Read the whole article. I’ll try and cut out the major points I see.
On Leaked letters of a now resigned head of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission
In the documents, Moore accused certain leaders of caricaturing sexual abuse victims as “at best, mentally disturbed and, at worst, as sexually-promiscuous sinners.”
Issues of Church structure getting in the way of rule of a uniform, centralized policy
“The Southern Baptist Convention was not, and to a large degree is still not, set up today to do the kinds of things that Russell Moore wanted to see us doing,” Stone said.
The current times causing division
How Southern Baptists feel about these issues will likely determine who is elected SBC president. Stone is part of the Conservative Baptist Network, which accuses Russell Moore, current president J.D. Greear and others of contributing to a liberal drift.
Another leading candidate, Al Mohler, has been supportive of sex abuse victims but angered some Southern Baptists for endorsing Donald Trump last year and for signing a statement, in his capacity as president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, denouncing critical race theory.
Meanwhile, Ed Litton, an Alabama pastor, is supported by Fred Luter, the only Black pastor ever to be denomination president. The two are among the co-signers of a statement by a multiethnic group of Southern Baptists asserting that systemic racial injustice is a reality.
The issue with reforms is that we’ve seen how such things played out with the recent splits among mainline Protestant groups, and how fast rule changes in Church structure and policy leads to complete collapse or splintering. However, sexual assault and these awful coverups is never worth staying for. These denominations seeking change should make their case and, if the SBC won’t take harder measures against independent investigations in the meeting, they should be the ones to leave in unison.
