5 Key Takeaways: Sex Abuse Reforms Top Southern Baptists' Actions At Annual Meeting

 

Weekend Plug-in 🔌

Editor’s note: Every Friday, “Weekend Plug-in” features analysis, fact checking and top headlines from the world of faith. Subscribe now to get this newsletter delivered straight to your inbox. Got feedback or ideas? Email Bobby Ross Jr. at therossnews@gmail.com.

(ANALYSIS) 1979 was a highly consequential year for the direction of the Southern Baptist Convention.

So was 1985.

And 2021, come to think of it. No doubt I’m missing other important years.

Where might 2022 rank? For the second year in a row, the high-profile annual meeting of the nation’s largest Protestant denomination produced major news.

Five key takeaways from this week’s proceedings in Anaheim, California:

1. Sex abuse reforms

In response to last month’s bombshell report on sexual abuse in the denomination, delegates “voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to create a way to track pastors and other church workers credibly accused of sex abuse and launch a new task force to oversee further reforms,” as The Associated Press’ Deepa Bharath and Peter Smith report.

See related coverage by the Houston Chronicle’s John Tedesco and Robert Downen, two of the journalists whose 2019 “Abuse of Faith” investigation spurred the reforms.

2. Apology to victims

A day after that important vote, the Southern Baptists “approved a resolution Wednesday apologizing to abuse survivors and asking for forgiveness,” as Religion News Service’s Bob Smietana and Adelle M. Banks report.

See related coverage by The Tennessean’s Liam Adams and the Memphis Commercial Appeal’s Katherine Burgess.

3. New president

In “another win for abuse reform,” the Baptists elected Bart Barber, the pastor of a relatively small congregation in rural Texas, to lead the denomination’s crucial next steps, as Christianity Today’s Kate Shellnutt reports.

See related coverage by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s Frank Lockwood and the Washington Times’ Mark A. Kellner.

4. Rick Warren debate

Besides sex abuse, delegates grappled with how to handle doctrinal issues, including the appointment of three women as pastors last year by famous pastor Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church in Southern California, as the New York Times’ Ruth Graham and Elizabeth Dias report.

See additional coverage by CT’s Shellnutt and RNS’ Smietana.

5. Right-wing faction

A significant right-wing faction present at the meeting — a minority but still a vocal force — drew comparisons to the MAGA wing of the Republican Party, as the Washington Post’s Michelle Boorstein and the Houston Chronicle’s Downen report.

More headlines:

• #ChurchToo revelations growing, years after movement began (by Peter Smith and Holly Meyer, AP)

• How will Southern Baptists address sexual abuse? (by Terry Mattingly, ReligionUnplugged.com)

• Southern Baptist business meeting ends, but sex-abuse, other challenges remain (by Mark A. Kellner, Washington Times)

Power Up: The Week’s Best Reads

1. Salvadoran women jailed for abortion warn U.S. of total ban: The Associated Press’ Luis Andres Henao and Jessie Wardarski report from El Salvador, “a heavily Catholic country where abortion is banned under all circumstances and even women who suffer miscarriages and stillbirths are sometimes accused of killing their babies and sentenced to years or even decades in prison.”

Henao and Wardarski are members of AP’s global religion team.

2. How a Black family’s Bible ended up at the Smithsonian Institution: “The Bible’s humble journey to the Smithsonian began long before the Diggs’ family discovered it in San Bernardino more than three decades ago — in a box of books set to be donated to charity,” the Los Angeles Times’ Erin B. Logan reports.

It’s a compelling story by the Washington, D.C.-based reporter.

3. Faith helps drive Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors in NBA title quest: “From worst, back to first,” the Warriors are NBA champions for the fourth time in eight seasons. They clinched the title with Thursday’s 103-90 Game 6 win over the Boston Celtics.

ReligionUnplugged.com’s own Clemente Lisi details the role of faith in the team’s success.

BONUS: Last week’s Plug-in delved into “God and guns” in the wake of recent mass shootings.

Since that column, I talked about gun violence with three Christians who have deeply personal experiences with such tragedies.

Also, the New York Times’ Rick Rojas and Josh Peck report on the Catholic archbishop of San Antonio — Gustavo García-Siller — making “an impassioned plea” to tighten gun laws.

• South Florida synagogue sues over Florida’s new 15-week abortion ban (by Jim Saunders, Miami Herald)

• Pope Francis’ canceled travel stirs talk of retirement (by Francis X. Rocca, Wall Street Journal)

• Bishop strips middle school of Catholic status for flying BLM and gay pride flags (by Brian Fraga, National Catholic Reporter)

• Thousands protest ‘bulldozer justice’ against Indian Muslims (by Biswajeet Banerjee, AP)

• Think piece: What we know, and what we don’t, about the pope’s health (by John L. Allen Jr., Crux)

Inside The Godbeat: Behind The Bylines

As noted above, an all-star team of top religion writers traveled to Anaheim, California, to cover the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting.

Among those journalists (in alphabetical order): Liam Adams of The Tennessean, Adelle M. Banks of Religion News Service, Deepa Bharath of The Associated Press, Michelle Boorstein of the Washington Post, Katherine Burgess of the Memphis Commercial Appeal, Elizabeth Dias of the New York Times and Robert Downen of the Houston Chronicle.

Robert Downen of the Houston Chronicle and Michelle Boorstein of the Washington Post at the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in Anaheim, California. Photo by Jon Wilke

Also: Ruth Graham of the New York Times, Mary Jackson of World, Mark A. Kellner of the Washington Times, Frank E. Lockwood of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Deborah Netburn of the Los Angeles Times, Kate Shellnutt of Christianity Today and Bob Smietana of RNS.

Among those who contributed to coverage from afar: Sarah Pulliam Bailey of the Washington Post, Carla Hinton of The Oklahoman, Kris Maher of the Wall Street Journal, Peter Smith of AP and John Tedesco of the Houston Chronicle.

On a related note, Jon Wilke, SBC media relations guru, drew rave reviews from the Godbeat press corps.

Charging Station: In Case You Missed It

Here is where you can catch up on recent news and opinions from ReligionUnplugged.com.

• South African church leaders ponder policy woes as they celebrate the anniversary of June 16 Soweto uprising (by Vicky Abraham)

• How music saved the oldest Anglican church in Chile (by Graciela Ibáñez)

• Clash of the acronyms? Finding the right FoRBula in the fight for religious freedom (by Miles P.J. Windsor)

• Ex-FLDS women describe horrific loss of freedom, eventual escape in ‘Keep Sweet’ (by Jillian Cheney)

• What the Los Angeles Times missed about Biola University (by Dr. Michael A. Longinow)

• The ordination of the first female rabbi 50 years ago has brought many changes — and some challenges (by Carole B. Balin)

• Choosing joy over happiness: Why an American Catholic doctor stayed put in Sudan’s civil war (by Donald Miller)

• Lutheran Church charities ‘comfort dogs’ travel to sites of pain and horror (by Steve Rabey)

• As we await SCOTUS decision on abortion, press avoids news about church vandalism (by Clemente Lisi)

• Secretary Blinken: the rights of religious minorities are under threat in communities around the world (by Ewelina U. Ochab)

The Final Plug

Here’s a new twist on “Jesus, Take the Wheel.”

A tire came loose from a moving car about a block from the Vero Beach Church of Christ in Florida. The tire gained speed as it rolled and hurtled through a church window, breaking the glass and disrupting tables and chairs. 

“I thought part of the ceiling had fallen in when I heard it,” minister Tracy Moore told me. “It was bizarre.”

Indeed.

Happy Friday, everyone! Enjoy the weekend.

Bobby Ross Jr. is a columnist for ReligionUnplugged.com and editor-in-chief of The Christian Chronicle. A former religion writer for The Associated Press and The Oklahoman, Ross has reported from all 50 states and 15 nations. He has covered religion since 1999.

 
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