KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — On Sunday, an outside firm released its nearly 300-page investigation into the Southern Baptist Convention.
It said abuse allegations were "ignored, disbelieved or met with constant refrain" by top leaders for decades, partially because of the denomination's autonomous structure.
The report was commissioned by the executive committee to look at where the SBC fell short and how the SBC can move forward.
"I was shocked and saddened by the way that SBC leaders have denied, dismissed, ignored and deflected claims of sexual abuse," said Senior Pastor Brent McDougal of First Baptist Church Knoxville. "It's so critical that every church seeks to be a safe space."
The report suggests a number of changes like keeping track of offenders, alerting the community to them and providing resources for training and education.
"This is not the time to think that everything is done," said McDougal. "This is just the beginning point of what needs to happen through this wake-up call."
He said there are a number of safeguards in place at First Baptist Church Knoxville so something similar can't happen.
"We have safe practices such as background checks, as well as policies around how many adults can be around children," he said. "We have all sorts of ways in which we really seek to keep children and youth safe."
Central Baptist Bearden also said they have strict policies in place to protect children and churchgoers.
"We have great leadership who decided this kind of thing cannot happen," said Senior Pastor Wade Bibb. "Even those who've done background checks and child protection training, every few years, we do it again with all of them."
He said he was deeply disappointed to read the extent of the allegations listed in the new report.
"It just breaks your heart to think about children that were taken advantage of or abused by someone in a position where they were to be trusted," Bibb said. "There's not a top-down structure denominationally that has control of all the churches, so there's going to have to be some hard work to create some policies. And it just has to happen."
Phil Young is the director of missions for the Knox County Association of Baptists. He also said the findings are deeply troubling and heartbreaking.
"Actions such as this are inexcusable. The report not only addresses serious issues that demand resolution, but also identifies specific recommendations that lead toward reform," he said. "Southern Baptist messengers will meet again in just a couple of weeks to respond to the findings and act upon the recommendations in this report. It is my prayer that the response will be prayerful and thoughtful, honoring to God and to all who have suffered from this abuse and neglect."