Southern Baptists Disfellowship Church Over Abuse for the First Time
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“The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) has disfellowshipped a west Texas congregation that knowingly employs a registered sex offender as pastor, the first church to lose its ties with the denomination amid a heightened push to combat sexual abuse.” - CToday
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SBC Recalls ‘Year of Waking Up’ Since Abuse Investigation
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“Attention turns to a committee that could identify offending churches, a new measure put in place following the landmark Houston Chronicle series.” - Christianity Today
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What’s this inconsistent use of autonomy, anyway?
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“We will see next month what the SBC Executive Committee does with their in-house Credentials Committee that has a process for receiving complaints about churches. I’m presuming that someone filed a complaint about the church at which Paige Patterson is scheduled to speak.
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Amid Abuse Scandals, Legal Challenges Test Clergy Reporting Exemptions
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“Implications for church leaders loom as Montana reverses $35M judgment and other states continue tightening reporting laws.” - Christianity Today
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Malcolm Yarnell Thread on Autonomy and Discipline
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“Does Local Church Autonomy keep the Southern Baptist Convention from dealing with its sexual abuse crisis or even from realizing the extent of that crisis?” - SBC Voices
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Arkansas Baptist State Convention failed to report abuse allegations against pastor, lawsuit claims
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“The civil lawsuit filed Dec. 16 accuses Arkansas Baptist State Convention Executive Director Sonny Tucker of failing to report suspected child sexual abuse to authorities after he was contacted by the ex-wife of Millcreek Baptist Church pastor Teddy Leon Hill about concerns that Hill might’ve been abusing minors.” - Christian Post
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The Credentials Committee: A Call for Patience (Susan Codone & Megan Lively)
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“The SBC Credentials Committee released its first set of guidelines yesterday. For the most part, these guidelines seem appropriate for a committee guarding the credentials necessary to be a Southern Baptist church. Some have questioned the guideline that ‘No submission will be received that is anonymous.’” - SBC Voices
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SBC Credentials Committee launches online portal for reporting abuse-related cases
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“While the form may be used to report concerns related to a church’s handling of sexual abuse, racism and various other pertinent issues, Bramlett cautions that suspicions of recent or current sexual or other forms of abuse should be reported to law enforcement officials.” - BPNews
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Caring Well: Progress against sexual abuse in SBC churches
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“in addition to the national SBC, the 41 SBC state conventions and 1,126 local SBC associations are all on board with encouraging churches of every size to use the resources” - SBC Voices
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