Abusers found on Southern Baptist Convention web site

By Lindsay Melvin

Memphis Commercial Appeal
Sunday, June 29, 2008

Leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention have condemned sexual predators and are urging churches to flush out molesters using federal background checks.

But a simple search on the convention's Web site shows they have yet to purge their own house of predators.

SBC's MinisterSearch, a Web database for finding clergy members, contains the names of pastors both indicted and convicted of sexual abuse.

Among them is a former Cordova pastor charged in October with rape and sexual battery.

"It's a double standard," said David Brown, an abuse victim and coordinator for the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests in Memphis.

Brown is also a Southern Baptist.

"They made the statement at the convention that they weren't going to let these pedophiles in, and they're still up on the Web site," he said.

Roger Oldham, vice president for convention relations, says the minister search, which has more than 10,000 names, is simply a directory and not an endorsement.

"All the information we have comes from the churches," he said.

Churches submit the information and the convention updates the database every other year, Oldham said.

Listed on the site is Steven Haney, the former pastor of Walnut Grove Baptist Church, now Gracepoint Baptist.

Haney is accused of having a long-term sexual affair with a teenage boy in his Cordova congregation.

He has since resigned his position, but the directory shows him on staff.

Haney's case is still pending, along with that of Tim Byars, who also turns up on the site.

A former youth minister at Springhill Baptist Church in Dyersburg, he was charged with raping a 14-year-old girl during a field trip nearly two years ago.

Byars is also charged in another case for sexual battery in Davidson County.

"These men have forfeited their right to be a minister," Brown said.

SNAP received about 40 reports last year of sexual abuse by Southern Baptist ministers.

Brown says keeping predators and alleged predators on the convention's Web site gives the impression these are safe ministers.

"We've got to do more to protect our children," he said.

Although the problem hasn't been as far-reaching as the sexual abuse scandal that shook up the Roman Catholic Church, the Southern Baptist Convention has seen a rise in high-profile allegations against clergy in recent years.

The allegations have been numerous enough to prompt the executive committee to begin studying how to address them.

The convention voted last year to look into creating a database that would list clergy who have been accused or convicted.

At the annual meeting this month, the committee reported they would not create a database to identify predators.

Unlike Catholic churches, SBC churches are autonomous. When sexual abuse surfaces, it's up to individual churches to take action.

"The convention does not ordain or defrock ministers," Oldham said.

On the convention's Web site, there are links to the National Database of Sex Offenders and other abuse-prevention sites.

The recent attention the minister search site has gotten will likely lead to upcoming discussions on how to operate and update the search, Oldham said.

"Historically it was a directory, like a telephone directory," he said. "It had little notoriety until recently."

Contact Lindsay Melvin at 529-2445.

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/jun/29/abusers-found-on-baptist-site/

Comments

Posted by StopBaptistPredators on June 29, 2008 at 8 a.m.

During the past year, SNAP received way more than 40 reports of sexual abuse involving Baptist ministers. It's more like 140. Saddest of all is the fact that many of those people also reported their abuse to Southern Baptist officials, who did nothing.
Christa Brown
SNAP National Baptist Outreach Director

Posted by bblue on June 29, 2008 at 8:25 a.m.

pretty sickening, anyone who rapes a child needs to be executed, there is no help for them, it does not work, they will always be a predator.
thats all they think about 24/7 the next child they will attack. they need to removed from society permanently.

Posted by JusticeEqualizer on June 29, 2008 at 10:26 a.m.

The basic premise of our legal system is that a person is INNOCENT until PROVEN guilty. If Haney and Byars are found guilty then they should have their names removed from the list. But Mr. Brown and the Southern Baptist Convention are not in a position to say that these men (or anyone else) have forfeited their right to minister! The right to minister is a right or calling granted only by Almighty God and not Mr. Brown. Why is it that we always assume that allegations of sexual abuse are true? I don't know Haney or Byars but I will reserve judgment until their respective trials and so should everyone else. Long time Memphians will remember the Georgian Hills Baptist scandal some 20 years ago. Ultimately, every conviction in that case was overturned because the court determined the children lied!! But the media destroyed the lives of many people before these individuals were ultimately found innocent. Let's wait for all the facts to come out and then make a judgment about whether or not these men are guilty.

Posted by spamidohate on June 29, 2008 at 11:09 a.m

"Why is it that we always assume that allegations of sexual abuse are true? "

because 98% of the time they are...

and because it is wide spread...

http://www.stopbaptistpredators.org

http://writ.news.findlaw.com/hamilton...

Posted by JusticeEqualizer on June 29, 2008 at 11:21 a.m.

Please provide me with the statistical study where it indicates that "98%" of those accused of sexual abuse are guilty. Thanks!

Posted by StopBaptistPredators on June 29, 2008 at 12:01 p.m.

"Innocent until proven guilty" is a standard for whether a person should be put in prison, not for whether he should remain in the pulpit. If the standard for Southern Baptist ministers is that a man can remain in the pulpit until he's criminally convicted, then that's a terrifyingly low standard, and it's also a standard far lower than other major faith groups in this country. How sad that Southern Baptist leaders would tolerate such a dangerously low standard for Southern Baptist clergy. Kids deserve better. Families deserve better. And people in the pews deserve better.

Posted by spamidohate on June 29, 2008 at 12:48 p.m.

"statistical study where it indicates that "98%" of those accused of sexual abuse are guilty"

I cannot find such a study, quickly - but do not confuse my point. One gets accused - there is a high probability that one has done something wrong.

If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, then by golly it must be a duck.
but not always.

you are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law - but action news five and community opinion is usually guilty until proven innocent. Ie, OJ Simpson, Edmund Ford, Joseph Lee.

Statistically speaking - If I took every story that has hit the news in the last 5 years on sexual abuse that went to trial, I'll bet the conviction rate is over 90%.

semantically speaking me saying 98% is another way of say more likely than not.

Posted by JusticeEqualizer on June 29, 2008 at 1:08 p.m.

So, basically, you admit that you just made up the figure of 98%. It's that kind of thing that makes it difficult to deal with the issue and it also harms your credibility. We need to deal with the facts of each situation/accusation and leave our opinions out of it until we know ALL the facts. If the accusations are proven true, then the accused will be punished as prescribed by law.

Actually, there are more false accusations than you think. In fact, it is such a problem that the Tennessee State legislature is taking action:

"NASHVILLE -- A proposal is moving through the legislature that would make false reports of child abuse a felony. The bill sponsored by Republican Sen. Jamie Woodson of Knoxville unanimously passed the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday. The measure would extend the felony offense of making false and malicious reports of child sexual abuse to include such reports of "physical abuse" against children. Woodson says there's no excuse for knowingly or maliciously accusing someone of something they didn't do." (Commercial Appeal, 01/23/08, page B8)

False reporting of child abuse is enough of a problem that the legislature feels a need to address it with a law.

Posted by EastMemphisReader on June 29, 2008 at 1:13 p.m.

Here's a page detailing how Bellevue pastor Steve Gaines kept quiet after details of Paul Williams' child molestation were revealed to Gaines:

http://stopbaptistpredators.org/scand...

Posted by JusticeEqualizer on June 29, 2008 at 1:18 p.m.

It appears that Steve Gaines publicly admitted he had been told about the abuse. Why hasn't Steve Gaines been prosecuted? Where is Governor Bill Gibbons on this one?

Posted by StopBaptistPredators on June 29, 2008 at 1:38 p.m.

According to Darkness2Light, "fabricated sexual abuse reports constitute only 1 to 4 percent of all reported cases."
http://www.darkness2light.org/KnowAbo...

Posted by spamidohate on June 29, 2008 at 2:25 p.m.

JusticeEqualizer,

First off this is an opinion board. Nothing official. I can say what I want, almost how I want. but... I will listen to what you have said about making it hard to deal with the issue -

#2 I agree but that why I included the part about public opinion.

#3 "harms your credibility" - please, spamidohate will not be on a resume anytime soon.

#4 That law sounds like they are going after the alleged victims. What happens if a lawyer sways a jury and finds the perpetrator innocent of wrongdoing? Will that person have recourse against the alleged victim or is it dropped.
What about the real victims who are scared to say anything. A law like would seem to scare those even more by re-enforcing the they'll believe me over you scare tactic.

made up or not - bad things happen - but if one manages to get accused of sexual abuse as a revenge tactic; what have they been doing to cause that situation in the first place?

---------

Steve Gains inherited his problems.

Posted by EastMemphisReader on June 29, 2008 at 3:12 p.m.

Steve Gaines did not "inherit" the problem of allowing an admitted pedophile, who molested his own son, to continue to minister to people in Bellevue Baptist church.

Gaines found out about the molestation, and allowed this person to occupy a position of authority as a minister.

If you find out there is a criminal in your midst, and you conclude, "Oh well, the crime was a long time ago, no need making a big to-do about it now," and you allow the criminal to continue to hold a position of authority, that isn't a problem you inherited. That's a problem YOU created through your inaction and lack of leadership.

Allowing a predator to continue to operate in a position of authority is unconscionable. How is it that Gaines is still pastor of Bellevue?

Posted by tigger on June 29, 2008 at 3:18 p.m.

EastMemphisReader-move on, get a life.See to it that no root of bitterness takes hold, and by it many become defiled-Belevue may never repent-it's time to put it behind you.

Posted by bahkah on June 29, 2008 at 4:04 p.m.

Remind me, what's that other religion, the one which places layers of protection over their many pedophiles? You know, the one that's virtually ignored by DA's and MSM..?

Posted by STILLLOVEMPHS on June 29, 2008 at 6:39 p.m.

One hitch; if a family member rapes their own child, there won't BE anything documented for a background check! But anything that helps is good, I guess. PAUL WILLIAMS, isn't this true brother?