Two letters in a file

Two letters sat in a file at the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma. In the first letter, a Southern Baptist pastor admits he sexually abused a kid, and in the second letter, he takes it back and denies any abuse.

In the letter dated September 6, 1996, pastor Emmett Hayslip resigned his position as director of missions at the Tillman Baptist Association and said this:

“I am resigning my position because I sexually molested [John Doe] over a period of years during his youth.” Hayslip then agrees that he “will not in the future accept employment or a volunteer position with any organization such as with a church…or a school, which would allow me to have contact with children.”

The subsequent letter, dated November 25, 1996, is addressed to the Tillman Baptist Association and shows that a copy was sent to Dr. Anthony Jordan, executive director of the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma. In the letter, Hayslip says this:

“On September 5, 1996…Dr. Anthony Jordan laid out a pre-printed letter with a place for my signature wherein it was written that ‘I sexually molested [John Doe] over a period of years during his youth.’ I signed that letter under extreme duress, shocked and insulted, and so fearful that my normal faculties of reason were lost to me. No one asked me if I had done such a thing. Instead Dr. Jordan said [John Doe] has been in our office and says you have molested him, and we belive you are guilty. Categorically, with God inspired insight and forthrightness I swear to you now that I did not, ever, molest [John Doe]….”

The November 25 letter is on attorney letterhead, and underneath the portion signed by Hayslip, there is an attorney-signed portion, threatening possible legal action and saying: “Mr. Hayslip has been severely damaged. Mr. Jordan failed to apply even a pretense at a fair hearing.”

So those two letters sat in a file cabinet at the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma. Which letter represents the truth?

Emmett Hayslip had pastored Southern Baptist churches in North Dakota and Oklahoma, but after those letters, he did not pastor another Southern Baptist church. However, it appears he has become the pastor of an independent church in Snyder, Oklahoma.

Does the BGCO have any moral obligation to do anything?

According to John Doe, he and another victim met with Dr. Jordan and several other BGCO officials back on September 5, 1996. They presented their stories of abuse and also gave to the BGCO an audio-cassette recording of Emmett Hayslip in which he allegedly made incriminating statements. This was one day before Jordan met with Emmett Hayslip and got Hayslip’s signature on that letter.

Much to John Doe’s disappointment, the BGCO didn’t give him a copy of Hayslip’s signed letter with the admission. He says the BGCO promised him they would, but afterwards changed their mind. Nevertheless, John Doe was aware of the letter’s existence.

So when he learned that Hayslip was a pastor again, he started trying to get the BGCO to do something. That was over a year ago. I’ve seen a couple of his emails to Dr. Anthony Jordan, reminding him of the letter and virtually begging him to take action for the protection of children in the Snyder community.

In February 2007, John Doe received an email back from Dr. Jordan, saying “I have reviewed the files” and that he would contact the local Tillman Baptist Association.

Nothing happened.

John Doe says that, in a phone call, Dr. Jordan claimed the BGCO was simply holding the letter in its files but that the letter actually belonged to the Tillman Baptist Association.

Months later, John Doe wrote again, telling Dr. Jordan this: “It is you and the BGCO who have documented proof that Emmett Hayslip is an admitted child molester. It is your responsibility, as a man of faith and as a leader of the Oklahoma Baptists, to step up to the plate and stop dragging your feet on this issue…. You have the evidence -- Use It!”

Nothing happened.

When John Doe learned that Emmett Hayslip had gotten an additional part-time job driving a school bus, he contacted Dr. Jordan yet again, asking him to send a copy of Hayslip’s signed letter to the superintendent of schools in Snyder.

Nothing happened.

John Doe notified the superintendent of schools and suggested that she herself should contact Dr. Jordan to get a copy of Hayslip’s signed letter. According to John Doe, the superintendent said she called Jordan twice, but no one returned her call.

Finally, after over a year of persistent effort, John Doe was contacted by an attorney for the Tillman Baptist Association, who gave him copies of the two letters. This was the first that John Doe knew of the second letter. John Doe was told that the audiotape could not be found.

John Doe immediately gave copies of the letters to the school superintendent, and according to John Doe, Emmett Hayslip did not continue as a school bus driver.

But he continues as a pastor.

And that brings me back to my original question. Does the BGCO have a moral obligation?

Recently, in connection with another accused SBC pastor who went independent, the Nashville Scene reported some religious leaders as saying that “even if pastors don’t feel they have a professional obligation to warn churches of sex abuse allegations against a new pastor, as men of God and as human beings they have the moral obligation to protect people in the pews.”

How I wish Southern Baptist leaders would act on those words from other religious leaders. I believe the right answer to the question is “yes”; Dr. Jordan and the BGCO had a moral obligation to protect people in the pews.

I don’t know what was on the audiotape that was apparently lost. But even if the two contradictory letters were the only thing the BGCO had left in its file, it still had a moral obligation to do something given the seriousness of the potential risk to others. Somebody at the BGCO should have gotten to the bottom of it, and they should have done so without foot-dragging.

Over and over again, we see this tragic pattern in Baptist circles. It is the wounded victims who struggle desperately to try to protect others while the so-called religious leaders stand on the sideline and keep their file cabinets shut.

[Note: To the best of my knowledge, Emmett Hayslip has NOT been convicted of any crime related to child molestation.]

[Additional Note: In comments, John Doe has corrected me to point out that the tape recording was not lost but that they simply refused to return it to him or to provide him with a copy.]