Candidate for SBC president sparks storm by saying sexual abuse cases are a ‘distraction’ – Baptist News Global

In a six-man race for the presidency of the Southern Baptist Convention One candidate made headlines over the weekend for his stance on the 42 sexual abuse lawsuits reportedly pending against the denomination.

Critics pounced when David Allen, a seminary preaching professor, called these complaints a “distraction” from the gospel commandment.

This set off a chain of social media posts, mostly on X, in which Allen’s supporters and critics analyzed what he did or didn’t say.

Tiffany Thigpen, advocate for sexual abuse survivors shot back at We believe in God’s justice and mercy. Despite our suffering, we resort to preventing it from happening to others. We ARE service. We distract the show. That’s your problem.”

David Pittman, a survivor of clergy sexual abuse, tweeted: “Thank you for baring your heart by calling us a distraction.”

Allen’s defense attorneys included Mac Brunson, pastor of Valleydale Church in Pelham, Ala., where Allen preached last Sunday.

Brunson replied to Pittman: “This is disingenuous at best and a distortion of what he said. He explained very clearly that this was a problem that needed to be solved. Many, many are fed up with this kind of character assassination.”

In another post, Brunson said, “Yes, he used the word ‘distractions,’ but not for victims of sexual abuse.” He listed a few things. Honestly, it was distracting for 5 years to think about how to deal with it. No victim of sexual abuse is happy – not many others – with the way it was handled.”

In this regard, Allen said in Sunday’s sermon: “We have been trying to figure out how to deal with issues related to sexual abuse, how to deal with it and how to deal with it in a financially responsible way.” Many people are not aware of this – The Southern Baptist Convention, either individual leaders or organizations or state conventions, is currently embroiled in 42 lawsuits. It’s unbelievable and it puts a huge financial strain on our Executive Committee.

“We have to figure out how to get back on track and address the problem,” he continued. “There are also other problems that distract us from what is important. The main thing is missions, evangelism and the preaching of the gospel and church planting. That’s the main thing. All these other things are distractions. They need to be addressed. But we can’t allow ourselves to focus on all these other things and not focus on what’s important.”

Among Southern Baptists, evangelism and missions have historically been vital issues. But those staples haven’t been what the SBC is best known for lately, as the country’s largest Protestant denomination has been embroiled in allegations of a culture of cover-up of clergy sexual abuse while fighting to limit the role of women in church leadership .

Some critics find it ironic that the SBC wants to entrench the belief that women cannot be ordained as ministers or admitted as preachers, while at the same time failing to take seriously the numerous stories of women – and some men – serving in SBC churches were mistreated without consequences.

This isn’t Allen’s first brush with controversy. As a pastor in Texas, he was a member of the board of trustees that fired Russell Dilday as president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1994 – one of the turning points of the “conservative resurgence” in the SBC.

Later, as a professor at Southwestern University – where he was hired by one of the fired president’s successors – he was sharply criticized for appearing in a photo with four other white professors posing as black gang members.

After his presidential benefactor, Paige Patterson, was fired by the seminary’s trustees, Allen enraged then-President Adam Greenway by appearing at a preaching conference with Patterson-turned-president unwanted person for the way he mishandled allegations of sexual abuse on two seminar campuses.

Ultimately Greenway ousted Allen – which Allen publicly protested against. As a preaching coach and popular conference speaker, Allen has a large following. Within a year, Greenway was also forced out of the seminary.

Allen ended up at Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary in Memphis, where he is dean of the Adrian Rogers Center for Biblical Preaching.

As one of six candidates for SBC president when the convention meets in Indianapolis in June, Allen faces an uphill battle, statistically speaking. It would be highly unusual for a seminary professor to be elected president, as the vast majority of presidents are pastors of prestigious churches. His connection to Patterson could also be fraught, as younger pastors and church leaders appear ready to move beyond the “conservative resurgence” and move on from the controversial memory of both Patterson and his co-chairman Paul Pressler, the one Boys and young men are accused of sexual abuse.