Photo by Karen Race Photography 2019. The police issue is difficult because this would have been a call to the local SBTS area police in 2018. Here's how. She describes being shocked and blaming herself despite that she had not initiated the encounter. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Mohler should have said, Now, Jennifer, thats not a promise I can make you like, we need to do whats right for the kingdom, Lyell said. Louisvilles Ninth and O Baptist Church told BP it is the congregation referenced in Lyells statement. Jennifer Lyell in 2019 decided to reveal she had been sexually abused by a former Southern Baptist seminary professor who had recently returned to ministry. It also names Jennifer Lyell, a former seminarian and vice president for Lifeway, who has repeatedly alleged that Sills was abusive, an allegation Mohler has also made on social media and in an interview for a documentary about the denomination's response to its sexual abuse crisis. Southern Baptists oust Rick Warrens Saddleback Church for naming a female pastor, Southern Baptists plan to hire Guidepost Solutions to run abuser tracking database, Beth Moore tries to untangle her all knotted-up life in new memoir, Copyright 2020, Religion News Service. He said people often turn to clergy when they are at their most vulnerable. As such, Jennifer Lyell seems to be someone who is the victim of horrendous sexual abuse. Ascol retweeted her, insisting: Exactly. News broke today that former Southern Baptist Seminary professor, David Sills (who resigned 9 months ago), resigned due Continue reading When Sin Goes Unchecked the Nations Suffer David Sills, the professor, and his wife, Mary Sills, allege defamation, conspiracy, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence and wantonness in connection with untrue claims of sexual abuse made by Jennifer Lyell in 2021. 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In essence, defendants saw an opportunity to improve the appearance and reputation of SBCs handling of abuse cases, long under fire, even though there had not been any legitimate and proper investigation into the allegations, nor was Dr. Sills adequately informed of the specific nature and extent of accusations made by Lyell.. They may, at best, support survivors or criticize fellow denominational leaders in private but will not use their power to do the same in public, she said. What Ascol, Buck and Sills share in common is adherence to an extreme version of Reformed theology, known as hyper-Calvinism, that has been on the resurgence in the SBC over the past 30 years. Lyell was even commended in an SBC Resolution for her bravery in standing against sex abuse. Lives in: Mayfield KY Used to live: Mayfield KY AKA: Anthony White, Anthony Scott Jackson, Anthony Scott Jackson, Anthony S Jackson Related to: Lindsey R Jackson, Akia T White, Antonio D Jackson, Carlos L Jackson, Darrell Albert White View Details He also said churches often believe survivors were participants in their abusers sins. The court filing further claims Lyell maintained the relationship by driving several hundred miles from Nashville, Tenn., to Louisville, Ky. to see Sills. David Sills | MOODY PUBLISHERS Lyell says Sills, who was a surrogate father figure to her, eventually abused her again and then continued for years, even after she left seminary. According to Baptist Press, Lyell was involved in the relationship with Sills from the time she was 26 until she was 38. On July 6th, this story would resurface because Bob Smietana, a liberal reporter of the pagan Religious News Service wrote an apologetic for Jennifer Lyell, When abuse victims are adults . Then Buck retweeted Basham to highlight her commentary about Sills and the SBC investigation. Survivors dont just lose their trust in that one person, she said. But we must not be silent.. "As the official news service for the Southern Baptist Convention, Baptist Press should be known for integrity, truth and accuracy. I am also grateful for the bold leadership of Grant Gaines, Ronnie Parrot, and Todd Benkert. The outlet additionally reported that Sills has also resigned as a trustee of the SBC International Mission Board and his position on IMB's presidential search committee. Want to share a story? My thinking was I could just verbally work through your article and clarify/add the information you didnt have or was inaccurate as well as answer the broader questions you asked when the information you had didnt reconcile for you. Anthony Jackson Age 51. They didnt they just kind of defaulted to me, and then realized later, Oh, crap, we shouldnt have done that., SBC Elites cite distinguished lawyer and Southern Baptist Matthew Martens; however, Martens has written persuasively, Supporters of a constitutional amendment to ban women pastors in the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), New intel points to Covid origin in a lab leak, remember when this was a, NAMB PR VP Mike Ebert emerges as key witness in McRaney v. NAMB What will, Leaked audio interview with Jennifer Lyell hits, featured in a new documentary on sex abuse in the SBC, David raped Bathsheba promoter involved in new SEBTS abuse class, SBC Abuse Expert Rachael Denhollander Sided with Amber Heard, SBC Elites defend credibly accused standard to ruin lives, Bart Barber flipflops on pledge to bring vote to ban Women Pastors in SBC, Evangelical Elites lied you to about the origins of Covid, Woke SBC Elites Delete History To Hide Their Schemes. David Sills, into having a sexual relationship with him while she was enrolled in a missions class at the seminary. Lyell told RNS that at first, she did receive a great deal of support from Southern Baptist leaders when she told them about the abuse she experienced. Since Mohler made a public comment just a few days ago, surely, he now has an obligation to answer this important question. Ascol ran for SBC president on the slogan Change the direction.. Upon hearing Lyells claims last May, SBTS immediately took action. They also risk losing their relationships with everybody else who has a relationship with that person because when the chips fall, you dont know how theyre going to fall.. "She relayed to me what had happened to her. Lyell urged denominational leaders as well as pastors to recognize the responsibility they have to protect survivors from more harm when they come forward. Some especially a group of Calvinist pastors questioned Lyells account and accused her of trying to make a consensual affair look like abuse. Sills is also an author. The lawsuit centers on allegations that Sills sexually abused Jennifer Lyell starting in 2004 when Lyell was a student and Sills was a professor. Women are seen first and foremost as sexual objects, means to an end, she said, adding women are seen as temptresses, trying to bring a good man down and getting married is seen as a way of helping men deal with their lust. In a grievance filed Nov. 21 within the Circuit Courtroom of Cell, Alabama, David Sills, a former professor of missions and [] Lyell, who served as vice president of LifeWay Christian Resources, posted a confession in 2018 claiming how Sills, who has been married for over 30 years, sexually abused her and groomed her. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent. Though 30 pages in length, the key facts allged are right on the first page. And because they, in a sense, represent God, they have more power than almost any other professional person that works with other people.. (RNS) A former seminary professor and missionary who admitted sexual misconduct has sued a gaggle of Southern Baptist Conference leaders and entities, claiming they conspired with an abuse survivor to damage his repute. Our policies and procedures are clear and are consistently applied. At the time, she was a 26-year-old master of divinity student, and the alleged relationship continued until she was 38, spanning a period in which Lyell moved from Louisville, Ky., to Chicago and then to Nashville, she told BP. Prior to the apology's issuance, she has informed SBC Executive Committee Chairman Rolland Slade in October regarding the pending disputes and legal claims she has due to her case. Pastoral misconduct is seen as a moral failing rather than an abuse of power. That, in turn, led Smietana to write a story titled When Abuse Victims are Adults, Theyre Often Treated as Sinners, Threats to Churches, explaining the attack on Lyell. And we met with him within hours of his arrival back in the United States since our policies call for an immediate conversation. The implication of Ms. Lyells statement was that Dr. Sills had acted criminally. The larger conversation around sexual abuse has dominated SBC life for the past two years and has been addressed by two special task forces, one of which is still working. George, as curator of the Spurgeon Library and digitized archive, worked with the . The ex-Southern Baptist Convention seminary professor accused of sexual abuse by his former student filed a defamation suit in Alabama against her and several SBC entities, claiming the allegations. That happened three months prior to release of a bombshell report from an independent investigation that found widespread mishandling of known cases of sexual abuse in the SBC and its churches. Sills was a professor at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary until his resignation on May 23, 2018. We were horrified by what she shared with us. Why Midwest Christian Outreach was interested in such a deep dive into Lyells story is not clear. RELATED: At Caring Well conference, SBC leaders hear criticism of abuse response. It conclusively demonstrated the non-consensual nature of what happened to her. It was a Zoom call conducted June 6, 2021. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Her case has become one of the most high-profile illustrations of the larger reckoning over mishandled knowledge of sexual abuse within the SBC. Its complicated. Pastors and churches called for her to be fired. A clergy person has enormous power. Lyells claim that she was abused by David Sills while he was a professor at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary resulted in a controversial news story published by Baptist Press, the denominational news service, which portrayed the relationship as consensual. It also names Jennifer Lyell, a former seminarian and vice president for Lifeway, who has repeatedly alleged that Sills was abusive, an allegation Mohler has also made on social media and in. George resigned on May 3 while Sills resigned on May 23, the Biblical Recorder reported. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. In her statement, Lyell says that it began when she was a student. Instead of reporting she had been abused, Nashville-based Baptist Press, which is overseen by the Southern Baptist Conventions Executive Committee, reported in March 2019 that Lyell, then a vice president at Lifeway Christian Resources, had admitted being involved in a morally inappropriate relationship with her former professor. Lyells experience reveals the difficulty survivors often face when they try to speak up about their experiences. I now wonder if the only reason that a family relationship was ever presented as an option was to ensure I wouldnt tell what had happened in those first instances.. Mohler commended Lyells courage in coming forward. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (RNS) Jennifer Lyell was trying to do the right thing. We must clearly tell the truth so that our churches and ministries are safe and as pure as they can be.. Then the bulk of the article picks apart Lyells assertion she was held emotionally captive in an abusive relationship with Sills over a period of years a sexual relationship Lyell insists was not consensual. I shared how Dr. David Sills, then a tenured professor at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, first sexually acted against me on a mission trip in 2004, a pattern that continued and escalated for more than a decade following that trip. Sills was a professor at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary until his resignation on May 23, 2018. LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP) -- Nine months after Southern Baptist Theological Seminary professor David Sills resigned for undisclosed reasons, a woman has released a statement of allegations including details of what she says was a morally inappropriate relationship with Sills for more than a decade, beginning while she was a Southern Seminary student. However, Ascol, Basham and Buck were copied on the email, and in another email, Lyell indicates Basham had accessed the video without Lyells knowledge or permission. David Sills (Photo via Baptist Press) Southern Seminary President R. Albert Mohler Jr. told Baptist Press he could not disclose why Sills employment at the seminary ended. The group maintained a shared online file of their correspondence. Lyell decided to make her allegations public, she said, when she learned that Dr. Sills had been appointed as a missionary with a non-SBC missions agency.. In addition to being missionaries to these groups it is also our purpose to train and equip those who have placed their trust in Jesus Christ, his death, burial and physical resurrection, for their salvation to do the same., At one point last summer, Henzel sent two emails to Ascol, asking him to communicate with elders at Lyells church about Henzels and Veinots concerns regarding Lyells wellness.. In fact, the key facts alleged are right in the first few paragraphs: 1. Ascols group, Founders Ministries, once was a fringe movement in the SBC but today has a large following, especially among younger seminarians and pastors who were influenced by the Passion conferences in the 1990s. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. The BP trampled on a survivor and shielded a VIOLENT sexual predator who then sought new employment." She continued: On October 7, 2019, Jennifer Lyell, a LifeWay employee, penned an open letter to Southern Baptists expressing her grief caused by what she alleges was an erroneous Baptist Press report released in March this year. It looked idyllic on the surface. There are elements that sound like an abuse victim pleading with an abuser, I just want you to be like a dad, and there are elements where the story does not seem plausible given what we knowpay special attention to the police. 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