November 11, 2002
BGCT churches urged to report clergy sexual abuse
___By John Hall
___Texas Baptist Communications
___DALLAS--The autonomy of Baptist churches creates both a blessing and a curse as the Baptist General Convention of Texas attempts to respond to issues of clergy sexual misconduct.
___That issue has gained increased attention in the shadow of the child-abuse scandal that has rocked the Roman Catholic Church.
___The BGCT's minister/church relations office walks a fine line between balancing local church autonomy with the need to help churches deal with clergy sexual misconduct, said Associate Director Sonny Spurger.
___Office staff only knows what churches share, because BGCT staff do not investigate churches or church staff to discover moral failures.
___"The autonomy of the local Baptist church is a blessing because churches can issue a call to any clergy they chose," Spurger said. "But that same autonomy is what makes the issue of clergy sexual misconduct difficult because we can only record what churches are willing to share. For this reason, the cooperation of Texas Baptist churches in sharing information is vital."
___Nationally, less than 6 percent of ministers are fired because of moral failures related to extramarital affairs, se
xual abuse and pornography, according to data published by Focus on the Family.
___However, the BGCT encourages Texas Baptist churches to prepare for clergy sexual misconduct before incidents occur. Conducting criminal background checks on all employees and all volunteers working with children and youth is a start. But even that may not clearly demonstrate a person's moral history.
___That's where the BGCT minister/church relations office could fill a void, leaders believe. The problem, though, is that too few churches that experience sexual misconduct by ministers report those incidents.
___Under a policy adopted last year, churches now may contact the minister/church relations office both to report incidents and to inquire whether a potential staff member has a recorded history of sexual misconduct.
___This information is held under tight security restrictions within the Baptist Building. Only authorized members of the minister/church relations staff may access the confidential files, and they may report information only to elected church officials who have a valid reason for seeking the information. If a person has a past history of sexual misconduct, BGCT staff may not reveal to the inquiring church what the misdeed was but will inform the inquirer that the person does have a record on file.
___Incidents are added to the file after an individual confesses, is convicted or a church provides substantial evidence of clergy sexual misconduct as reviewed by BGCT legal counsel.
___No information can be added to the file unless a church reports the case. While a church may not want to deal with reporting the offense, in some cases it can be held liable if the person falters again. Churches are required legally to report child abuse to Child and Protective Services.
___While moral failures are unlikely to occur in most churches, the BGCT encourages all churches to have an action plan to confront such a problem lovingly.
___Although the church may fear how the community will view it in the wake of a sexual incident, it should share truthful information with as many people as need to know, said Jan Daehnert, director of the minister/church relations office.
___"Covering up is a dangerous thing," Daehnert said. "Trust God's people. Most of the time, they can handle it."
___The church can help identify victims by openly discussing the situation and seeking help for them, he added. The minister/church relations office can provide resource personnel to train leaders in counseling victims in sexual misconduct occurrences.
___"When a church says to a victim, 'We don't want you to talk about this, we don't want this out in the community,' they are doing a tremendous disservice to that person," Spurger explained.
___The church also should openly discuss the grieving process, Daehnert said. Pastors should first work with the staff and lay leadership. Leaders should be trained to help grieving families. A Bible study or worship service on grieving may be appropriate. The church also should discourage rumors.
___The church should try to help the perpetrator and family, Daehnert said. Although the church should forgive, it must be stern in its response to the moral failure, he said.
___While Daehnert believes a minister involved in sexual misconduct should resign, he encourages churches to give the minister and family six months severance pay and full benefits.
___The church also should help connect the perpetrator and his family with counseling, he said.
___The BGCT Counseling and Psychological Services Center also offers counseling for clergy and victims. Counseling varies from case to case, said Dan McGee, director of the services.
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