Southern Baptist Convention leaders perpetuated a cycle of abuse for two decades by ignoring reports of sexual abuse and dismissing recommendations for reform, enabling a culture that retraumatized survivors, investigators found in a historic report released Sunday.
The nearly 300-page report from Guidepost Solutions contains explosive details about how the nation's largest Protestant denomination responded to a growing sexual abuse crisis within its ranks.
The report publicly details, for the first time, a credible allegation of sexual assault against former SBC President Johnny Hunt a month after his term ended in 2010 and how high-ranking staff maintained a list with hundreds of names of ministers accused of sexual misconduct, but did nothing with it.
Meanwhile, leaders spoke poorly about abuse survivors behind their backs and downplayed the extent of the crisis. The SBC's law firm repeatedly advised leaders not to take action when they were approached with concerns about abuse or reform, the report concluded.
