By Erin Roach
Baptist Press
NASHVILLE — Messengers to the 2021 SBC Annual Meeting overwhelmingly approved a motion calling for a task force to oversee a third-party investigation into allegations of mishandling abuse claims at the SBC Executive Committee.
The motion, offered by Grant Gaines, pastor of Belle Aire Baptist Church in Murfreesboro, Tenn., was among 32 motions made by messengers to the 2021 SBC Annual Meeting June 15 in Nashville, the most in a decade.
Gaines’ motion said the task force, which will be appointed within 30 days by new SBC President Ed Litton, should be composed of members of Southern Baptist churches and “experts in sexual abuse and the handling of sexual abuse-related dynamics.”
The task force can opt to oversee the independent review already initiated by the Executive Committee or begin a separate third-party review, and it must ensure that an investigation includes “any allegations of abuse, mishandling of abuse, mistreatment of victims, a pattern of intimidation of victims or advocates, and resistance to sexual abuse reform initiatives.”
While the motion was under consideration, SBC Executive Committee President and CEO Ronnie Floyd told messengers he supported its approval. [Read more…]