involved only accusations; some reports involved church leaders, others volunteers; some concerned abusive mistreatment, others the mishandling of information; some involved abuse alleged to have happened on church property, others reports of mistreatment at other locations. All the reports involved numerous independent local churches spread out all across the country. When you added up each different, isolated situation, it amounted to hundreds of cases. That revelation led to the greatest SBC crisis in our lifetime and—perhaps—in the entire history of the SBC.That was seven years ago this month. The intervening period has been filled with independent and federal investigations, formal resolutions, the removal from convention leadership of once-bright lights, the catapulting of other leaders to prominence, task forces, lawsuits, accusations of unethical conflicts of interest, and the expenditure of tens of millions of dollars. The disaster has threatened—and still threatens—the very existence of our convention. No one who loves the SBC can be happy with where we are or how we got here.The story of the SBC sex abuse disaster is still unfolding, and it is too early to tell how it will end. It is not too early to begin learning from our many mistakes. Not every person or group in the convention made the crucial mistakes I will mention here. Many voices over the years spoke much wisdom into the convention-wide confusion. But sufficient numbers of people and sufficient numbers of mistakes combined to create a situation that is regrettable to say the least. As we head to Orlando for the annual meeting of the SBC, it is right for messengers to consider four lessons worth learning on the seventh anniversary of the SBC sex abuse disaster.Scripture, Not Politics, Controls Spiritual AuthorityGod has been abundantly clear in his Word that the task of ultimate spiritual leadership in his church is assigned to men defined by moral purity, marked wisdom, devotion to Scripture, and commitment to their families (1 Timothy 3:1-8; Titus 1:6-9). No one else has a claim on spiritual leadership, and God’s appointed leaders may not abandon this task to others.This clear teaching in Scripture has been unpopular at various times in the last seven years. Many different and competing voices have contended for convention leadership throughout this crisis, including victims heartbroken by their own abuse, victim advocates making demands for those they represented, charlatans, campaigning for power, lawyers, liberals, and, often, a screaming anti-gospel mob that only wanted to harm the cause of Christ. Not all these voices are the same, but none of them are uniquely and necessarilyequipped by God for spiritual leadership in the church. Some of these voices made the claim that men—the very people God has raised up to lead—are the exact ones who should be excluded from leadership.A lot of leaders listened to these voices. They allowed those unqualified for spiritual leadership to shame them away from the role God called them to fill. This was wrong and was never going to work. God’s truth may be old and controversial, but it is never out of date and never ineffective. The qualified men God has raised up for leadership can and should get mountains of advice from legions of wise people. But they can never transfer the authority God has uniquely granted them. The belief that they could has made things worse, not better.We Can’t Follow Anyone Who Won’t Follow ScriptureThroughout the sex abuse disaster, Southern Baptists were repeatedly encouraged to follow those who rejected the teachings of Scripture. The most famous example was in 2022 when the entity handling the independent investigation signaled their public support for gay, lesbian, and transgender issues. There was an outcry in response to this, but too many leaders failed to recognize the insanity of investigating violations of biblical sexual ethics with a group publicly celebrating violations of biblical sexual ethics.Another example was the repeated demand that Southern Baptists must always believe the victim and that it is ungodly to do anything else. The demand was not to take all accusations seriously or to work diligently to expose truth. The demand was—if you know what is good for you—you will always believe the accuser. This is an obvious violation of Scripture which repeatedly insists that guilt is established by witnesses and evidence, not by accusations alone (Deuteronomy 19:15; 17:6; Numbers 35:30; Matthew 18:16; 2 Corinthians 13:1; 1 Timothy 5:19).Not everyone believed lies like these. Perhaps you didn’t. But too many did, and the result has been disastrous.Proverbs 1:10 says, “My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent.” Solomon said this a few thousand years ago. At least since then, God’s people have known that only trouble comes when you listen to those who won’t follow God’s Word. We preach this truth in our churches, and teach it to our kids. Too many Southern Baptists forgot about it in the sex abuse disaster.Leadership Based on the Fear of Man Never WorksWhy did so many Southern Baptists so willingly follow those so clearly unqualified for leadership and so openly rejecting biblical truth? It is not as though there were no warnings or alternative voices. Why were the warnings rejected or ignored?One of the most credible options is fear. At a moment when a great deal was on the line, when many had been hurt, when the world was watching, when the very existence of the convention was threatened, and when absolutely no one wanted to be seen as an abuser or as an abuse defender, some in positions of responsibility sought to shield their reputations by seeking favor with people who promised protection from their fears.The gamble worked—for a while. Some who are not-so-friendly to Southern Baptists did extend their wings of protection over some leaders for a time. But the protection they offered has not aged well and did not benefit the whole convention. Many are now very sorry they were ever connected with those who seemed so appealing at the time.In Proverbs 29:25, the Bible says, “The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts the Lord is safe.” God shared these words because he wanted us to know that fear creates a temptation to run for safety to people who promise protection. God identifies the temptation as a trap and says the only safety is found in the Lord.The worst thing to say about this fearful trap in the sex abuse disaster is that it enticed many away from their calling to be pastors. Our calling as pastors is to help the weak and fight the wolves. It is a betrayal of this calling to use people in need of the gospel to protect our public image from the consequences of gospel fidelity. I make no personal accusations here, but plenty of people did this. I pray they would see their blame and ask the Lord for forgiveness.The lesson for every Southern Baptist is that regardless of the issue, we must be people who trust God, who stand on the Word, who are committed to doing what is right, and who seek shelter, not from the people we are called to serve, but in God alone.Never Pursue Sexual Intimacy Outside MarriageEvery element of the SBC sex abuse disaster is a vindication of the biblical teaching on human sexuality. Sex is a wonderful gift created by God to be enjoyed by one man and one woman in one marriage for one whole lifetime. Every other expression of sexuality is a perversion. The SBC disaster has revealed many very clear cases of predatory perversion where strong men used their positions and reputations to harm those they were called to protect. The disaster has also revealed confusing cases where both sides agree to the presence of sexual sin but disagree on how consensual it was.The point is that no guilty person in this disaster would be in trouble if they had limited their sexual desires and behavior to loving involvement with their spouse.Every Southern Baptist and every Christian should view this disaster as an opportunity to remember the command of Scripture in Proverbs 5:18 to, “Rejoice in the wife of your youth,” to beg Jesus for the gift of purity, and to never carry our sexual desires outside of marriage.Where to From Here?As a little boy I was the victim of childhood abuse. As a husband, father and grandfather, I would move heaven and earth to protect my family from any kind of abusive mistreatment. As a pastor, one of my most sacred duties is to lead the effort to protect the hundreds of children at my church. The SBC disaster is important to me because in a darkly perverse world I want our churches to be the safest places on earth. Unfortunately, our mishandling of this disaster has not made vulnerable people any safer.May God have mercy on us.The story of this disaster is still being written and I honestly don’t know where we go from here. But I know there is hope for a convention led by godly men who stand on Scripture, who are faithful to their wives and callings, who insist on defending the weak, and who will call out error—especially when that error is popular.