Ministry Sexual Abuse

“Marshall Blalock, senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Charleston, S.C., will serve as ARITF chair and Mike Keahbone, pastor of First Baptist Church in Lawton, Okla., will be vice chair. Others making up the task force are…” - C.Leaders

“Two Southern Baptist pastors with recent leadership experience in addressing sexual abuse in the SBC will fill similar roles with the Abuse Response Implementation Task Force (ARITF).” - BPNews

“Undergraduate, graduate and advanced students will be required to complete the free course on sexual abuse prevention and response during their programs at Southeastern.” - BPNews

During a recent podcast, Barber expressed his thoughts on staffing the Abuse Reform Implementation Task Force - C.Index

“The work of a yet-to-be-appointed Abuse Reform Implementation Task Force (ARITF) is likely to take years, with an initial report ordered to be given at the 2023 Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting in New Orleans next June.” - BPNews

“Now is a good time for pastors both inside and outside the SBC to assess how they’re protecting their people and to implement improvements. Here are some ideas” - Lifeway

“Now, abuse survivors and Southern Baptists leaders wait to see whether the momentum and historic stances will result in meaningful change in the nation’s largest Protestant denomination.” - C.Today

A few of the many articles on the event: C.Today, RNS, BPNews

“…three key changes address future third-party investigations. One clarification is that those investigations will be launched by the local church or other Baptist body, rather than giving the impression of a top-down approach. Churches or groups requiring financial assistance to hire an outside firm will be able to apply for grants” - BPNews

“Seven survivors of sexual abuse in … (SBC) have issued a joint statement calling for four reforms to be implemented immediately. Among the actions … are the creation of a restoration fund for survivors and the funding of a memorial devoted to all survivors and named in honor of Christa Brown.” - C.Leaders