That report also cited the Lyell case. 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Lyell spends some of the recording taking about a blogpost written by Peter Lumpkins (likely this post.). This led to a general understanding that what happened between Dr. David Sills and Ms. Jennifer Lyell was a consensual affair. The same day, Geiger and Lyell contacted Mohler, he said. 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.. 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. It was a Zoom call conducted June 6, 2021. 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. "I think she was courageous in making those statements and I think it sets an example for how others should also demonstrate an equal courage," Mohler said. She has alleged Sills abused her over a multi-year period. 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. 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. Individuals who knew her story alerted that particular mission agency to the details behind Sills resignation from SBTS and Sills is no longer listed as a missionary for that organization. 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. And recovering from abuse as an adult is a long-term process. In a release to Baptist Press (BP) and others, Jennifer Lyell, now 41 and director of the books ministry area at LifeWay Christian Resources, alleges Sills initiated sexual contact with her on a mission trip in 2004. 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. Want to share a story? "[O]ur policies and procedures work and we work hard to make certain that they are up to date with best practices. 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). You've read 0 of 5 of todays most popular posts. 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. By Lyells previous accounts, Sills cultivated a relationship with her. She challenged those who questioned her motives. In 2004, Lyell was a 26-year-old master of divinity student when she met cultural anthropology professor David Sills, who is 23 years her senior, on the Louisville campus of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Get this The Daily Telegraph page for free from Tuesday, July 29, 1975 97S IZIm THE COMPLETE CONSTRUCTION SERVICE HIM 1 Mb CHKlbTENINGb and IN MEMOR1AM Cl 10 Una MARRIAGES DEATHS and . . Attorneys misidentified an email from Lyell, which was sent to a pair of ministers, not to RNS. 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. That post cited the biblical story of David and Bathsheba to ask what constitutes a consensual sexual relationship versus rape. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. Baptist Press eventually apologized for the article, but Lyell said she had already been devastated by the repercussions of its inaccurate reporting. This issue caught fire on Twitter, where critics of SBC leadership and of the sexual abuse study picked it up, prompting retweets and commentary. All rights reserved. After BNG reported on the Sills lawsuit, Ascol tweeted: Wow. 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. Upon hearing Lyells claims last May, SBTS immediately took action. At its simplest level, it is abuse because it is not consensual, he said. She did so after learning her abuser, former Southern Baptist seminary professor, author, and missionary David Sills, had recently returned to ministry. 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. 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. She claims . 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. Just over two years later, she stated the allegations to then-LifeWay Senior Vice President Eric Geiger and Mohler. 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.. He said it is often easier for churches to blame victims than to look at the way they have empowered abusers. 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. Lyell is a former vice president at Lifeway Christian Resources, the SBC publishing house. I now realize that despite SBTS handling the situation justly and as I asked without stating the reason for his resignation it led to the exact kind of scenario the SBC is now trying to prevent, she said. Ensuring that is my top priority.". Such people have no fear of God, no interest in truth, no regard for justice, & no love for people. 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 . Based on the information we now have I retract any suggestion that Jennifer Lyells physical relationship with David Sills was consensual. By the time Lyell had come forward publicly with her story, she had been in counseling for over two years. Survivors dont just lose their trust in that one person, she said. 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.. 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. Pooler said abusive relationships with clergy often last for years. Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. By clicking Accept All, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. The lawsuit challenges what has been accepted as fact in one of the highest-profile cases in the web of allegations regarding mishandling of sexual abuse within the SBC. David Sills and his wife, Mary, filed the suit Nov. 21 in Mobile County circuit court. Sills is also an author. 1. . These ultra-conservatives believe the SBC is sliding into liberalism and needs to be rescued by them. 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. And Christian theology about sin and about the roles of men and women often makes it difficult for survivors who come forward. 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. 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 . 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 By admitting to having sinned and asking for forgiveness, they can mitigate the consequences of their actions and preserve a future in the church. Anytime time you have to invoke these procedures is heartbreaking but simultaneously necessary. 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. Survivors often deal with the trauma of the actual abuse along with a sense of betrayal and rejection from other believers, who often take the side of abusers. Her name appears on 37 pages of the report. 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. Then Basham quotes three male friends of Lyells alleged abuser who all say they cant imagine him behaving the way Lyell has described. 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. Reid, 59, SEBTS senior professor of . "Defendants saw him as an easy target; a bona fide scapegoat." . 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. George resigned on May 3 while Sills resigned on May 23, the Biblical Recorder reported. In a post on her website, Lyell accused Sills of sexually abusing her during a 2004 mission trip and claimed the abuse continued over a decade. But I am a victim nonetheless.. Return to homepage. Any criticism of complementarianism is seen as a sort of gateway drug into theological liberalism., I think a culture that believes that its righteousness is dependent on preserving and protecting the strictest form of complementarianism is a culture that sees women as a threat, sees women as a risk, sees women as more likely to sin, she said. We hope you will! 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.. The fallout was quick and devastating. Jennifer Lyell claims she never wanted the attention her abuse allegations created nor to harm the family of David Sills, her alleged abuser. 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. 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. All rights reserved. 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. David Sills, into having a sexual relationship with him while she was enrolled in a missions class at the seminary. 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.. 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. But I am a victim nonetheless.. 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. The Southern Baptist Convention would pass Resolution 6 which acknowledged Jennifer Lyell as an abuse survivor and therefore labeling David Sills as an abuser. In a grievance filed Nov. 21 within the Circuit Courtroom of Cell, Alabama, David Sills, a former professor of missions and [] When a pastor or leader is involved in a sexual scandal, the language of affair is used, even when its a predatory use of spiritual power, he said. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. Denhollander, who has represented Lyell, pointed out that it took months for Baptist Press to retracte that article. One details Lyells complaint that the video of her interview with Midwest Christian Outreach that was supposed to be kept confidential had been shared with others, including Basham. And there were aspects of it certainly that I think is something that an abuser can use., Abuse advocate and attorney Rachael Denhollander said that Lyells story reflects a bigger problem with a complementarian culture that defends male leaders but views women leaders and survivors of abuse as expendable., Abuse survivor Rachael Denhollander, right, discusses the Southern Baptist Conventions history of addressing sexual abuse with ERLC President Russell Moore at the Caring Well conference in Dallas, on Oct. 4, 2019. 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. Of course, Lyell spoke to multiple media outlets and is featured in a new documentary on sex abuse in the SBC. But her feelings toward the denominations beliefs about gender roles have shifted. Some especially a group of Calvinist pastors questioned Lyells account and accused her of trying to make a consensual affair look like abuse. As of earlier today, we declared his one IVP title (in both print and digital formats) as out of print.. 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.. But that's not quite what we see. Lyell built a strong relationship with Sills family over the years as she spent many of her weekends and holidays with them. 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. 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. 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. Jennifer Lyell Lyell is a former vice president at Lifeway Christian Resources, the SBC publishing house. 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.. 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. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. 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. 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. I am not a sinless victim. 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. she disclosed to her boss at Lifeway that a former professor named David Sills had first "sexually acted . Photo via Baylor University. At SBTS, Mohler assured that the institution's biblical and moral standards "aren't up for any renegotiation. 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. This is why the most egregious, cruel lies do not leave me without hope when those asserting them are reckless enough to do so in a form that not only allows my witness but provides a clear means by which it will be formally provided., Sills files suit against SBC and 11 other defendants, claiming his relationship with Lyell was consensual and he became a scapegoat in the SBCs sexual abuse crisis, Not everyone believes theres a sexual abuse crisis in the SBC, No, we will not take down an article you dont like | Opinion by Mark Wingfields, 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. 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