In Oklahoma, Southern Baptist pastor Joshua Spires advanced in the ranks from youth pastor to senior pastor while sexually abusing a teen church girl every Sunday and calling it “consensual.”Pastor Spires is married and has two kids. The girl he abused was 15.
“According to court records, the sexual assaults occurred every Sunday” at the church.
They occurred “on either the desk or couch” in Spires’ church office.
They occurred “about an hour before services began.”
Do you get the picture? Every Sunday, week after week, Southern Baptist pastor Joshua Spires prepared for the delivery of his sermon, not by praying to God, but by preying on a 15-year-old church girl.
Are you offended?
I hope so. But so far, I haven’t seen any sign that anyone in Southern Baptist leadership even gives a hoot.
This case has been reported in the secular press off and on since at least last August, when Spires confessed to the abuse. Last week, Spires was sentenced to 10 years, and that too was reported in the secular press.
But I’ve seen no mention of pastor Spires’ crimes in the Oklahoma Baptist newspaper, Baptist Messenger. Nor have I seen any mention in the national Baptist newspaper, the Baptist Press. I guess they don’t think it’s news when a Baptist pastor molests a church kid. I guess they don’t think people need to know.
In fact, rather than reporting the news of Spires’ crimes, national Southern Baptist headquarters continues to include “Rev. Joshua Spires” on its registry of Southern Baptist ministers.
Two full months ago, this Southern Baptist pastor confessed to repeated acts of child molestation. But no one in Baptistland has even bothered to remove him from the ministerial registry.
Today, searching that registry under either the minister or the church -- First Baptist of Jay, Oklahoma -- you’ll still find “Rev. Joshua Spires” shown as a “senior pastor.”
Wouldn't you think that, after a minister has admitted to sexual abuse of a kid, the national headquarters could at least care enough to remove him from the registry?
I imagine that’s what ordinary, decent people would think. But of course, that’s not how it works in Baptistland.
We’ve seen this sad reality over and over again. Even when the secular media points out that convicted child molesters are on the Southern Baptist ministerial registry, nothing happens.
Nothing happens until it is publicly pointed out over and over and over again.
Despite all their pretty platitudes about “precious children,” and despite all their public talk of “moral outrage,” it’s obvious that Southern Baptist leaders don’t really care. If they did, they would react to crimes like this by taking action.
Here’s what Southern Baptist leaders really care about.
Take a look at that bold, all-caps, red disclaimer language that they added to the ministerial search page on their registry.
DISCLAIMER: THIS IS NOT A LISTING OF “CONVENTION-CERTIFIED” OR “CONVENTION-APPROVED” MINISTERS. THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION DOES NOT QUALIFY, APPROVE, CERTIFY, ENDORSE, OR IN ANY WAY REVIEW OR SPEAK TO THE QUALIFICATION OF ANY MINISTER.
Do you get the picture?
Rather than establishing a system to remove convicted and admitted clergy child molesters from the ministerial registry, and rather than establishing a system to inform congregations about credibly-accused clergy child molesters, Southern Baptist leaders put up bold language saying essentially this: “NOT OUR PROBLEM.”
So . . . people in Baptist pews, be warned! Despite the $10 billion per year that you put into Baptist offering plates, and despite the $200 million per year that you send to national headquarters, no one in Nashville thinks they have any moral obligation to help protect your kids against clergy predators.
Clergy sex abuse? “NOT OUR PROBLEM.” That’s the unmistakeable message from Southern Baptist headquarters.
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19 comments:
The SBC maintains a list for mimisters, music people, youth people, education people, children's people, church hostesses, deacons, maintenance employees, secretaries, etc, etc. Yet without blinking an eye of concern no list can be maintained for sex perps!
I know how the corrupt system works. But, it is a shame and a sin that more love for children and adult victims is not expressed. Okay, so it is too expensive to provide professional help to the abused. Is it too expensive to care enough to be pro-active in the prtection of future victims.
GOD ID WATCHING!!!!
Again and again you play loose with the facts. I don't know of any Southern Baptist that doesn't care about child abuse. The bottom line is that they aren't doing what you want so you blog and blog endlessly about the same things. You need to get counseling to move beyond your own abuse so you can legitimately address issues on this blog.
Hey sport,
You are not talking to a victim that needs to "move along",. You are talking to a man whohas been a pastor of SBC churches for over 35 years,who served on local, state, and national boards and committees and who has seen first hand how cold, indifferent and out of touch an official who does not want to rock the boat for fear of loosing his/her job can be. Your bigotry in this subject is obvious and therefore your contributions are pooly constructed, weakly supported, and generally very painful to those who have been hurt by the perps and people like you who fail to sence any responsibility with regards to providing a limited form of protection.
The sand must trully be deep where you stick your heaad to not see the suffering nor hear the crys of those who at an early age trully trusted pastors to be men of God.
"Your bigotry in this subject is obvious . . . The sand must truly be deep where you stick your head...."
Amen, Brother John!
Incidentally, that sand-stuck guy was Plano-man again -- the guy who bid us all "adieu" and declared that he wasn't going to participate anymore on this blog -- but who nevertheless seems incapable of staying away.
Christa, while we continue to pressure the SBC Executive Committee to create a data base to identify and track clergy/church staff sex-predators, why not begin "Baptist Minister Sexual Predators List" in conjunction with your blog. Perhaps it could begin with convicted abusers...say, from the past 25 years. Then, call a press conference, expose SBC leadership's "inability" to maintain a similar list, and call on baptist laity to demand action in order to protect their children. They will respond when their image is threatened: first, with lawyers, then with God-talk and spin, and finally, if lay people rise up and demand it, "the Lord will lead them" to create a data base. That's the way it is in "Baptistland" but, then, I'm not saying anything you don't already know.
Wish I had seen the post from Anon. October 25, 9:15 PM before my earlier comments. WOW! There it was for all the world to see: the shallowness, indifference and "shoot the messenger" attitude that seems to surround this issue. I am so angry that one could even articulate such carelessness. Last week a little girl was abducted and murdered near my hometown of Jacksonville, FL. The compassion of the community has overflowed to that family, and the commitment of law enforcement toward catching and convicting the criminal/s involved is commendable, but her memorial service will be held in a church which supports the SBC and by extension, does not support development of a clergy/church staff sex pervert data base. Does that make sense? From where I sit, there is little difference between the pastor or youth director who preys on children in the church and a pervert who trolls for children on the streets. Both are criminals, and both should be removed from society...forever. Anyone who aids them to avoid or defer prosecution is likewise a criminal and should spend time in prison and be registered as a "sex offender accomplice." I believe the time is ripe in my state to get the law updated.
Jim: Here's a list sort of like what you're talking about that's on the StopBaptistPredators.org website.
www.stopbaptistpredators.org/scandals/sbc_ministers.html
It's nothing more than what I've been able to compile over the past couple years as a volunteer effort with zero resources based on nothing more than media reports that cross my desk. So, it's mostly those who have been criminally convicted, which, according to almost all experts including the FBI, means it's not even 10 percent of the real numbers. What's needed, of course, is for Southern Baptists to keep track of the "credibly-accused" like other faith groups do, and take away their ministerial weapon of trust.
But though this is a very small effort, it's at least enough to show that Southern Baptist leaders have been greatly minimizing and denying the extent of this problem. Though it's only publicly-reported cases over a few years' time, it's way more than the "couple" cases that Richard Land talked about, way more than the "several" cases that Frank Page talked about, and way more than the "only 40 cases in 15 years" that Will Hall so audaciously, ignorantly and smirkingly talked about.
If you haven't seen it already, you might also like to check out the running news log I keep with media reports on abuse by ALL sorts of Baptist clergy -- i.e., not just Southern Baptist.
www.stopbaptistpredators.org/news.html
When will the lay people finally wake up? That's the big question, isn't it? A blog commenter once posed it this way: What can we do when the shepherds won't lead and the sheep are asleep?
Christa, I certainly did not intend to imply that your blog is less than outstanding and totally imformative. I appreciate you more than I can say. Thank you for your hard work. You can count on me to help however you may think I can.
I looked at the list and am appaled. Honestly, knowing so few are ever arrested, fewer are formally charged and even fewer are convicted, I could not believe that there were more than 100 names on that list. Based on that number, alone, there must have been at least 1,000 instances of clergy/church staff sexual abuse of children over the last several years. My guess is the number is closer to 3,000-5,000. My God! If that is not an abomination before the Lord, nothing can be. How many of those worthless human beings are in prison? How many are registered sex offenders? How many are still in churches? They should never be permitted to interact with the general public again. Please, don't anyone respond with a plea for
"forgiveness." Jesus already addressed that in Matthew 18:6.
"I could not believe that there were more than 100 names on that list. Based on that number, alone, there must have been at least 1,000 instances of clergy/church staff sexual abuse of children over the last several years. My guess is the number is closer to 3,000-5,000."
Jim: Your rough calculation of "at least 1,000" would not only be supported by almost all experts, but it is also a reality reflected in the Catholic context. Out of the nearly 800 priests who have been removed from active ministry based on "credible accusations" of abuse, less than 5 percent have ever been criminally convicted of anything. By Baptist standards, about 760 of those priests would still be able to remain in the pulpit, and people in the pews would be none the wiser.
Christa,
I'm just wondering if you have the support of Morris Chapman or anyone on the Executive Committee? I doubt it seriously so basically you are blowing in the wind and doing nothing but exercising your lungs. Nothing is going to happen until you have them on board and that isn't going to happen. Baptist structure doesn't allow for what you are asking and never will.
Time to move on to a new cause or maybe a new denomination. Maybe another group would listen to you because Baptists sure aren't.
Anon,
My impression is that the SBC is connectional enough to do about anything the leadership wants to do, but if they don't want to do something they can use autonomy of the local church as an excuse.
I have been following this issue for a long time, and my opinion -- and I hope I'm wrong -- is that the primary hurdle is ascending liability. Seeing all the settlements by the Catholic Church, that is not an unreasonable concern. The implication, however, is that Southern Baptists are willing to sacrifice a few kids in order to protect themselves from potential lawsuits. I guess it's kind of like the Old Testament days, when people used to sacrifice children to Molech.
So, Christa,
Accorduing to brave Anon you need to forget your pain, forget the pain of others, surrender to the evil empire, go away and shut up!
Isn't it amazing how shallow and weak some people can be!
No voice raising an objection to the mistreatment of the innocent is a voice speaking to the wind. It really angers me to hear from these weak-kneed people who want to continue supporting their sacred cows and ignor the mass miscarrage of justice being carried on in the name of Gos by so many religious bodies.
Morris Chapman is on his way out, so he's not the one we need to convince. The people in the pews still retain some degree of power and if they become informed of this issue they will demand change. Right now, the average Baptist lay person has no idea of the magnitude of this issue. Of course, liability is a part of leadership's concern. However, I submit that the SBC is far more concerned with image. Too many Baptist preachers preached too many sermons about the demons in the Catholic Church when the priest/pedophile scandals were going on. To eat such a large serving of crow and admit that our clergy are just as morally bankrupt is more than they are willing to accept. However, that is exactly what must happen. The genie is out of the bottle on this issue and will not be put back in. Anon, 9:21 obviously, you do not know much about SBC "Baptist structure" if you believe "it doesn't allow for what you are asking, and never will." Don't ever say never. It can make a list of clergy/church staff child sexual predators if it wants to. The issue, as I have said before, is not ability, but will. Protection of children is not as important to the leadership and as projection of a phoney aire of holiness. They would rather allow the lives and futures of thousands of children to be destroyed, than admit there is a problem and take positive action to combat it.
"My impression is that the SBC is connectional enough to do about anything the leadership wants to do, but if they don't want to do something they can use autonomy of the local church as an excuse."
Yup.
"Baptist structure doesn't allow for what you are asking and never will."
Baptist "structure" allowed for us to disfellowship Broadway Baptist for having homosexual members.
In thinking about the 492nd anniversary of Luther's 95 thesis thsi weekend, I have been some baptist ministers that shoot Luther down as still being too Catholic and then say Baptist were always around prior to Luther. There were other assemblies I am sure but they were regional churches. Luther's Whittenberg post was indeed pivotal.
"I know how the corrupt system works."
I doubt it. Most people can't begin to imagine how corrupt this Baptist system really is.
I know. I tried to tell them about the pastor who molested me in Georgia. You wouldn't believe the things they will do to shut people like me uip.
In thinking about the 492nd anniversary of Luther's 95 thesis thsi weekend, I have been some baptist ministers that shoot Luther down as still being too Catholic and then say Baptist were always around prior to Luther. There were other assemblies I am sure but they were regional churches. Luther's Whittenberg post was indeed pivotal.
October 28, 2009 12:17 AM
There has always been a remnant outside the institutional organization of church/state since 300 AD. Even before the Reformation there were Janeists, Donatists, etc. Or even those who went against the institution like Savronella which spread in Italy.
You just have to dig deep. They were not published like the rulers of history were.
One thing reformers do not mention is that it is called 'Reformation' because Luther was trying to 'reform' the Catholic church. It did not work but that was his intention. He did not intend to start another denomination. It was called the "Lutheran" church after he died. He also believed in many "Roman" extra biblical traditions like padeobaptism, church/state/magistrates, sacraments, etc.
Anon 9:05 - There is probably nothing you could say that would surprise me. I KNOW the sorts of things the corrupt Southern Baptist system will do to shut up people like you. I have seen and heard far too much from far too many people -- all manner of bullying and intimidation and manipulation -- and like you, I have also experienced their corrupt system for myself.
Just a few years ago, I myself was completely incapable of imagining the sort of moral corruption and hatefulness that I have encountered in Baptistland. But now I know. If you would like to try to find a support group in your area, call 1-877-SNAP-HEALS.
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