On May 15, 2022, Guidepost Solutions LLC ( “Guidepost” )  released an extensive report regarding Southern Baptist Convention's ( “SBC” ) mishandling of sexual abuse allegations over the last 20 years. SBC is the largest Protestant denomination in the United States with over 14.5 million members spread throughout more than 47,000 churches. At SBC's 2019 annual national convention, representatives from each church voted to approve a Task Force that would supervise an independent investigation after survivors of abuse became vocal and prominent in the media. Guidepost was commissioned as a third-party to lead the investigation. 

The Investigation 

Guidepost investigated allegations dating from January 1, 2000 to June 14, 2021. The purpose of the investigation was to look into the actions of the Church's Executive Committee ( “EC” ), senior leaders of the church, whom along with outside counsel largely controlled the responses to the abuse. The investigation specifically looked into the EC's actions with respect to  (1) the allegations of the abuse, (2) mishandling of abuse, (3) mistreatment of victims, (4) patterns of victims or advocates, and (5) resistance to sexual abuse reform initiatives. 

Guidepost found numerous allegations against EC members, pastors, and SBC volunteers. The most recent list contained 703 abusers, 409 of whom are believed to have had some affiliation with SBC. Guidepost interviewed over 300 individuals and had access to more than five terabytes of data. It was determined that nine abusers still work in ministry, two of whom are still associated with a SBC church. The EC mishandled the allegations and mistreated the survivors, most of whom were ignored or vilified by the church. There were multiple reports of survivors being dismissed or told not to come forward about the abuse, causing them more emotional trauma. The Baptist Press ( “BP” ), the EC's communications arm, has portrayed those who come forward in a way that would cause others to shame them for their accusations. BP published articles that completely changed the narrative to make interactions seem consensual and it would take months before the stories were redacted. 

For years, SBC insisted that it had no duty to address the crisis at hand due to the lack of structure within the organization. Since each individual church was autonomous, EC leaders claimed that it was up to those churches to deal with who they hired or fired, and how to handle the allegations. This was the main point of defense used to avoid responsibility of anyone associated with SBC who had allegations against them. It was evident from the EC leaders' and their outside councils' actions that they had no concern for the survivors and the abuse suffered, but instead were more worried about the image and legal liability of the church. SBC's concern for legal liability was apparent, as any type of reform to help combat further abuse or help survivors was met with resistance or ignored. However, Guidepost found the severity of the situation was kept within a tight circle as some EC trustees who were unaware of the extent of sexual assault allegations and did not find out about them until the 2019 annual convention.

SBC Response 

On May 22, 2022, after the report had been released the SBC Task Force released a statement expressing it's grief for what had been allowed to go on for so long within SBC and their desire for change. The statement also contained a list of what SBC plans to do in order for changes to be made. Their recommendations will be formally presented at the annual convention this year in Anaheim. On May 26, 2022, Willie McLaurin ( “McLaurin” ), the interim President/CEO of the SBC Executive Committee, and Rolland Slade ( “Slade” ), the chairman of the SBC Executive Committee, issued a joint statement. Attached to their statement was Guidepost's list of each accused abuser and the charges they face. McLaurin and Slade hoped releasing the list would be one of many steps towards SBC reform. Guidepost and SBC have also created a hotline for anyone who has experienced any type of abuse within SBC to report what happened and also be provided with resources to aid them in any way. Calls into the hotline will remain confidential.

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