The chairman of the Board of Trustees and president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary jointly published an open letter to the seminary community that includes a list of 13 individuals who were previously students and/or staff of the institution and who appear on a larger list of persons arrested or credibly charged with sexual abuse or sexual assault maintained by the Executive Committee (EC) of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), which was previously unknown until its release last week following an independent investigation.
All the individuals on the list released today were students and/or employees before 2018.
Immediately after the SBC EC list with more than 700 names was released, seminary leadership reviewed the information to “determine whether there were individuals on the list who have any current or past relationship with the institution,” wrote Board Chair Danny Roberts and President Adam W. Greenway in the open letter, which has been emailed to all members of the seminary community and posted on the seminary’s website.
“No current students or employees appear on the list,” they noted.
“The reason Southwestern Seminary leadership felt it was important to provide this information to our institutional community is because we want to make sure you have the resources available to report any incident of sexual abuse or sexual assault,” said Roberts and Greenway.
Roberts and Greenway also provided contact information for confidential reporting of sexual abuse allegations, the Fort Worth Police Department and Dean of Women Terri Stovall, adding, “we would strongly encourage you to report any incident of sexual abuse or assault to the appropriate authorities.”
“We want to assure you that we are committed to doing everything within our power to ensure the safety of all members, past and present, of the Southwestern Seminary community,” they said.
In anticipation of the Sexual Abuse Task Force report and recommendations to be presented during the SBC annual meeting in Anaheim, Calif., June 14-15, Roberts and Greenway said, “We stand ready to receive whatever recommendations messengers approve and will immediately work to do whatever is necessary to strengthen protections for our students, faculty, staff and families.”
Roberts and Greenway concluded the open letter, “We would ask that you join us in praying for those who are survivors of sexual abuse as we seek the Lord’s wisdom and grace.”
The open letter is available here.
If you are/have been a victim of sexual abuse or suspect sexual abuse by a pastor, staff member or member of a Southern Baptist church or entity, please reach out for help at 202-864-5578 or [email protected]. All calls are confidential.
