Nightmare Scenario! SBC Plans To Spend $3M of *Cooperative Funds* on Sex Abuse Legal Bills
In fulfillment of years of warnings from prescient Southern Baptists that caving to the emotional manipulation and blackmail from bad faith actors about sexual abuse from within the SBC would be disastrous, yesterday, the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee members approved their 2025-2026 Cooperative Program allocation budget. This budget includes $3 million set aside in “priority allocation” to pay for anticipated legal costs related to defending against sex abuse cases in the coming year, with another anticipated $3 million for the year after, a whopping $18 million in funds spent or allocated for the foreseeable future.
Though led to believe that sexual abuse was a massive crisis in the SBC, which boasts 47,000 churches, new numbers show this not to have been the case. After creating a sex abuse hotline in early May 2022, the number received 1008 contacts, with 458 alleging abuse inside SBC churches, going back an indeterminate amount of time. While any abuse is a tragedy, this still represents less than 1% of churches. Of those less than 1% of claims, it is not known how many are legitimate claims of sexual abuse.
Iorg notes that the bulk of these contacts came in the first four months to address a backlog of concerns. Regarding ongoing reporting, in the last two years, they have averaged around seven abuse claims per month, representing 0.0014% of SBC churches, assuming one complaint per church. Similarly, it is unknown how many of those claims are legitimate and involve actual abuse.
Speaking to members, SBC Executive Committee President Jeff Iorg explains:
In 2021, the Southern Baptist Convention adopted a consequential motion with several components. First, the messengers commissioned an independent investigation of the Executive Committee’s handling of sexual abuse allegations. Second, the Executive Committee was instructed to surrender attorney-client privilege related to the investigation. Third, the motion called for the investigation and its aftermath to be paid for with Cooperative Program funds. As the Executive Committee implemented this motion, the controversial subject matter coupled with waiving privilege and significant pressure from some leaders resulted in the Executive Committee indemnifying the investigator Guidepost Solutions.
These decisions were controversial at the time, resulting in resignations by Executive Committee members and Executive Committee staff. Some voices objected to Cooperative Program funds being used as included in the motion. The executive committee made a good-faith effort to respond to those concerns and protect the Cooperative Program by paying the costs from their reserves, which were about $14 million at the time.
Now, four years later, we know the financial cost of those decisions. Through December 2024, the Executive Committee has spent just over $13 million to fulfill the directives of the original motion and the results. To do this, the Executive Committee has reduced staff- now down to 22 full-time employees- cut programs, curtailed expenses, and spent its unrestricted reserves, which are now about $1 million. For the current fiscal year, the Executive Committee is working to secure a $3 million loan to meet its financial obligations.
Looking ahead, we anticipate at least another $3 million in legal expenses next year as we defend against multiple lawsuits resulting from the decisions made in 2021. And since we cannot predict the outcome or timeline for these legal processes, we do not know the total legal expenses we may face over the next few years.
But here is our present reality: decisions were made by the messengers in 2021. Those decisions have consequences. Those consequences have costs. And those bills are due, and they must be paid.
The pressing question then is how do we fund an estimated $3 million in additional legal expenses in the 25-26 SBC and EC operating budgets?
One possible answer is to sell the SBC building in Nashville. We are currently marketing the building for sale for $35 million. We do not know if or when the building will sell. However, we still must have a definitive alternative.
For that reason, we’re recommending a $190 million Cooperative Program budget for 25-26, with a $3 million priority allocation for SBC legal expenses and other costs associated with that original motion.
This is a controversial and difficult recommendation to make. No mission-centered Southern Baptist wants to take this action. I don’t. You don’t. No one does. But we have exhausted other definitive options. We have used the Executive Committee reserves. We have cut staff and programs. We have borrowed money, and we are attempting to sell our building.
We have reached a point where the instructions from the original motion must now be implemented, directly paying for the investigation and its results with Cooperative Program funds.
Regarding just a few of the implications, reporter Liam Adams notes:
Wide-eyed Southern Baptists who saw this train wreck coming have suggestions of where these funds should come from, with many calling out SBC pastor Grant Gaines.
Gaines famously platformed a teary-eyed Hannah Kate Williams at the denomination’s general conference, (a woman who has alleged she is a victim of SBC sexual abuse despite being no evidence that she ever was, and who is embroiled in a controversy after her good friend made some serious allegations against her) and ultimately convinced the convention to open up Pandora’s box. This resulted in a series of reckless actions, which included the SBC waiving attorney-client privilege and indemnifying Guidepost- actions which prompted multiple EC members, officers, staff members, and even the denomination’s legal counsel of 56 years to resign.
And lastly, a great suggestion of where the SCB can find the money to pay for this:
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