Was Joshua McDonald Listed in SBC Guidepost Abuse Report?
On Aug. 5, 2014, a jury convicted Joshua Luke McDonald, a youth minister at the First Baptist Church in Bridge City, TX, of a series of six separate charges of sexual assault on a child. Records show that some of the incidents occurred inside the church where he was employed at the time. He is currently serving a 30-year prison sentence in Texas.
SBC Investigation Report
According to the Washington Post, a 300-page report was launched on Sunday, May 22, 2022. The report contains horrifying new information regarding specific abuse instances and sheds light on how denominational authorities actively opposed abuse prevention and change for decades.
Southern Baptist Convention leaders have revealed a comprehensive and independent 3rd party investigation that found that abusers were often overlooked, forgotten, or even condemned by upper-level church authorities from within this religious denomination of more than 16 million people. Additionally, it disclosed these leaders often deceived their own members to avoid them from understanding the unchecked sexual misconduct.
Click to continue reading more on the SBC Investigation Report
A Record of Dismissed Mishandling
The report asserts that a senior Southern Baptist leader was credibly accused of sexual assault merely one month after finishing his two-year duration as the convention’s president. Furthermore, Johnny Hunt, a well-known Georgia Southern Baptist preacher and senior vice president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s missions arm, was credibly accused of assaulting a female during a 2010 trip in Panama City Beach, Florida. The North American Mission Board president declared he was unaware of the accusations prior to Hunt resigning on May thirteenth. The report additionally names 3 previous presidents of the convention, a former vice president, and the former head of the SBC’s administrative arm as prominent SBC officials who helped in covering and even motivated suspected abusers.
One victim outlined being treated with hostility as she claimed she was sexually abused by a youth pastor. The implicated pastor served in multiple Southern Baptist churches in numerous states. At a meeting with the SBC leaders in 2007, a member of the Exec Council “turned his back to her during her speech and another chortled.”
Accountability in the Southern Baptist Convention
Russell Moore, the previous head of the SBC’s policy branch, the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, specified ‘this is not all Southern Baptists, take a look at all the good we do.’ The sensational report demonstrates a pattern of stonewalling, retaliation, intimidation, and coverup.” He desires this report will deliver much-needed change and hold those responsible for their sexual assault.
The document asserts that a major Southern Baptist official was credibly accused of sexual abuse no more than 1 month after completing his two-year spell as the convention’s president. The report also names three prior presidents of the convention, a former vice president, and the former head of the SBC’s administrative council as renowned SBC leaders who helped in protecting and even encouraged presumed abusers.
To learn more about resources available for survivors in Texas, visit this page: https://abuseguardian.com/sexual-assault-lawyer/texas/sex-trauma-therapist-tx/
Abuse Guardian for Texas
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