Cost of Investigating Alleged Mishandling of Sexual Abuse by Southern Baptist Convention Tops $1.7 Million
The investigation of alleged mishandling of sexual abuse has cost the Southern Baptist Convention more than $1.7 million so far, a number that exceeds the original estimate made last fall.
The SBC—the nation’s largest Protestant denomination—has struggled to respond to sexual abuse in its churches. A 2019 investigation by the Houston Chronicle reported hundreds of abuse cases in Southern Baptist churches spanning decades.
In response, SBC leaders held a service of lament and launched a new denominational program to care for abuse survivors. The denomination also set up a system to cut ties with any church that fails to take abuse seriously, prompting it to oust two churches that had abusers on staff.
Leaders of the SBC Executive Committee have also been accused in the past of mistreating abuse survivors, mishandling claims of abuse, and resisting efforts to set up a national response to abuse.
The SBC in October 2021 contracted with international consulting firm Guidepost Solutions to conduct an investigation into the allegations at an estimated cost of between $1.3 million and $1.6 million, with additional legal fees of $500,000, the Baptist Standard reported. But at a February meeting, members unanimously voted to increase the budget to $2 million with another $2 million for legal fees.
Guidepost’s report is expected to be released prior to the SBC’s 2022 annual meeting in June in Anaheim, California, officials said.
“This process has been difficult and costly, but these obstacles do not compare to the devastation and pain wrought by sexual abuse,” SBC President Ed Litton told the Standard. “I am grateful that in recent months our Executive Committee staff and trustees have acted decisively to support this investigation. I would ask all Southern Baptists to continue to pray, not only for this process, but for the recommendations and reforms it will yield.”
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