Lyell came to us with an allegation of abuse and should have been cared for throughout the entire process. For example, why did Lyell continue the relationship with the alleged abusers after graduating from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS)? 1. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. Sills resigned from the Kentucky-based schoollast May shortly after Lyell presented her claims to SBTS President Albert Mohler. As such, Jennifer Lyell seems to be someone who is the victim of horrendous sexual abuse. I am not a sinless victim. She graduated from Southern with a master of divinity in 2006 and enrolled in an SBTS doctoral program for one year after that. Lyell wrote that she first shared her story with her boss at LifeWay and then with Mohler. Last year, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary professor David Sills resigned from his position without much of an explanation. 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. Jennifer Lyell was trying to do the right thing. That report also cited the Lyell case. 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. And recovering from abuse as an adult is a long-term process. 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. "David Sills was repentant and obedient to the rules of the SBC," the complaint alleges. David Pooler, professor of social work at Baylor University, said sexual misconduct by clergy and other religious leaders is often labeled as having an affair. But that description misses the power imbalance at play. Mississippi lawyer Don Barrett, one of the attorneys representing David Sills and his wife, Mary Sills, said that part of the complaint was in error, the story said. And because of their power and influence, pastors and other religious leaders have a responsibility to set up boundaries in their relationships with other people. Denhollander, who has represented Lyell, pointed out that it took months for Baptist Press to retracte that article. Read our republishing, terms of use and privacy policies here. The audio discussion features Jennifer Lyell speaking to Ron Henzel and Don Veinot of Midwest Outreach. Ensuring that is my top priority.". Facebook/The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Bible teacher Jen Wilkin addresses criticism of her views on sending children to public schools, Teen, 21-year-old man indicted for murder of Memphis pastor, Deion Sanders' prayers are constitutionally protected, lawyer tells University of Colorado, Revival at Kentucky college faces hurdles from school leadership, moves worship off-campus. Lyell still attends a Southern Baptist church, in large part because of the friendship and support she has received from her pastor and his wife. The conventions statement of faith says women and men are equal in Gods sight but have different roles in the church and the home. Instead, for many this incident may have contributed to a perception that the Southern Baptist Convention is not a safe place for sexual abuse survivors to disclose, the statement read. 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.. 1. Ascol ran for SBC president on the slogan Change the direction.. Lyell was the SBC Lifeway Christian Resources Vice President before she decided to come to the open on the sexual abuse done her by Sills. Having known that I experienced sexual abuse growing up, Dr. Sills assured me that the first incidents that happened on that mission trip werent really my fault as I naturally felt even though I had not initiated them and was shocked as the actions took place., He explained they were because of what happened to me when I was a child. 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. If you do not know your new account number you can contact. When I shared what had happened to me with my boss at LifeWay [Geiger] and then later with SBTS President Dr. R. Albert Mohler, I was quick to also share the responsibility I bore for being compliant at times, for not telling immediately and for so idolizing the idea of a whole family that I protected it despite what was happening within it, Lyell said. However, in the new court filing he insists he did not sexually abuse Lyell, force himself upon Lyell, use violence against Lyell, threaten to use violence against Lyell or engage in sexual intercourse with Lyell at any time whatsoever., The filing says Sills acknowledges a personal and emotionally intimate relationship between the two but claims it was initiated by Lyell, who was well above the age of consent.. Christian leaders need to remember that they are called to be shepherds in the model of the Good Shepherd, she said, protecting the sheep even if the wolves include their fellow leaders., A woman holds signs about abuse during a rally outside the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex on June 11, 2019, in Birmingham, Ala. RNS photo by Butch Dill. We were horrified by what she shared with us. And that retraction happened only after Denhollander had publicly criticized the SBCs treatment of Lyell during a major conference on abuse in the fall of 2019. Photo by Karen Race Photography 2019. "Dr. Sills was out of the country traveling internationally. Things changed, however, once the abuse became public. 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). It took months for Baptist Press to retract the article and address errors in it and that only happened after the former BP staff had been replaced and the article had been criticized by abuse advocate Rachael Denhollander. All rights reserved. Lyell first disclosed the situation to a therapist in March 2016, she said. In the spring of 2019, Lyell, then a well-respected leader in Christian publishing, decided to publicly disclose that. The Southern Baptist Convention would pass Resolution 6 which acknowledged Jennifer Lyell as an abuse survivor and therefore labeling David Sills as an abuser. 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. I am also grateful for the bold leadership of Grant Gaines, Ronnie Parrot, and Todd Benkert. Please click the "Register" link below to create a new account. 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. Secondly, on information and belief, defendants SBC, the Executive Committee, and Lifeway own and maintain property, employees and/or agents in Alabama, including Mobile County, Alabama. These ultra-conservatives believe the SBC is sliding into liberalism and needs to be rescued by them. They simply want to push their agenda & cancel anyone who refuses to kowtow to their self-righteous bloviating. Survivors dont just lose their trust in that one person, she said. 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 . 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. Jennifer Lyell serves as Vice President of Book Publishing & Merchandising at LifeWay Christian Resources where she leads the second largest business segment of Lifeway's ten Ministry Areas. Rest assured, though, that regardless of venue, the case will be vigorously defended.. The resignations of Alvin Reid at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Christian George at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and David Sills at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary were reported by Baptist Press and the North Carolina Biblical Recorder. Though 30 pages in length, the key facts allged are right on the first page. The BP trampled on a survivor and shielded a VIOLENT sexual predator who then sought new employment." She continued: 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. 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.. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. In the lawsuit, David Sills contends that he never even had sex with Jennifer Lyell during this twelve year long affair which he admits was inappropriate. Denhollander, an abuse survivor whose testimony led to the conviction of former national gymnastics doctor and serial abuser Larry Nassar, said evangelical theology had created a kind of porn culture in churches. The campus of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, the flagship seminary for the Southern Baptist Convention, located in Louisville, Kentucky. However, according to media reports none of the local police had any reports regarding these alleged incidents. This and so much more is contained in a roughly 2-and-a-half-hour audio interview never released that hit the Internet today. But we must not be silent. 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. I have never been unwilling to be questioned when making allegations that arent only moral, but are also criminal and Im extremely thankful that all parties who received and investigated my allegations did press me for details necessary to understand what I was alleging given my age and the fact it was not a single occurrence as well as that I did not report anything to them for a very long time.. That was untrue. Pastors and churches called for her to be fired. Sills was a professor at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary until his resignation on May 23, 2018. While the SBCs reports on Lyells allegations claimed Sills was fired, the former professor claims he voluntarily resigned after admitting to a morally inappropriate relationship with Lyell. Jennifer Lyell . The lawsuit centers on allegations that Sills sexually abused Jennifer Lyell starting in 2004 when Lyell was a student and Sills was a professor. In his lawsuit filed Nov. 21, Sills claimed Lyells allegedly false claims were repeated in SBC media as an opportunity to improve the appearance and reputation SBCs handling of abuse cases and made him a bona fide scapegoat.. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. It looked idyllic on the surface. In a filing made in the Mobile, Ala., Circuit Court, David and Mary Sills allege "defamation, conspiracy, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, and . According to documents obtained by BNG, however, Ascol, Buck and Basham had collaborated with the source of the original quotation that Sills took out of context in his recent lawsuit. Then Basham quotes three male friends of Lyells alleged abuser who all say they cant imagine him behaving the way Lyell has described. And it was not just the real devastation was the fact that I could not understand and still no one understands why that Baptist Press and the EC did what they did.. 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. But Mohler confirmed that Lyell shared allegations with him in May 2018 and that Southern, as Lyell stated, immediately took action., Lyell said in her statement, The denominational institutions, the local church, and the missions agency [Sills led] ultimately believed me, supported me, and took the action for which they were responsible., Baptist Press reported Sills resignation in June 2018 based on reporting by North Carolinas Biblical Recorder news journal, which cited a statement from the seminary affirming that Mohler received the resignation of Dr. David Sills from the Southern Seminary faculty on May 23, 2018., It further stated, Southern Seminary is committed to the highest standards of both principle and policy. Filing claims Guidepost never interviewed or even contacted him before publicly naming him a predator. (Guidepost Solutions is the firm hired by the SBC Executive Committee to investigate charges of sexual abuse within the convention. She did so after learning her abuser, former Southern Baptist seminary professor, author, and missionary David Sills, had recently returned to ministry. After several years of dispute, the SBC Executive Committee earlier this year reached a financial settlement with Lyell and issued a public apology for the Baptist Press story. If I were not to come forward with this letter, a church or ministry who receives Dr. Sills CV and does an internet search for him would have no way to know the truth behind his resignation, she wrote. The church said it acted swiftly and firmly and that Sills is no longer a member. In her statement, Lyell says that it began when she was a student. The Capstone Report reached out to verify the audio and for comment about the provenance of the audio. It interwove Lyells story with this discussion. It conclusively demonstrated the non-consensual nature of what happened to her. 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. We were horrified by what she shared with us. In the rush to virtue signal support for Jennifer Lyell, SBC pastor Eric Geiger made a public allegation against Mary Sills, wife of David Sills. He said it is often easier for churches to blame victims than to look at the way they have empowered abusers. Our policies and procedures are clear and are consistently applied. "As the official news service for the Southern Baptist Convention, Baptist Press should be known for integrity, truth and accuracy. Abusers in the church have figured out that if they are willing to admit partial, limited wrongdoing and if they are willing to perform apology, repentance and intention to do better, she said, behaving in sexually violent ways doesnt actually diminish their prospects for leadership in the church. In February, the top-ranked Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) did something that's almost unprecedented: they apologized and offered a monetary settlement to Jennifer Lyell, who for years had been abused by an SBC seminary professor. Jennifer Lyell claims she never wanted the attention her abuse allegations created nor to harm the family of David Sills, her alleged abuser. David Sills Based on the information we now have I retract any suggestion that Jennifer Lyells physical relationship with David Sills was consensual. Within days, the professor had been confronted and resigned. The timeline raises many natural and difficult questionsquestions that are not prompted by a desire for lewd details, but rather to fully understand what has become a public case used to discredit how the SBC handles abuse allegations. Sills, former professor of missions and cultural anthropology at Southern, did not respond to request for comment. Jennifer Lyell, 2006 graduate of SBTS, says in her statement that 2004 was the first time Sills acted against her. Pooler said church members often become nonprotective bystanders, whose inaction enables abuse to continue and abusers to go unpunished. 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