Ahead of this year’s meeting in Anaheim, Calif., concerns had grown about the Conservative Baptist Network, a splinter group of church leaders and politicos who had routinely pushed back against abuse reforms. The group held an event Tuesday morning that featured right-wing political figure Charlie Kirk, and was attended by former SBC leader Paige Patterson, who was ousted as president of a Fort Worth seminary in 2018 for mishandling multiple rape reports.
It quickly became clear that the conservative faction was fighting an uphill battle. On Monday, the SBC’s executive committee elected a new chair, Arlington pastor Jared Wellman, who has been an outspoken advocate for survivors. He called for stronger safeguards in the SBC’s 47,000 churches.
And on Tuesday, more than 8,000 Southern Baptists overwhelmingly approved a pair of reforms that include creating a database of credibly accused ministers, employees and volunteers that congregations can consult when hiring. Survivors had requested such a mechanism dating back to 2007, saying the SBC’s lack of consistent ordination standards or central records had allowed sexual predators to abuse, repent and find new victims at other churches.
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/investigations/article/The-hunter-is-now-the-hunted-Southern-17244550.php
the conservative backwoods rapist pastors become the hunted, or what does this mean?