BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Southern Baptist Convention President J.D. Greear apologized Wednesday for the abuse crisis facing the denomination, praying and lamenting with faith members who later approved a resolution affirming "the evil of sexual abuse."
"Father, we weep," Greear said on the final day of the denomination's annual meeting. "We're brokenhearted and angry over the toleration and cover-up of abuse in churches that bear the name of your holy son, Jesus Christ.
"Give us the courage and the wisdom to make the changes that genuine repentance require."
Greear's comments came on a day when he shared the stage with survivors of sexual abuse and at a time when Southern Baptists, the largest Protestant denomination in the U.S., have come under criticism for widespread sexual-abuse allegations.
It also comes as U.S. Catholic bishops convene in Baltimore to address a sex-abuse crisis within the Catholic Church, the nation's largest denomination.
Greear, who was re-elected Tuesday as the convention's president, spoke Wednesday about a new curriculum that aims to help churches equip themselves to prevent and handle sexual-abuse issues. The curriculum is the result of a partnership between the faith's public-policy arm, the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, and LifeWay Christian Resources.
Russell Moore, president of the commission, said that hundreds of churches had committed during Wednesday morning's session to learning about the new Caring Well curriculum.
Moore also reflected about his experiences growing up in the church in Mississippi.
"Whenever I heard about the age of accountability as a child ... it was almost always at the end of a service in the context of a gospel invitation ... [and] behind all of that was a hymn," Moore said. "May our own denominational and cultural age of accountability also end in a hymn of invitation."
During a report on the findings of the sexual-abuse advisory group, Greear provided details on how the denomination will continue to address sexual abuse in its churches. Incidents of abuse are underreported, he said, and "victims do not want to hear us making bold declarations against abuse."
The report came a day after delegates approved an amendment to the faith's constitution giving the church -- known for functioning autonomously -- the authority to deem churches showing "wanton disregard" for sexual abuse as not in cooperation with the convention.
The amendment must be approved a second time at next year's annual meeting before it can be enacted, according to its bylaws, because it's a change to the faith's constitution. That vote will take place in June 2020.
Public statements alone aren't enough, Greear said, but can signal both intention and resolve. The right partnerships, training, governing documents and ministry screening processes are also necessary, he said.
Greear also spoke about a special three-day event focused on the topic in October. The conference will be hosted by the commission, and Moore said it came about as the result of the effect that sexual abuse has had on the denomination.
"The enormity of this crisis, and being face-to-face with those who have survived such enormity, hit us with such weight that we realized we owed it to our churches" to create the event, Moore said.
"I would candidly say to you, you don't have room not to include this [conference] in your calendar," Greear said. "The problem of sexual abuse in the Southern Baptist Convention did not begin in February with a publication of an article in a newspaper.
"I know for most Southern Baptist pastors, the thought [that] their church might harbor an abuser is horrific. ... They're heartbroken by this. Yet, still we are here."
Resolutions approved during the meeting included one celebrating the recent laws passed by legislatures in five states concerning abortion restrictions, and another that sought to recognize the need to work cooperatively with elected officials while acknowledging "the danger of political engagement overwhelming the priority of our mission," a year after Vice President Mike Pence spoke at the Southern Baptist Convention in Dallas.
A Section on 06/13/2019