Last night I received some heartbreaking news about the Southern Baptist Convention. Heartbreaking and sickening.
When my wife and I attended last year’s general session in Nashville and voted for a transparent investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct, I had no idea what would happen. However, my intention, along with all the other delegates (as best I can tell), was to take a proactive stance that would show we won’t (and won’t) tolerate that kind of stuff.
However, over the past year it became obvious to me and some others that more was at play than an investigation. Certain red flags were waving in the camp of the SBC leadership – the woke ones – not the SBC Executive Committee, and the shakeup that followed looked more like an ideological purge than an attempt to make something right.
But yesterday the report from Guidestone dropped. And what was in that report? Accusations that the leadership of the SBC has been covering up hundreds of sexual misconduct accusations, including the one from 2010 against former SBC president Johnny Hunt. It seems Hunt was accused of sexual assault against another pastor’s wife 24 years his junior. He vehemently denies it.
Are the accusations true? Well, according to the report from Guidestone, the accusation seems credible and conversations with Johnny Hunt did not leave the investigators with much confidence. As a result, Hunt has resigned all positions and, at the least, will suffer ministerial destruction.
If he did what he was accused of, then Hunt should get what’s coming to him. If, however, all we have are accusations and no evidence worthy of prosecution, we are left with nothing more than unanswered questions, ruined reputations, and one more staunch conservative kicked out of the way.
Now, again, I am totally in support of weeding out sexual misconduct, so don’t misunderstand me. But please forgive me if I’m suspicious of the motivations behind those doing the investigating.
Regardless, the ultimate result will be that SBC missionaries on the field will suffer. Because of this mess, true or not, already decreased giving will take a sharp turn south resulting in the recall of many sharing the Gospel in places all over the world.
This morning at 11 a.m. (eastern), the Executive Committee will be live streaming a special called meeting. They have invited all who are interested to watch it. Whatever the case, regardless of where the evidence leads, this whole thing is totally sickening.
If YOU want to join us as we watch the meeting, I am sharing a link. I hope it works.
https://acts2.vhx.tv/videos/sbc-executive-committee-meeting-live-stream
Well, that’s really not my style, for the most part. Believe me, I can do my fair share of pulpit banging, but I’m not the type to jump across the stage like the legendary evangelist Billy Sunday. I’m more like the picture of me in the sidebar of this blog; I usually keep both feet on the ground … usually.
Now, when I say “stuff,” it could be interpreted as things that don’t matter much in the big scheme of things, things that just take up time and make us look busy. That kind of stuff is bad, for we should make the best use of what time we’ve been given.
The way I dress to go to church may not be the way you dress. My style may not suit your tastes, nor yours mine. But the fact of the matter is that you do wear some kind of clothing to church, correct? Well, have you ever wondered if what you wear to church is appropriate?
The Recovering Legalist 