From the office of the pastor

During the Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting last year, messengers overwhelmingly voted to secure an outside firm to conduct a formal investigation of allegations of sexual abuse and coverup within the Southern Baptist Convention. The messengers further demanded that the results of this investigation be made public with no redactions and that this report be provided before the Annual Meeting this year.

The report was completed and made public two weeks ago, and it is worse than I could have imagined. It reveals a pattern of failure in the Southern Baptist Convention: failure to adequately address the issue of sexual abuse, and failure to deal with the survivors of that abuse lovingly and carefully. I was deeply grieved as I read the report and experienced a range of emotions from outrage to sorrow and then shame. This is not reflective of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and I know the heart of God is grieved also. The only right response is repentance, and repentance means change. I am convinced this is the response that the messengers will make.

The report does offer positive steps to address these issues and make sure that the future is different. I am encouraged that the messengers to the Convention are committed to getting this right and moving forward in a Godly fashion. It was those messengers that demanded this investigation and stood firm to say, “We don’t care what it takes to correct this, we will correct this.”

Southcliff is a part of the Southern Baptist Convention and cooperates with churches all over the globe to communicate the gospel of Jesus to the nations. We collectively send thousands of missionaries around the world, and we are involved in sharing the gospel through these partnerships. I am convinced that the vast majority of Southern Baptist pastors and missionaries are fully committed to the Gospel and are horrified by these findings. We can do better, we must, and I am convinced we will.

At Southcliff we are committed to the safety of our church family. This report has led us to revisit our practices to ensure that we are doing all we can to honor Christ and His people and provide a safe place for all. We are committed to providing an environment that is safe for any who have experienced sexual abuse and to provide support and help. We will not tolerate sexual abuse in any fashion.

Please be in prayer for me and other members of our staff as we attend the Annual Meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention next week.  Our fervent hope is to turn our grief and shame at these tragic events into real change and reconciliation that can only result from genuine repentance and love for those who have been hurt.

In His Grip,
Dr. Carroll Marr
Senior Pastor