SBC President Rejects Litigation Rumors: 'There is no settlement with Dr. Johnny Hunt'

Southern Baptist President Clint Pressley has repudiated rumors that the SBC is poised to resolve a lawsuit with Johhny Hunt, writing on X that “despite what you may be hearing, there is no settlement with Dr. Johnny Hunt.”

Thirteen years ago, disgraced pastor and former SBC president Johnny Hunt engaged in what he describes as a “brief, consensual extramarital encounter,” and what the woman involved maintains was non-consensual sexual assault. His church was never told about the incident and he went through a secret restoration. It remained a secret for a decade until it was outed in the recent Guidepost investigation.

These allegations of sexual assault and revelation of (at the minimum) a “brief, consensual extramarital encounter” caused Hunt’s life and ministry to implode. He lost his job as VP at NAMB, was formally suspended from his position as Pastor Emeritus at First Baptist Church of Woodstock congregation, and was subject to great personal embarrassment.

Hunt later sued the SBC and Guidepost for labeling him as an abuser and making this public, saying that his sexual encounters were no one’s business but his own. In newly released court transcripts, Hunt insisted that while he may have been ‘unfaithful’ to his wife by kissing another woman’s breasts and pulling down her underwear, he did not commit adultery, as no penetration took place.

The rumors of a settlement came after the SBC announced they were selling off their famed downtown Nashville headquarters, which was appraised at $31.7M, to help pay off sexual abuse claims and costs.

As @sbclitigation points out, however: