Readers new to “abuse survivor blogs” may not be aware, but there is a huge reservoir of research and resource material from abuse survivors, advocates, and activists that corroborates the “Abuse of Faith” series. This page compiles background resources to all the situations and stories covered in the first article of the “Abuse of Faith” series from the Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News.
Putting this out there helps show the continuity and solidarity of survivor communities. It also reinforces that the investigative journalists did an exceptional job in piecing together a mosaic of personal stories and institutional responses that help us grasp the big picture of the deep and long-term problems with abuse and concealment in the Southern Baptist Convention.
This resource bibliography prepared by brad/futuristguy, and is cross-posted at Futuristguy.
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Houston Chronicle/San Antonio Express-News
“ABUSE OF FAITH” SERIES – PART 1 OF 3
Abuse of Faith 20 years, 700 victims: Southern Baptist sexual abuse spreads as leaders resist reforms, by Robert Downen, Lise Olsen, and John Tedesco. Multimedia by Jon Shapley Article design by Jordan Rubio and Jasmine Goldband. (February 10, 2019; Houston Chronicle and the San Antonio Express-News).
CONTACT LINK TO SHARE YOUR STORY – CONVICTED OFFENDER DATABASE
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/local/investigations/abuse-of-faith/
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“Abuse of Faith” Series:
Article 1 of 3 – Resource Links
My hope for this page is that it serves as a reader’s guide to additional research materials on crucial problems in the Southern Baptist Convention.
I am listing the key individuals, institutions, and specific situations in the order they first appear in the article. NOTE: I do not repeat headings or resources if that person, organization, or situation appears again in a later section. There may be no additional research sources listed under a particular heading, but I’ve included the heading in case resources become known.
I am drawing from primary sources wherever possible, analysis mainly from the survivor community blogs and websites, and other resources from conventional news agency websites. Survivor blogs bring two unique features to the table, which can especially benefit us in doing further research:
- Most of the writers I reference have been tracking abuse issues in Christian settings for at least 10 years.
- Most of their blogs allow for commenting, which offers us a range of responses, including from people who are survivors, advocates, pastors, professionals, contrarians, and outright trolls.
For this link list, I’ve drawn mostly from the following blogs:
- Istoria Ministries Blog / Wade Burleson.
- Spiritual Sounding Board / Julie Anne Smith.
- Stop Baptist Predators / Christa Brown.
- The Wartburg Watch / Dee Parsons and Deb Martin.
- Watchkeep / Amy Smith. (Check the chronological archives at Watchkeep, as this blog does not use category/tag systems, but Amy Smith has written extensively on specific situations in the SBC.)
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The Article’s Opening Section
DEBBIE VASQUEZ – DALE AMYX
Spiritual Sounding Board – Debbie Vasquez (name search).
For details on the story of Debbie Vasquez, see this Twitter thread from Wade Mullen that begins here:
HEATHER SCHNEIDER – GWEN CASADOS (Heather’s Mother) – SECOND BAPTIST CHURCH OF HOUSTON
No links yet.
DAVID PITTMAN
The Wartburg Watch – David Pittman (name search; article mentions him and his ministry to male survivors of sexual abuse): The New Church Militant: Why the Wheat Summit on Sex Abuse is Doomed Before It Even Starts.
AUGUST “AUGIE” BOTO (Interim President of the SBC’s Executive Committee in 2008)
According to the article, he “helped draft the rejection of reform proposals in 2008.”
Stop Baptist Predators – Augie Boto (summary and links).
Houston Chronicle – Investigation into sexual abuse ‘shining the light of day upon crime,’ Southern Baptist leader says, by Robert Downen and John Tedesco (Houston Chronicle; February 9, 2019).
The Wartburg Watch – August “Augie” Boto (name search).
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‘A porous sieve’
CHRISTA BROWN – STOP BAPTIST PREDATORS (Website) – THIS LITTLE LIGHT (Book)
Christa Brown’s pioneering, now archived, site Stop Baptist Predators focused on Southern Baptist Convention abuse issues and details of various ministers who were “convicted, confessed, or credibly accused” of sexual misconduct.
This Little Light: Beyond a Baptist Preacher Predator and His Gang, by Christa Brown (2009; Foremost Press).
Istoria Ministries Blog – Christa Brown (name search).
The Wartburg Watch – Christa Brown (name search).
Spiritual Sounding Board – Christa Brown (name search).
BAPTIST GENERATION CONVENTION OF TEXAS – 2007 LIST
No links yet.
REV. THOMAS DOYLE (Catholic Whistle-Blower and Abuse Prevention Advocate)
No links yet.
FRANK PAGE (Former SBC President; Resigned March 27, 2018)
Stop Baptist Predators – Frank Page (summary and links).
Istoria Ministries Blog – Frank Page (name search).
The Wartburg Watch – Frank Page (name search).
Spiritual Sounding Board – Frank Page (name search).
Spiritual Sounding Board – Frank Page (name search).
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Offenders return to preach
J.D. GREEAR (Current SBC President)
Istoria Ministries Blog – J.D. Greear (name search).
The Wartburg Watch – J.D. Greear (name search).
Spiritual Sounding Board – J.D. Greear (name search).
CHART: Trouble at the Top
- Steve Gaines
- Paige Patterson and Jerry Vines – Darrell Gilyard
- Edwin Young – John Forse and Chad Foster
- Paul Pressler
- Frank S. Page
Istoria Ministries Blog – Steve Gaines (name search).
The Wartburg Watch – Steve Gaines (name search).
Spiritual Sounding Board – Steve Gaines (name search).
The Wartburg Watch – Chad Foster (name search).
LESLIE MASON, MICHAEL LEATHERS (Whistle-Blower), GLENN AKIN (SBC State Interim Executive Director)
No links yet.
MICHAEL LEE JONES, JOSEPH S. RATLIFF
No links yet.
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‘A known problem’
WADE BURLESON – ISTORIA MINISTRIES BLOG
SBC pastor and former International Mission Board trustee Wade Burleson has blogged extensively about abuse issues in the SBC, including extensively about situations involving Paige Patterson. He has been blogging since 2005. His Istoria Ministries Blog does not have categories and tags, but does have a search function and an expandable archive list (by year, then month, then post title).
The Wartburg Watch – Wade Burleson (name search).
Spiritual Sounding Board – Wade Burleson (name search).
ED YOUNG – HOUSTON’S SECOND BAPTIST CHURCH – JOHN FORSE (Abuser of Heather Schneider)
Istoria Ministries Blog – Ed Young (name search).
Spiritual Sounding Board – Ed Young (name search).
1992 – NEIL MARTIN (Lawyer for SBC)
According to the article, “First Baptist Church of Conroe of continuing to employ Riley Edward Cox Jr. as a youth pastor after a family said that he had molested their child. In a court filing, Cox admitted to molesting three boys in the late 1980s.”
No links yet.
PAUL PRESSLER – HOUSTON’S SECOND BAPTIST CHURCH
Istoria Ministries Blog – Paul Pressler (name search).
The Wartburg Watch – Paul Pressler (name search).
Spiritual Sounding Board – Paul Pressler (name search).
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‘Break her down’
PAIGE PATTERSON – DARRELL GILYARD – TIFFANY THIGPEN – JERRY VINES
Links to posts, summaries, resource lists on Paige Patterson:
Stop Baptist Predators – Paige Patterson (summary and links).
FBC Jax Watchdog – Paige Patterson. (name search).
Spiritual Sounding Board – Resource Links, Part 1 – April 28 through May 22. Historical background resources, audiofile transcript, news articles and social media responses from April 28-May 22.
Spiritual Sounding Board – Resource Links, Part 2 – May 23-28. News articles and social media responses.
Spiritual Sounding Board – Resource Links, Part 3 – May 29 through June 3. News articles and social media responses.
Spiritual Sounding Board – Resource Links, Part 4 – June. Focus on statements and news articles related to topical and institutional issues in advance of the SBC annual meeting of June 11-12.
Istoria Ministries Blog – Paige Patterson (name search).
The Wartburg Watch – Paige Patterson (name search).
Links to posts, summaries, resource lists on Jerry Vines:
Stop Baptist Predators – Jerry Vines (summary and links).
FBC Jax Watchdog – Jerry Vines (name search).
Istoria Ministries Blog – Jerry Vines (name search).
The Wartburg Watch – Jerry Vines (name search).
Spiritual Sounding Board – Paige Patterson (category).
Links to posts, summaries, resource lists on Darrell Gilyard:
FBC Jax Watchdog – Darrell Gilyard (name search).
Stop Baptist Predators – Former Jacksonville pastor now a registered sex offender, Florida Times-Union, 1/3/2012 (Darrell Gilyard).
Stop Baptist Predators – Clergy sex offender released from prison, ABP, 1/4/2012 (Darrell Gilyard).
Stop Baptist Predators – Gilyard hasn’t ruled out starting new church, ABP, 1/6/2012 (Darrell Gilyard).
Stop Baptist Predators – Kids turned away from church, News4Jax, 2/19/12 (Darrell Gilyard preaching yet again in an SBC church).
Stop Baptist Predators – Children turned away from church while sex-offender preaches, ABP, 2/21/12 (Darrell Gilyard).
Istoria Ministries Blog – Darrell Gilyard (name search).
The Wartburg Watch – Darrell Gilyard (name search).
Spiritual Sounding Board – Darrell Gilyard (name search).
Links to posts, summaries, resource lists on Tiffany Thigpen:
Istoria Ministries Blog – Tiffany Thigpen (name search).
For details on her experiences, see the Twitter thread from Tiffany Thigpen that begins here:
Other articles, news, etc.
Stop Baptist Predators – Two SBC presidents knew a lot, but what did they do? (December 26, 2007).
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‘Lethal’ abuse
HARVEY ROSENSTOCK (Houston Psychiatrist)
No links yet.
RAY HARRELL
No links yet.
ANNE MARIE MILLER – MARK ADERHOLT – INTERNATIONAL MISSION BOARD
Anne Marie Miller was reportedly the victim of sexual misconduct by Mark Aderholt, an SBC church minister who was later an SBC missionary and denominational leader. The #SBCToo hashtag campaign on Twitter apparently started April 28, 2018, following the detailed reports of abuse of power by Paige Patterson. It picked up significant pace and intensity with the approach of the SBC annual meeting (June 12-13, 2018), their resolution on abuse, the publication of two survivors’ experiences of SBC clergy sexual misconduct: Jules Woodson and Anne Marie Miller, and the publicity of these SBC situations via such sites as For Such A Time As This SBC Rally 2018 and Justice For Anne.
For Such A Time As This Rally website and Twitter account,
Justice for Anne [Marie Miller] website and Twitter account.
The Wartburg Watch – Anne Marie Miller (name search).
The Wartburg Watch – Mark Aderholt (name search).
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ADDITIONAL RESEARCH TOPICS
HISTORICAL SOURCES – #MeToo
The “Me Too” movement was begun in 2006 by Tarana Burke, as documented on its website, and in this New York Times article: The Woman Who Created #MeToo Long Before Hashtags, by Sandra E. Garcia (October 20, 2017). It was picked up in late 2017 as the #MeToo hashtag campaign on social media, in the wake of a series of reports and revelations by survivors of sexual and power abuse by Harvey Weinstein and others.
Likewise, the #ChurchToo hashtag and campaign have a history. It goes back to about November 2017, when first used by Hannah Paasch and Emily Joy, as documented in their podcast with Exvangelical podcast host Blake Chastain: Ep. 59: #ChurchToo with Hannah Paasch & Emily Joy (December 6, 2017).
The #SBCToo hashtag campaign on Twitter apparently started April 28, 2018, following the detailed reports of abuse of power by Paige Patterson. It picked up significant pace and intensity with the approach of the SBC annual meeting (June 12-13, 2018), their resolution on abuse, the publication of two survivors’ experiences of SBC clergy sexual misconduct: Jules Woodson and Anne Marie Miller, and the publicity of these SBC situations via such sites as For Such A Time As This SBC Rally 2018 and Justice For Anne.
Other denominations and organizations have also adapted the #MeToo hashtag campaign to their institution.
(This material previously published in the futuristguy blog post, Forty Years of Trends Leading to #MeToo, #ChurchToo, and #SBCToo (September 25, 2018).
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J.D. GREEAR PRESIDENT’S STUDY GROUP ON SEXUAL ABUSE
This series of press releases and articles comes from the of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the SBC.
Southern Baptist Convention president announces formation of Sexual Abuse Presidential Study Group, by Elizabeth Bristow (July 26, 2018).
Four updates on the Sexual Abuse Presidential Study Group, by Phillip Bethancourt (September 19, 2018).
An update on the Presidential Study on Sexual Abuse, by Phillip Bethancourt (January 14, 2019).
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SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION – SURVIVOR BLOGGER CATEGORIES/TAGS – MISCELLANEOUS MATERIALS
The Wartburg Watch – Southern Baptist Convention (category).
The Wartburg Watch – Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (category).
Spiritual Sounding Board – Southern Baptist Convention (category).
Here is a Twitter thread from Wade Mullen in July 2018, in the aftermath of the annual SBC meeting — plus a question that emerged today as a result of Wade retweeting part of the thread.
Spiritual Sounding Board 
My family had plenty to say when I left the SBC for a cult. This Houston Chronicle investigation isn’t sitting well with them. If this organization can’t move heaven and Earth to protect “the least of these,” then perhaps they’ve built on a faulty foundation. Here’s their come to Jesus moment. Let’s hope they do.
My heart is with all those victimized within and by the SBC.
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I read the article this morning. All my adjectives seem inadequate. But as I said someplace else, if there was a will to protect congregants from abusers, then they would have done it. Sadly most times, people are more concerned with protecting the institution rather than the people.
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When I was 19 I told my mother that someone very close to our family sexually abused me the first ten years of my life. She became furious with me that I would have the nerve to mention it. She told me it happened a very long time ago and to get over it.
She too was sexually abused as a young girl. Once by a Catholic uncle and another time by a fourteen-year-old boy that went to her church. After growing up in the Southern Baptist Convention she knew it is not allowed to be talked about. It definitely shouldn’t be against the law.
When I was thirteen my father told me rape is not that big of a deal. His father was a Southern Baptist preacher.
I was sexually abused as a little girl by an extremely misogynistic southern baptist man. He had an obsession with the bible verses that talk about women being submissive to their husbands.
Of all the perverts, pedophiles, child molesters, and rapist I knew and heard about growing up not one of them ever had the police called on them. And everyone knew all about it. They continued to get invited everywhere and have their @sses kissed. Why? Because the Southern Baptist Convention culture is about worshiping men and making men feel elevated above women and children. There the worst man is superior and more entitled than the best child or best woman. In the Southern Baptist Convention women and children treated as subhuman.
In the Southern Baptist Convention wife beating, child beating, wife raping, child raping, sexually harassing women, and sexually harassing children is normal. What one can’t do is tell their father or husband no. We can not tell any man no. All men deserve to have their egos stroked by women and children.
My childhood and my mother’s whole life was toxic misery because of the selfish male worshipping culture at the Southern Baptist Convention. For these disgusting know-nothing selfish men to conclude they are better than Muslim men is absurd.
I tell everybody that Southern Baptist men are resentful that anyone thinks child abuse, child raping, wife beating, and wife raping is very bad. It is well past time for Southern Baptist fathers and husbands to live in shame and fear. These self-worshipers are embarrassing.
I have never known a Southern Baptist man that was not a racist, a misogynist, or a rube. All have obviously believed that it is women and children’s job to hurt to make men feel good.
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Your comment was difficult to read, Christianity Hurts. I’m so sorry about the pain you have incurred by people who knew better, but decided to harm you instead. It is shameful!
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Christianity Hurts
I am hoping that you have been able to get therapy have found some comfort with friends and relatives now. Also hope that you are away from the place you were raised in and away from toxic people.
It must be very triggering with all these stories coming now -but know you are not alone and a lot of people do care and are starting to do something about these abuses.
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