Southern Baptist leaders, sex abuse and a day of reckoning because of brave women
The Southern Baptist Convention sexual abuse report and a video of Pastor John Lowe II from an Indiana church show the power of women challenging men in ministry.
On Thursday leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention released a 205-page list with the names of pastors and others affiliated with the SBC and different Baptist denominations who have been accused of sexual abuse for decades. The release follows an explosive investigative report into alleged sexual misconduct by Southern Baptist Convention clergy members.
This moment of reckoning would not have been possible without women speaking truth to power, belying the theological understanding that they are meant to be submissive to men in positions of authority in the church and home.
Women speaking publicly about the harm done to them show that without substantive transformation in how evangelical Christians understand and approach gender and sexuality, men in positions of church leadership are bound to continue systemic abuses.
By publicly calling out pastors who they say have sexually abused them, women are challenging men in ministry seeking to cull sympathy and retain authority. In a now widely circulated video from a service at the New Life Christian Church and World Outreach in Warsaw, Indiana, last Sunday, we saw an example of this on full display.
Shortly after Pastor John Lowe II pleaded for his congregation to seek “the saving knowledge of Christ,” he said he had “a confession.” He wanted to “follow a biblical process of confession, repentance and forgiveness,” which would lead up to him finally admitting that he had committed adultery. He stressed that it was 20 years ago and was with one person, and as a way to hammer home that he was doing the upstanding thing, he said he would not “use the Bible to defend, protect and deflect my past sin.” He continued, “I have no defense. I committed the adultery. To say it plainly, I didn’t make a mistake. … I need to say that, and you deserve to hear it.”
Rating: 5