By Lonnie Wilkey
[email protected]
FRANKLIN — Sexual abuse instances, as reported by The Houston Chronicle in February, “needed a bright light to be shined on it,” said Randy C. Davis, president and executive director of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board.
In his monthly podcast reflecting on what happened in convention life the previous month (Episode 25 of Radio B&R), Davis said the silver lining of the horrible news is that it has made churches more aware of the issue and that it needs to be addressed.
“I think the fact that any child is abused anywhere, under any circumstances, should grieve us all to the very core,” Davis said. “I think it is hellish. I think it is demonic. I think that the predator who does this kind of deed is going to attempt to go wherever there are children, including churches,” he noted.
Davis said it is imperative for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board to help churches be prepared to prevent sexual abuse. “If there is any kind of silver lining, it would be the awareness of churches to look inwardly at themselves to say, ‘Are we doing everything we can to be a safe place?’”
The TBMB leader stressed that the issue did not “catch us by surprise or off guard. It’s not like we’ve had to put together tools to help our churches become safer places.
“We’ve been doing that for probably 15 years in helping churches just go through a checklist of how to make their churches safe from the time you receive the child into your care, including doing background checks on your workers,” he added.
Davis said there are resources available on the Baptist and Reflector website (Sexual Abuse Resources). If churches follow those lists, “then they would absolutely become safer, if they’re not already doing the items that are on those checklists,” he observed.
Davis stressed that having policies in place not only protects the children, but also the church’s staff and volunteers. While the Houston Chronicle report focused on those who abused children, there are hundreds of thousands of people in churches across the Southern Baptist Convention, who minister to children every week.
“You do not want to put a good person in position of being falsely accused of something because of their lack of following protocol that keeps them safe,” Davis said. “It’s very important that we keep these volunteers who work with our children and youth equipped and knowledgeable to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.”
Davis also opined on the issue of protecting children and babies, citing abortion legislation in February by some states, including New York. It’s important for Christians to take a stand, he said.
There are two areas that need to be addressed, he noted. On one side is protecting children before they are born. “I thank God that in Tennessee our lawmakers are looking at certain bills to make that happen. We don’t know how those bills are going to flesh out, but some lawmakers are taking advantage of the Yes on 1 amendment to the state Constitution that Tennesseans adopted several years ago that enables the state to pass laws that protect life.”
On the other side of the issue is protecting children who have been born. “We need to be very involved in foster care, adoption and how we can pour our lives into children that are not cared for by society.”
Davis observed that the Tennessee Baptist Children’s Home has the favor of the state of Tennessee in placing children into foster care without receiving state funding. “{TBCH} now has helped churches who have members that have become equipped and trained in foster care. We have 80 children that are in foster care through Tennessee Baptist churches,” he said.
Davis also updated progress on several of the convention-adopted Five Objectives, including the Cooperative Program and the Golden Offering for Tennessee Missions. He noted new resources, including videos, are being developed to assist Tennessee Baptist churches in understanding “what it means to be a cooperating Baptist financially for reaching the world for Christ.”
Davis noted that in February Tennessee Baptists were very involved in disaster relief efforts across the country and that it will continue in March as well. Many areas of Tennessee were impacted by the flooding that occurred throughout the state in February and teams will be needed in the coming weeks to assist those whose homes were damaged, Davis said.
The TBMB leader stressed that the primary focus is,“how are we impacting this mission field called Tennessee with the gospel of Jesus Christ?”
He noted that February was a good reminder that there will always be “distractions,” whether they are natural or man-made. “We must stay focused on the Great Commission. There are always going to be things that will seek our attention more than what really needs our attention — and that is reaching Tennessee with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
“That’s what we’re going to do in March, like we were in February, in spite of everything going on around us — how we can serve our churches that are reaching people with the gospel.”