Leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention bared on Friday about a subpoena from the United States Department of Justice informing them that the agency is investigating some of their members on sex abuse charges.
Details of U.S. DOJ Subpoena
Based on the report by Insurance Journal, the SBC Executive Committee received a subpoena from the U.S. Department of Justice.
The document told the ExeCom that prominent figures under the largest American Protestant denomination are currently under the agency's watch due to multiple allegations of sexual misconduct.
The article revealed that the subpoena seemed more of a notification, as no specific SBC member has been subpoenaed yet.
The article said the U.S. DOJ also refused to issue a statement about the ongoing investigation.
Also Read: Canadian Megachurch Says Sex Abuse Accusations Against 2 Former Pastors 'Substantiated'
SBC Leadership Expresses Willingness to Cooperate in Probe
The SBC leadership immediately assured their openness to work with the U.S. justice department.
The leadership said they want to get to the truth about the sexual abuse allegations against prominent SBC personalities.
"Individually and collectively, each SBC entity is resolved to fully and completely cooperate with the investigation," Insurance Journal quoted SBC leadership saying.
The leadership also said they aim to deal with 'past mistakes on sexual misconduct' that convention members committed.
They said that while those mistakes cause them grief, they are laying down measures that would help guarantee the same errors do not happen again under their watch.
SBC Sex Abuse Survivors Hail Probe
Christa Brown, among the survivors of Southern Baptist sexual abuse, reportedly took to Twitter to express her approval of the U.S. DOJ probe into the matter.
"Hallelujah. It's about time. This is what's needed," Brown said in a tweet.
Brown had long been urging the SBC leadership to take a more proactive stance in handling sexual misconduct in its churches across the country.
Meanwhile, Jules Woodson, another survivor of Southern Baptist sexual abuse, told via Twitter that she prays for justice to be 'rolled down.'
Woodson, who has made efforts in the past to call for changes in the Protestant convention, told the public about her experience as a sexual abuse survivor in SBC.
Guidepost Solutions' SBC Sex Abuse Report
Guidepost Solutions, an outside consultant, published in May 2022 a 288-page report detailing the results of their investigation into SBC sexual abuse accusations.
The report disclosed "disturbing details" about how SBC leaders aggrieved the survivors and wrongfully handled allegations of sexual misconduct by SBC members.
The same article by Insurance Journal revealed that the SBC Executive Committee had listed down church workers and clergy whose names were implicated in the sexual abuse complaints.
Guidepost Solutions discovered that the SBC Executive Committee kept the list hidden from the public.
Following the backlash from the report, the committee quickly apologized for their oversight and then made the list public.
An article by The Baptist Record provided a short rundown of the different Southern Baptist leaders who figured prominently in the Guidepost Solutions report.
Among the SBC figures in the report were Frank Page, Jack Graham, Roger Oldham, Steve Gaines, D. August Boto, Ronnie Floyd, Johnny Hunt, and Jim Guenther.
Related Article: Southern Baptist Convention Prexy Bart Barber Names Abuse Reform Implementation TF Members
