Christa Brown is the national Baptist outreach director for SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. On her latest blog post, Christa asks:
If congregational autonomy doesn’t preclude the SBC from investigating a church with gay members, why does congregational autonomy preclude the SBC from investigating a church with a reported clergy child molester in the pulpit?
She has a point. Check out her post here.
I think she has a very good point.
Hyprocrisy is not hard to spot. The SBC executive board and convention as a whole, it seems, are affirming pedophilia and child sexual abuse by church staff, since they seem to allow such to continue to serve in positions of responsibility in churches. And apparently, in positions of responsibility within the denomination.
Oooooohhhh.
In every place where she has demonstrated that a church has welcomed into membership (all the more leadership!) any person who persists in the sin of pedophilia or child sexual abuse, she has an absolutely incontrovertible and excellent point.
Indeed, I pledge that I myself will make the motion in Louisville for the Executive Committee to pursue that church’s removal. One item that would help would be a constitutional amendment to clarify that any church affirming pedophilia or child sexual abuse will be considered not in friendly cooperation with the convention. I would vote in favor of such an amendment.