With Friends Like These...
Last week's cover story detailed the Southern Baptist Convention's dismissive—and often uncaring—response to clergy sexual abuse. We have an interesting little twist to report, but first some background:
Our feature included tales of several fallen pastors, including that of the Rev. Darrell Gilyard, who was arrested and charged with lewd and lascivious conduct in January after a Florida woman told police that the pastor sent explicit text messages to her teenage daughter.
Paige Patterson, a former SBC president and current president of a Baptist seminary in Texas, has come under fire for his involvement with Gilyard, who Patterson mentored and promoted through the denomination's ranks. In the early '90s, several Texas women told The Dallas Morning News that Gilyard had abused them. But when they came to Patterson for help, the women said Patterson questioned the validity of their allegations and asked them to keep quiet. Even when Gilyard told Patterson that he had committed adultery, Patterson still didn't do much to warn Gilyard's future congregations of his young protégé's admitted indiscretions.
That code of silence isn't all that uncommon among SBC leaders.
The Scene also recounted the story of Paul Williams, a former minister of prayer at Bellevue Baptist Church near Memphis. In 2006 Williams told Bellevue senior pastor Steve Gaines that he molested his own son. Despite that confession, Gaines allowed Williams to remain on staff for months, keeping the transgression confidential until Williams' son came forward and asked why his father was able to continue working at the church. Even though Gaines admitted to keeping the abuse secret, he's still pastoring at Bellevue today.
It seems that Gaines, much like Patterson, took a licking and kept on ticking. Now, amid the allegations of impropriety and a general lack of pastoral care that have scarred both of their careers, Gaines and Patterson have found some common ground: They're lining up speaking gigs for each other.
Patterson trekked from Texas to Memphis to take the pulpit at yesterday's Sunday worship service at Bellevue (see Patterson's smiling face pictured in Bellevue's church program above). And word in the Baptist blogosphere is that Patterson will return the favor by having Gaines speak at his Texas seminary in April.
Comments
Really. I would love to hear how this goes down, when they are plotting and no one but God can hear them. Maybe they can hold each others hands in the afterlife...
Posted 02/19/2008 at 06:54:34 AMWhat a disgrace! Both of them should be locked up! Absolutely disgusting!
Posted 02/19/2008 at 08:54:29 AMThey are both walking around like bulls--in china shops. It is only as matter of time.They are educated enough on denial to know people are going to remain non-confrontational. Because it is too hard to talk about sexual abuse. KARMA gentlemen, KARMA.
Posted 02/19/2008 at 09:17:09 AMSteve Gaines is on borrowed time. The Bible has many stories of people who betray God and themselves by greed and lust. It will be dealt with in time, Gods time.
Posted 02/19/2008 at 04:49:22 PMI am at a loss for words.
Posted 02/19/2008 at 04:52:40 PM"Code of silence isn't all that uncommon among SBC leaders." That's a bit of an understatement in my experience. www.StopBaptistPredators.org
Posted 02/19/2008 at 05:27:54 PMSteve Gaines will continue to be dealt with in God's time and yes, Church money laundering is something that is destroying the Southern Baptist Convention. It appears that the SBC judges a pastor and his success on the number of people he packs in the pews and the number of speaking engagements he knocks down. This is wrong to the core. Preaching for money is a sin. Not living the Word that is preached is a sin. Too bad for Steve Gaines the number of empty seats continues to grow by the day. He's all about numbers when he can use it to his advantage but is mum lately on the numbers. It was wonderful to see 75% of the sanctuary empty when Paige Patterson spoke last Sunday. People are waking up and seeing these guys for who they are. It would be better for churches like Bellevue to be torn down than to deceive naive people.
Posted 02/21/2008 at 02:50:14 PMSteve Gaines is promoting Bellevue loves Memphis and God loves you just the way you are! Where was that love when he ran half the members away. I don't believe he really stands behind the above statements. One big fraud and shows no Wisdom from God at all.
Posted 02/22/2008 at 02:27:34 PMSteve Gaines inherited this Paul Williams situation from Adrian Rogers.
While Gaines erred in not comming forward for six months and should be held accountable, the real pervert here is not Gaines but Williams. Williams did his crime under the watchcare of Dr Rogers.
Posted 08/23/2008 at 09:40:51 PMCharles Page, SHAME on you! Paul Williams told Joyce Rogers that Adrian did not know about Paul's sinful situation. I know you know that.
I can tell you without stutter or stammer that if Adrian Rogers had ANY idea about his friend Paul's sin that it would have been dealt with immediately! The congregation under Dr. Rogers saw him handle this same type of sin 2 times (in the 10+ years I was there.) It was done on Sunday nights, with a brief synopsis explained to the church family, and the guilty parties were present to apologize and step down from their positions of leadership/ministry.
QUITE a difference from the way Mr. Gaines has waded through this situation. :o(
Home-discipleship is working just fine for our family. I get to kiss the preacher, and our kids don't mind at all! :o)
Posted 08/25/2008 at 12:17:45 AM