Religions > Atheism > Huge Southern Baptist Church rocked by sexual abuse charges
| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"johac" |
| Date: |
22 Dec 2006 01:48:26 AM |
| Object: |
Huge Southern Baptist Church rocked by sexual abuse charges |
And yet another scandal.
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Huge Southern Baptist Church rocked by sexual abuse charges
by PageOneQ
A church whose former pastor was president of the Southern Baptist
Convention has been rocked by allegations of child abuse, PageOneQ has
learned.
Pastor Paul Williams, who directs prayer programs and special projects
at the Bellevue Baptist Church outside of Memphis, has been forced to
take a leave while a church committee investigates charges that Williams
sexually molested a family member 17 years ago. Williams has been at
Bellevue for 34 years, reports Agape Press, a news service run by the
American Family Association.
In a statement issued by the church and obtained by PageOneQ, the
church's personnel committee says that Williams has taken a paid leave
of absence in the wake of "a past, but highly concerning moral failure."
Dr. Steven Gaines (pictured), pastor of the church, has been attacked
for not taking action earlier. Gaines acknowledged learning of the
allegations in June of this year. While explaining that he thought the
issue had been resolved, Gaines said he kept the information private
because "the event occurred many years ago."
This past week, Gaines told his congregation that it was necessary to
address the church's lack of policies in such situations, so they may
"have some guidance in these areas should they occur in the future."
The move to have Williams placed on leave was not enough to satisfy the
president of the Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary. Dr. Michael
Spradlin said if Gaines was aware of the allegations and took no action,
he should leave the church. Spradlin told the Memphis Commercial Appeal
that:
"If Steve Gaines found out that a child had been sexually molested
by one of his ministers and if he did nothing to address it, then he
needs to step down immediately,"
"We cannot take chances with other people's children. If he knew
about this and kept quiet, then he's put Bellevue in a very dangerous
position and possibly put children and the emotionally vulnerable at
risk."
The same paper reports that while Williams has not been charged, the
church has placed him in a counseling program.
The Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary is located across the
street from Bellevue on land donated by the church.
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http://pageoneq.com/news/2006/sbc122006.html
--
John Hachmann aa #1782
"Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities"
-Voltaire
Contact - Throw a .net over the .com
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