NASHVILLE, Tenn. (RNS) Jennifer Lyell was trying to do the right thing. Jennifer Lyell claims she never wanted the attention her abuse allegations created nor to harm the family of David Sills, her alleged abuser. Sills, former professor of missions and cultural anthropology at Southern, did not respond to request for comment. I am also grateful for the bold leadership of Grant Gaines, Ronnie Parrot, and Todd Benkert. However, not everyone has believed a sexual abuse crisis exists in the SBC. Lyell contends it was not consensual. Her name appears on 37 pages of the report. Louisvilles Ninth and O Baptist Church told BP it is the congregation referenced in Lyells statement. She lost her reputation, her job and even her health in the process. Ascol, Buck and Basham are not newcomers to critiquing Lyell and Smietana. Want to share a story? This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. In a statement posted on her website, Jennifer Lyell, who is now 41 and works for a major Christian book publisher, said Sills first "sexually acted" against her on a mission trip in 2004 and. Then Basham quotes three male friends of Lyells alleged abuser who all say they cant imagine him behaving the way Lyell has described. Bishop Scott Jones moves from extreme center of UMC to new Global Methodist Church, Jesus Revolution leaves out the tough stuff but gets the music right, From Super Bowl ads to Kentucky revivals, stop the Christian cannibalism, Holy Queer author seeks Black church inclusion beyond singing with choir, Its time to stop erasing Black Muslim Americans from the story of Islam in the US, Saddleback Church doubles down on support for female pastors. That report also cited the Lyell case. In a grievance filed Nov. 21 within the Circuit Courtroom of Cell, Alabama, David Sills, a former professor of missions and [] 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 were part of an SBC attempt to improve its image in the wake of the sexual abuse coverup scandal. If not, why not? Based on the information we now have I retract any suggestion that Jennifer Lyells physical relationship with David Sills was consensual., By Aug. 3, 2021 about six weeks after the SBC annual meeting at which a Sexual Abuse Task Force was authorized Midwest Christian Outreach issued an update to its post with this note from Henzel: Shortly after this article was published, Jennifer Lyell graciously reached out to us and provided crucial details of her case both to me and to Midwest Christian Outreach, Inc. President Don Veinot. It takes years and years to recover from trauma, and no one should be in the position of having to explain it to the whole public while theyre still trying to do that, she said. Southern Baptist Theological Seminary professor David Sills resigned last year. If the claims in this suit are true, then it would seem that he is as culpable as any of the other defendants., To which Basham replied: Note, Religion News Service reported that Sills admitted to abuse, though Sills told me through an intermediary that RNS also did not reach out to him before that story was published and he never admitted anything like this., Basham also tweeted a link to the BNG story with this comment: Ive read David/Mary Sills filing against SBC, Guidepost, & number of SBC leaders. Part of Lyells reason for being "compliant at times" and remaining silent for as long as she did, she stated, was because she became like part of [Sills] family and feared the collateral damage that telling would cause for those around him. In her statement, Lyell accused Sills of grooming and taking advantage of his student.. Upon hearing Lyells claims last May, SBTS immediately took action. A reasonable inference is also that Defendant Lyell intended to advance her false narrative by taking a hand in the actual writing of an article by RNS and Smietana, each of whom had previously served as a resource to Defendant Lyell for the purpose of publishing her malicious allegations against the Sills Plaintiffs. As of earlier today, we declared his one IVP title (in both print and digital formats) as out of print.. The implication of Ms. Lyells statement was that Dr. Sills had acted criminally. Three Southern Baptist seminary faculty members have recently resigned their positions. 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. The Sillses contend neither Mohler nor the SBC nor Guidepost did sufficient investigation to find out the truth of the matter. She said Lyell had repeatedly asked for the article to be corrected but her requests were denied and a number of Baptist leaders knew the story was wrong but failed to stand up for Lyell. Venue is appropriate in this court because defendant Ed Litton is a resident citizen of Mobile County, Alabama., Guidepost report documents pattern of ignoring, denying and deflecting on sexual abuse claims in SBC, SBC Executive Committee publicly apologizes to sexual abuse survivor, SBC report shows how five words turn abuse victim from survivor to whore | Opinion by Marv Knox. Reaching and Teaching International told BP in a statement that they are aware of a statement by Lyell regarding her allegations and are committed to ensuring a culture of transparency and accountability., Lyell said, It is my hope that my story, one in which a SBC entity and its leaders acted swiftly and justly but in which that same individual was also in a ministry position only months later, will also help to illustrate the need for some form of a reporting tool that can ensure that those who have victimized others from a ministry position are unable to ever do so again., (EDITOR'S NOTE This story has been edited by Biblical Recorder staff. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. Ascol ran for SBC president on the slogan Change the direction.. She has alleged Sills abused her over a multi-year period. By clicking Accept All, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. By the time Lyell had come forward publicly with her story, she had been in counseling for over two years. We hope you will! Heaven will be diverse. she disclosed to her boss at Lifeway that a former professor named David Sills had first "sexually acted" against her without her consent during a mission trip he was leading while she was a seminary student. George, as curator of the Spurgeon Library and digitized archive, worked with the . He did call the police. Those documents include emails between the various parties. Things made a little more sense last Friday when a woman named Jennifer Lyell (below) released a statement explaining how she had been engaged in an "inappropriate relationship" with Sills for nearly a decade, beginning when she was his student. It conclusively demonstrated the non-consensual nature of what happened to her. Moore said he and his wife are friends of Lyell and he described her as one of the strongest, most courageous and brilliant leaders I know. He hopes she will eventually return to a leadership role in the church. . (June 15, 2020) Letter from David S. Crawford, Streetscape Coordinator, St. Lawrence Neighbourhood Association (EX.Supp . And so, we invoked our policies and procedures,"Mohler told The Christian Post in a phone interview. She did so after learning her abuser, a former Southern Baptist seminary professor, author and missionary, had recently returned to ministry. If I were not to come forward with this [statement], a church or ministry who receives Dr. Sills [resume] and does an internet search for him would have no way to know the truth behind his resignation. Lyell told Religion News Service she wished she had never gone public. Lawsuit protests the SBC and third-party firm for supporting allegations in a new legal challenge referencing historic abuse report. The Complaint does not hid and it does not disappoint. He said it is often easier for churches to blame victims than to look at the way they have empowered abusers. It also claims Sills ended the relationship with Defendant Lyell who nevertheless persisted her pursuit of Sills and undertook efforts to reach Dr. Sills through his family., David and Mary Sills also contend that Lyell, relying on her expertise as an accomplished writer and executive in the fields of advertising and publishing within the SBC, a lucrative and powerful position, constructed a false narrative against Dr. Sills and Mrs. Sills, at the height of awareness of SBC scandals.. 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 . Nine months after The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) professor David Sills resigned for undisclosed reasons, a woman has released a statement of allegations including details of what she describes as sexual abuse by Sills, beginning while she was a Southern Seminary student. 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.. A former Southern Baptist Theological Seminary student has come forward to detail how former professor David Sills, who resigned last year, engaged in an inappropriate and "abusive" sexual relationship with her that lasted for over a decade. But I am a victim nonetheless.. Geiger said he contacted the other missions agency which he identified as Global Outreach International and they removed Sills from their employment. She wrote, "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 . Reid, 59, SEBTS senior professor of . It interwove Lyells story with this discussion. Our policies and procedures are clear and are consistently applied. By Lyells previous accounts, Sills cultivated a relationship with her. Im also fine to answer any questions you or the other gentleman has to ensure you have clarity and believe me. She said she was motivated to tell her story following the account of Megan Lively, who was raped by a fellow student at a Southern Baptist seminary in 2003 and then counseled by the president of the seminary to not report the incident to police. We were horrified by what she shared with us. Lyell was even commended in an SBC Resolution for her bravery in standing against sex abuse. Whatever else is accurate or inaccurate in the lawsuit filed by David and Mary Sills against the SBC, Lyell and 10 others, the quotation attributed to a Lyell email to Smietana of RNS actually comes from a different Lyell email sent to Veinot and Henzel June 18, 2021. So, now the question turns to: Did SBTS President Al Mohler call the police on David Sills as alleged by Lyell? But her feelings toward the denominations beliefs about gender roles have shifted. If you do not know your new account number you can contact. Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. It conclusively demonstrated the non-consensual nature of what happened to her. If so, when so that press can verify this element of the story that is now so obviously a glaring contradiction in the narrative. UPDATE #1: Shortly after this article was published, Jennifer Lyell graciously reached out to us and provided crucial details of her case both to me and to Midwest Christian Outreach, Inc. President Don Veinot. She did so after learning her abuser, former Southern Baptist seminary professor, author, and missionary David Sills, had recently returned to ministry. The hundreds of titles that the Books business team has acquired, developed, or managed under Jennifer's leadership include more than a dozen New York Times bestsellers, as well as CT . Neither Smietana nor his editor offered comment to BNG when asked about the situation. Jennifer Lyell, who now works as an executive for LifeWay Christian Resources, posted a confession online last week claiming how Sills, who has been married for 30 years and has three grandchildren, sexually abused her and even groomed her from the time she was a master of divinity student until just a few years ago. at the height of awareness of SBC scandals.' Pooler said church members often become nonprotective bystanders, whose inaction enables abuse to continue and abusers to go unpunished. Lyell said that at the time, she did not want the seminary or Lifeway to publicly disclose what had happened to her. In the spring of 2019, Lyell, then a well-respected leader in Christian publishing, decided to publicly disclose that she was a survivor of sexual abuse. 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. According to Lyell, the reason she waited so long to come forward with her claims is because she was afraid that her coming forward could cause collateral damage impacting people she loved. Lyell was labeled on social media as an adulteress rather than an abuse survivor, with users leaving scores of vile comments about her on Lifeways Facebook page and the Baptist Press website. As such, Jennifer Lyell seems to be someone who is the victim of horrendous sexual abuse. The suit was filed in the Circuit Court of Mobile County, Ala., on Monday, Nov. 21. The article was eventually retracted, but the damage was done. I have never been unwilling to be questioned when making allegations that arent only moral, but are also criminal . A Response to Rachael Denhollander and Others.. All this played out as the SBC addressed the independent report of Guidepost Solutions about a long-term pattern of ignoring or mishandling known cases of sexual abuse in SBC churches and agencies. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (RNS) Jennifer Lyell was trying to do the right thing. But I am a victim nonetheless.. 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.. Pastoral misconduct is seen as a moral failing rather than an abuse of power. And for so long, people have been unable to understand those categories., RELATED: The cost for coming forward one survivors life after #MeToo. George's resignation was "due to a personal moral failing," Midwestern told the Recorder on June 1. 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. Jennifer Lyell Lyell is a former vice president at Lifeway Christian Resources, the SBC publishing house. 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. Man At Center of Massive SBC Sex Scandal Sues Denomination, Along with 11 Prominent Southern Baptists For Lying About Him The Soap Opera Plods On Lyell told RNS she did not initially report what . One of Lyells advocates over the past three years has been Mohler, who has publicly stated he believed Lyells story as she has told it. 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.. Sills was a professor at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary until his resignation on May 23, 2018. Basham frequently tweeted and replied to tweets about the issue, at one point portraying herself as an investigative reporter who was just asking the questions no one else would ask. Return to homepage. Lyell first disclosed the situation to a therapist in March 2016, she said. David Sills and Mary Sills contend they have been smeared repeatedly in the process and seek monetary damages. 1. That post cited the biblical story of David and Bathsheba to ask what constitutes a consensual sexual relationship versus rape. She said Southern Baptist leaders do not hesitate to use their public platforms to debate theology or drive culture war issues but rarely call out abusive behavior in their own camp especially if it means correcting other denominational leaders. Lyells case is of particular interest because Guidepost did not talk to some described as corroborating the allegations of abuse and because SBC Elites declared on their own authority that this was a case of Sex Abuse. The SBCs public relations service, Baptist Press, misrepresented her statements about the situation, which eventually led to a public apology and a financial settlement from the SBC Executive Committee, which runs Baptist Press. The following year, Jennifer Lyell, a former vice president at Lifeway Christian Resources, told Baptist Press she had been a victim of emotional and sexual abuse by Sills, who had been her professor. Geiger told Lyell he was responsible to share the allegations with Southern and invited her to participate in the process, Geiger recounted to Baptist Press. Police is an important part of Lyells narrative. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". MOBILE, Ala. (BP) - A former Southern Baptist seminary professor and his wife have filed suit against the SBC and 10 other individuals and entities connected to the SBC, including Jennifer Lyell and Guidepost Solutions. To date, none of the named defendants has issued a public comment on the lawsuit. For Sills, no reason for his resignation was stated by Southern. 2023 Baptist News Global. Survivors dont just lose their trust in that one person, she said. I mean, I was like, literally like, I mean, it was it was police at my house and, you know, safety, Lyell said. The abuser often spends years grooming a victim and then does not let the victim go. Sills files defamation suit against SBC, Lyell, others November 29, 2022 By Baptist Press MOBILE, Ala. (BP) - A former Southern Baptist seminary professor and his wife have filed suit against the SBC and 10 other individuals and entities connected to the SBC, including Jennifer Lyell and Guidepost Solutions. As I understand it, that is not accurate. David Sills and his wife, Mary Sills, claim Lyell 'constructed a false narrative . Jennifer Lyell was trying to do the right thing. Now, David Sills and Mary Sills contend they have been smeared repeatedly in the process and seek monetary damages from the SBC; the SBC Executive Committee; former SBC President Ed Litton; current SBC President Bart Barber; Lyell; Lifeway Christian Resources; Eric Geiger, a former executive vice president at Lifeway; Willie McLaurin, interim president of the Executive Committee; Rolland Slade, former chairman of the Executive Committee; Southern Baptist Theological Seminary; Al Mohler, president of Southern Seminary; and Guidepost Solutions, the firm that conducted the independent investigation. 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. Who those others were is not clear. Instead, from this news story (with details not included in the Guidepost Report), you can see that the sexual relationship between Jennifer Lyell and David Sills first occurred when Jenn was 26 and David Sills was 49. She mentions them many times during this recording. As Veinot explains on the website: Our mission is to give clear answers, and a solid defense of the orthodox biblical faith, to all types of unbelievers atheists, agnostics, as well as members of cults and new religious groups such as the Jehovahs Witnesses, Mormons, the International Churches of Christ, and so on. However, Baptist Press, the SBCs in-house news service owned by the executive committee, incorrectly reported that Lyell had admitted to being involved in a morally inappropriate relationship with her former professor. David Pooler. Her story has already helped countless other people around the country, in ways that she may not even know about. But he didnt make it public disclosure, Lyell said. Lyells experience reveals the difficulty survivors often face when they try to speak up about their experiences. Lyell feared he would once again have the opportunity to abuse others and wanted to stop that from happening. Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. The church needs a way of understanding sin and violence that enables Gods grace without giving abusers back their power, their access and their good regard, she said. There are plenty of reasons to stay silent in a situation such as this. 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. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (each updated 1/26/2023). I had discussions on our boards here with people who were convinced by the reporting that David Sills and Jennifer had an "affair" and that he was held responsible for it while she was not. 1. The group has no apparent connections to the SBC, and its interview with Lyell seems outside its stated purpose. Refresher: Sills was man most prominently named as abuser in report. And because they, in a sense, represent God, they have more power than almost any other professional person that works with other people.. The lawsuit also claims that Sills broke off the relationship and that Lyell continued to pursue him. David Sills, a former seminary professor and missionary who admitted sexual misconduct, has sued a group of Southern Baptist Convention leaders and entities, claiming they conspired with an abuse survivor to ruin his reputation. The law should reflect that, Legacy of Wounded Knee occupation lives on 50 years later, Holy Queer author seeks Black church inclusion beyond singing with choir. At its simplest level, it is abuse because it is not consensual, he said. Geiger alleged that Mary Sills threatened Jennifer Lyell in text messages and that Mrs. Sills knew of the relationship between Jennifer Lyell and David Sills. At SBTS, Mohler assured that the institution's biblical and moral standards "aren't up for any renegotiation. In her statement, Lyell accused Sills of "grooming and taking advantage of his student." Lyell first disclosed the situation to a therapist in March 2016, she said. Sills was a professor at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary until his resignation on May 23, 2018. The Capstone Report reached out to verify the audio and for comment about the provenance of the audio. Ascol is a Florida pastor who leads Founders Ministries, a group of Southern Baptist Calvinists. . Photo by Karen Race Photography 2019. Basham says whatever number of actual abuse cases may be found in the SBC, they represent such a small percentage as to be anything but a crisis.. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
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