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The Southern Baptist Convention, America’s largest Protestant denomination, has faced years of reputational damage after a 2022 report alleged widespread sexual abuse in its churches. Now, after a three-year federal probe, the Justice Department has closed the case without filing any charges, casting serious doubt on the leaders who fuelled the controversy.

In May 2022, the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), America’s largest Protestant denomination, found itself at the centre of a firestorm following the release of a bombshell report by investigative firm Guidepost Solutions.

Commissioned by the SBC to investigate how its Executive Committee (EC) handled sexual abuse allegations, the report alleged over 700 cases of abuse involving more than 400 individuals across the SBC’s sprawling network of approximately 47,000 churches, and covering a 21-year period.

The findings appeared to be damning: the EC was accused of maintaining a secret list of abusers, failing to act decisively on reports of abuse, and mistreating survivors who came forward to share their stories.

In a lengthy column for Christianity Today, Russell Moore, a former high-ranking SBC leader who had recently left the denomination, called the revelations not just a “crisis” but an “apocalypse”. He wondered aloud “how many children were raped, how many people were assaulted, how many screams were silenced”. Moore even suggested that the EC’s actions might constitute a “criminal conspiracy.”

Moore’s words, penned at the peak of the #MeToo movement, coupled with the report’s damning conclusions, set off a media feeding frenzy and led to a Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation launched in August 2022. Moore’s rhetoric even fuelled speculation that the DOJ probe could uncover a racketeering-style operation within the SBC. What followed was a nearly three-year saga that stretched the SBC’s resilience, finances, and reputation to breaking point.

Then, in a surprising turn last week, the Department of Justice notified Southern Baptist Convention attorneys that it had closed its investigation into the SBC and its entities, with no sexual abuse-related charges filed.

Now, the focus has shifted to Russell Moore and his allies who pushed the misleading narrative, with questions being asked about their motives and credibility.

The Guidepost Report and Its Immediate Fallout

The Guidepost report, released on May 22, 2022, was the result of a seven-month investigation prompted by SBC delegates at the 2021 annual meeting.

The decision to hire an independent firm came amid claims from survivors and advocates that the denomination had failed to address sexual abuse adequately. The report’s findings appeared to validate those concerns, detailing a litany of failures by the Executive Committee.

It alleged that EC leaders had prioritised protecting the institution over supporting victims, often dismissing or intimidating survivors who sought help. One particularly explosive claim was that the EC had maintained a confidential list of accused abusers — compiled over years by staffer Augie Boto — but had taken no meaningful steps to warn churches or protect congregants.

The media response was swift and unrelenting. Outlets such as The Washington Post, The New York Times, and CNN ran extensive coverage, framing the SBC as a denomination plagued by systemic abuse and a culture of cover-up.

Commentators like David French, writing for The Atlantic, likened the SBC to a diseased orchard, suggesting that the problem was not just a few isolated incidents but a pervasive rot within the organisation.

Advocates for reform, including Rachael Denhollander — a prominent attorney and abuse survivor who advised the SBC’s task force — seized the moment to demand sweeping changes. Denhollander, though not an SBC member, called for a public database of abusers, arguing that transparency was essential to prevent predators from moving undetected between churches. Her involvement raised questions about the influence of external voices on an internal denominational matter.

Russell Moore’s reaction amplified the controversy further. Having resigned as president of the SBC’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) in 2021 amid tensions with conservative factions, Moore had already become a polarising figure. His leaked letters, published by outlets like Religion News Service, accused EC leaders of stonewalling abuse investigations.

Critics of Moore, such as William Wolfe and Jon Whitehead of the Center for Baptist Leadership, raised concerns at the time that Moore crafted his letters with the intention of leaking them, in an act of “premeditated revenge against his enemies in the SBC”. He did so, they argued, to garner sympathy from secular media and progressive circles and salvage his own reputation. Their central concern that Moore’s claims lacked substantiation now appears to have been thoroughly vindicated.

A Closer Look at the Data

Despite the alarming headlines, a deeper analysis of the Guidepost report’s data painted a more complex picture. The 700 allegations spanned 21 years across a denomination with an estimated 100,000 to 150,000 staffers and volunteers — pastors, youth ministers, and other workers — serving in some 47,000 churches.

Demographer Lyman Stone, interviewed by Megan Basham of The Daily Wire, noted that this translated to a surprisingly low rate of abuse compared to the general U.S. population, where sex offender statistics suggest an almost tenfold higher incidence.

“If you wanted to argue that based on this report, executives of the SBC mismanaged the cases that were brought to them, then fine,” Stone explained. “But if you want to say this shows that [the Southern Baptist Convention] is corrupt, hypocritical, and rife with sexual abuse — the report doesn’t demonstrate that.”

Notably, only two of the 700 cases involved current SBC workers at the time of the investigation, suggesting that the problem was nowhere near as widespread or ongoing as the media narrative implied.

The report’s methodology also drew scrutiny. Guidepost relied heavily on survivor testimonies and media reports, often accepting allegations at face value without independent verification. This approach led to inconsistencies, particularly in high-profile cases that became emblematic of the crisis.

The Case of Jennifer Lyell and David Sills

One such case involved Jennifer Lyell, a former vice president at the SBC’s Lifeway Christian Resources, and David Sills, a former professor at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS).

In 2019, Lyell publicly accused Sills of sexually abusing her over a 12-year period, beginning in 2004 when she was a 26-year-old seminary student. Her story gained national attention at a time when the #MeToo movement was highly influential, and the Guidepost report cited it as a key example of abuse within the SBC, claiming her account was “corroborated.”

However, in her investigation of the case, Basham discovered that the basis for this corroboration was thin — primarily resting on statements from SBTS president Albert Mohler and others who believed Lyell, rather than on substantial evidence or legal findings.

Sills, who resigned from SBTS in 2018 amid the allegations, was never contacted by Guidepost investigators, a fact that also raised questions about the report’s fairness.

Police departments in Louisville and Jefferson Town, Kentucky — where the alleged abuse occurred — reported no records of Lyell’s claims when queried by investigators or journalists. Former colleagues, including Old Testament professor Russell Fuller and Pastor Thomas Winn, defended Sills, describing him as a reserved, non-confrontational man whose character seemed at odds with Lyell’s portrayal of him as a predatory abuser. Fuller, who had observed Lyell and Sills together in public, recalled their interactions as consensual and affectionate, not coercive.

Despite these discrepancies, the Guidepost report labeled Sills an “abuser” without the qualifier “alleged” — a decision that had the effect of undermining due process.

The DOJ Investigation and Its Outcome

The DOJ launched its investigation in August 2022, examining whether the SBC and its entities — including the Executive Committee, seminaries, and mission boards — had engaged in a systemic cover-up of abuse.

For over two and a half years, federal authorities combed through records, interviewed witnesses, and subpoenaed documents. The probe was exhaustive, but on March 12, 2025, the DOJ announced its closure with no sexual abuse-related charges filed against the SBC or its national entities.

The sole conviction was that of Matt Queen, a former professor at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, who pleaded guilty to making false statements to the FBI about an unrelated incident involving a document he claimed to have drafted. Queen received a year of supervised release and a $2,000 fine — a far cry from the systemic conspiracy Moore had alleged.

The financial cost to the SBC was staggering. The EC alone spent over $2 million on legal fees related to the DOJ inquiry, while the total expense of the Guidepost investigation, legal defences, and related efforts exceeded $14 million. These funds, drawn from congregational giving, diverted resources from missions and ministry, leaving many SBC leaders and members frustrated.

Reactions and Reassessments

The investigation’s shock verdict has prompted a wave of reactions, particularly on social media platforms like X.

Summarising the saga, SBC Pastor Denny Burk wrote, “So here’s the bottom line on the SBC abuse ‘crisis.’ There wasn’t one.”

“The problem here is not with the good intentions of Southern Baptist messengers who were doing their level best to address a problem that was presented to them,” he continued. “The problem is with the misinformation they were given about a “crisis” that in the end no one can find any evidence for.”

Colin Smothers, a leader prominent in SBC circles, mourned that, “Besides the issue of women pastors and the Law Amendment, the accusation of systemic abuse has been the most significant issue Southern Baptists have faced over the last decade.”

“And it was all based on false premises from bad actors. We were misled, and it has cost us millions.”

In particular, critics of Moore have suggested personal vendetta as a motivating factor. His exit from the SBC had been contentious, marked by clashes with conservative leaders and behind-the-scenes manoeuvres to replace them with his own friends and allies, even as he exited the denomination.

“Today’s announcement proves more than ever that Moore was seeking revenge,” wrote Jon Whitehead. “It was demagoguery, plain and simple.”

Megan Basham argued that the purpose of the entire furore “was to allow Russell Moore (aided by @jdgreear @griffingulledge @deaninserra @bartbarber and Grant Gaines) to exact revenge on his political enemies, and to replace the former members of the executive committee, who were strong conservatives.”

“The lie continues to unravel,” charged Rod Martin, a former member of the SBC Executive Committee who was a target of Russell Moore’s cover-up accusations.

“It was all a @drmoore lie, concocted to get revenge on @ronniefloyd, @PastorMikeStone, and others like myself. There was never any truth in it. But it was certainly successful in helping Russell’s friends take over.”

“It’s one of the most shameful episodes in our history,” he added. “The investigation that was ‘for sure this time’ going to catch all those terrible conservatives is indeed closed. And everything the ‘advocates’ told you about it was bunk.”

In the end, the SBC saga was a sobering lesson about the power of unchecked narratives, the perils of rushed judgment, and the immense damage caused by innuendo.

As the dust settles, the SBC faces the difficult task of rebuilding trust, reaffirming its commitment to truth and justice, and ensuring that future calls for reform are guided by facts rather than fear.

It goes without saying that allegations of sexual abuse must be taken seriously, claims properly investigated, and perpetrators brought to justice. Among the many lessons learned by the SBC are the importance of establishing a transparent reporting system, training leaders to handle abuse claims justly, and balancing compassion with due process. In short, the denomination must protect victims even as it prevents unjust reputational harm.

As the denomination heals from the damage inflicted, the greatest challenge of all will be to refocus on what really matters — its mission to impact the whole world with the Good News of Jesus Christ.

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