As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
Ken Alford has resigned from the Executive Committee and bylaws workgroup: “The bylaws workgroup actually conducted no investigation, because we were not authorized to do so, and we did not ‘clear’ any churches, because that determination was not a part of our responsibility. We simply sought to ascertain if the information that President Greear had shared with us was sufficient to warrant further inquiry.” - BPNews
“Those concerned about abuse within America’s largest Protestant body … cheered repentant statements and bold plans for policy changes from SBC president J.
“Sexual abuse in churches isn’t new, but Southern Baptists face a fresh crisis over an old conundrum: How can they hold autonomous churches accountable?” - WORLD
“Reaction following the release ranged from allegations the EC did not go far enough in combatting abuse to allegations Greear should have contacted the churches before naming them publicly.” - BP News
“Just days after the president of the Southern Baptist Convention called for an evaluation of 10 churches that were highlighted in a recent investigation on sex abuse, six of those churches were cleared of acting indifferently toward abuse.” - Christian Post
The links and phone numbers below are a sample of what’s available for better understanding, preventing, and responding to sexual abuse in a church setting. The intent is to help individuals who may not be good at googling get a head start on their research.
Disclaimer: Though most of these are well-recognized sources of information, the resources here are gathered, not necessarily recommended. If you’re aware of additional or better resources, do please let us know in the comments (or, if you’re too shy, the contact form).
“It seems to me that a multifaceted stream of issues has contributed to the situation we now face.” - Abuse in the Church
Over the last several years we’ve seen steadily-increasing attention to the problem of sexual abuse in independent Baptist (or baptistic) churches and ministries. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram investigation into independent fundamental Baptist churches last December was big news.
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