She stated that the pattern continued and escalated for more than a decade following that trip.. George resigned on May 3 while Sills resigned on May 23, the Biblical Recorder reported. He said that he is "brokenhearted over the reality" of the situation. Basham is a conservative writer for the Daily Wire website, which describes itself as a counter-cultural outlet for news, opinion and entertainment., In June, Basham launched a full-force assault against Lyells credibility with an article titled Southern Baptists #MeToo Moment published on the first day of the SBC annual meeting. 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. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. We hope you will! She lost her reputation, her job and even her health in the process. Its complicated. Old login credentials will no longer work. 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. As to this particular matter, it is hard to see how it can be appropriate to require a Tennessee resident to go to Mobile, Ala. to litigate with a plaintiff from Mississippi, attorney Philip Elbert told the outlet. . Lyell spends some of the recording taking about a blogpost written by Peter Lumpkins (likely this post.). I am grateful for the diligent, fast work of Guidepost Solutions, particularly as the EC leadership delays from June-October 2021 took up 1/3 of the investigation period allowed by the investigation motion. In fact, she claims in a newly leaked audio recording that she has been vague intentionallyso that the Sills grandchildren wouldn't find out much about this by using Google. 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. "Dr. Sills was out of the country traveling internationally. 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. In fact, she claims in a newly leaked audio recording that she has been vague intentionallyso that the Sills grandchildren wouldnt find out much about this by using Google. The article was eventually retracted, but the damage was done. 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. She did so after learning her abuser, former Southern Baptist seminary professor, author, and missionary David Sills, had recently returned to ministry. 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 that the relationship continued until she was 38. Guidepost and the SBC are two of 12 total defendants named in the lawsuit that revolves around allegations that David Sills sexually abused Jennifer Lyell starting in 2004, when Lyell was. She mentions them many times during this recording. 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.. If this seems like a contradiction, this is just the beginning. She did not revisit all the details of the abuse but did disclose those details to leaders at Lifeway and then to Al Mohler, the president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, where the professor was employed. Lyell built a strong relationship with Sills family over the years as she spent many of her weekends and holidays with them. He said it is often easier for churches to blame victims than to look at the way they have empowered abusers. If not, why not? Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our. . 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. 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. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Want to share a story? Guidepost and the SBC are two of 12 total defendants named in the lawsuit that revolves around allegations that David Sills sexually abused Jennifer Lyell starting in 2004, when Lyell was a . In a filing made in the Mobile, Ala., Circuit Court, David and Mary Sills allege "defamation, conspiracy, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, and . Lawsuit protests the SBC and third-party firm for supporting allegations in a new legal challenge referencing historic abuse report. Denhollander, who has represented Lyell, pointed out that it took months for Baptist Press to retracte that article. 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.. "[O]ur policies and procedures work and we work hard to make certain that they are up to date with best practices. It looked idyllic on the surface. Help keep The Christian Post free for everyone by making a one-time donation today. After various mischaracterizations, misstatements, and a contrived investigation by defendants, the plaintiffs, David Sills and Mary Sills, have been wrongfully and untruthfully labeled as criminals and shunned by the SBC.. Pooler said church members often become nonprotective bystanders, whose inaction enables abuse to continue and abusers to go unpunished. Then Buck retweeted Basham to highlight her commentary about Sills and the SBC investigation. I stand behind her in [her public statement] and believe she is acting righteously, he told BP. 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. "So I want to make very clear that I stand with her in that statement.". Neither Smietana nor his editor offered comment to BNG when asked about the situation. Refresher: Sills was man most prominently named as abuser in report. 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. Join thousands of others to get the FREEDOM POST newsletter for free, sent twice a week from The Christian Post. After Baptist News Global broke the news that former seminary professor David Sills and his wife, Mary, filed a defamation lawsuit against the Southern Baptist Convention and 11 other defendants, three high-profile Southern Baptists took to Twitter to highlight one specific section of the 31-page legal document. 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. We were horrified by what she shared with us. The full context of the email is this: Thank you again for replying and taking the time to find a scenario with which you are willing to talk with me. 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 Thereafter, Ms. Lyell engaged in an effort to restore her reputation and preserve her powerful position of doling out lucrative book deals, while affirmatively and skillfully dismantling the reputations, careers, and family life of David Sills and Mary Sills, the court filing states. 11 - Motion to Introduce Report moved by Councillor Jennifer McKelvie (Carried) That the Report from Meetings 14 and 15 of the Scarborough Community Council listed on the Agenda of Council be presented for consideration. The lawsuit also claims that Sills broke off the relationship and that Lyell continued to pursue him. The conventions statement of faith says women and men are equal in Gods sight but have different roles in the church and the home. Louisvilles Ninth and O Baptist Church told BP it is the congregation referenced in Lyells statement. ", "We hold unquestionably to a biblical standard of sexual morality and personal morality and we expect that of any who would teach but also even as students. 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. Based on the information we now have I retract any suggestion that Jennifer Lyells physical relationship with David Sills was consensual. I have never been unwilling to be questioned when making allegations that arent only moral, but are also criminal . Of course, Lyell spoke to multiple media outlets and is featured in a new documentary on sex abuse in the SBC. The BP trampled on a survivor and shielded a VIOLENT sexual predator who then sought new employment." She continued: Lyell told RNS she did not initially report what . 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. Based on the credible [Baptist Press report], which I learned of on Friday evening, we suspended inclusion of Sillss book on our site as we did more investigation, InterVarsity Press Publisher Jeff Crosby told CP in an email. 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. Sills files defamation suit against SBC, Lyell, others 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. By Lyells previous accounts, Sills cultivated a relationship with her. Ascol, Buck and Basham are not newcomers to critiquing Lyell and Smietana. 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. 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. 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. In fact, the key facts alleged are right in the first few paragraphs: 1. But I am a victim nonetheless.. 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. Jennifer Lyell, 2006 graduate of SBTS, says in her statement that 2004 was the first time Sills acted against her. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. According to Baptist Press, Lyell was involved in the relationship with Sills from the time she was 26 until she was 38. RNS published a story about the Sills lawsuit Nov. 28 and noted at the end of the story the complaint against Smietana and RNS. She began her thread saying, " What I referenced today about the Baptist Press' defamatory statements regarding @jenlyell and her abuser, former SBTS prof. David Sills, was the tip of the iceberg. 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. The Southern Baptist Conventions Executive Committee earlier this year offered a public apology and a confidential monetary settlement to Lyell and announced the resolution during their February meeting in Nashville. 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