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"Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord."
(Acts 3:19)
Today and tomorrow, my wife, Ashley, and I will join many Southern Baptists across the nation for the annual Southern Baptist Convention meeting. This year, the convention is being held in beautiful Anaheim, CA. Considering the recently published Sexual Abuse Report conducted by Guidepost, this will be a very different kind of meeting. And it should be. There will be times of mourning and repentance. The report revealed that hundreds of people in SBC churches were abused by pastors and other leaders. These ministers should have been godly individuals serving as exemplary shepherds to those entrusted to their spiritual care. I am a pastor of an SBC church, and my heart is broken over these egregious ethical violations by those who were in leadership positions, places of authority.
For those who were abused, it really does not matter that over 99% of Southern Baptists are innocent of such heinous crimes. One person assaulted or abused is far too many. There are hundreds, most likely thousands, who have been violated. Another wrong committed was that those in authority on the national level did not stand up for the abused as they should have and failed to hold the guilty accountable for their crimes. It is truly heartbreaking. To add to this horrible news, we learned that some of our heroes in the faith were among those guilty of sexual misconduct. As I write this devotion today, my heart is so heavy.
As a denomination and as individual churches, we must take responsibility and do the right thing, and part of that is praying and asking for God's forgiveness. We must mourn with all victims and pray for their healing. We should also approach this with much humility, remembering 1 Corinthians 10:12: "Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall."
I learned last week that three of the SBC national leaders have agreed to allocate from an SBC ministry called Send Relief $3 million that the SBC Executive Committee will need to carry out the reforms recommended by the Sexual Abuse Task Force to the messengers at the meeting in California this week. I commend this action and am grateful that we are not only repenting but also doing works worthy of a truly repentant heart.
I am trusting God for times of refreshing that can come only from the presence of the Lord. Will you join me in praying for those who have been abused? Pray for their comfort and justice. Also, even though I know many of you reading this devotion are not Southern Baptists, will you pray for us? Our denomination does so much good in Jesus' name all over the world. Pray that we can fully engage as one people in the work of making disciples and impacting the world for Jesus.
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