NASHVILLE (TN)
Tennessean [Nashville TN]
May 29, 2024
By Liam Adams
A Florida pastor, during his tenure as an administrator at a top Southern Baptist seminary, instructed another seminary employee to make a document about an abuse report “go away,” according to court records.
The records, filed by federal prosecutors and unsealed last week, came to light amid an ongoing U.S. Department of Justice investigation into aspects of the Southern Baptist Convention and how the SBC and its affiliated entities handled reports of abuse.
The records on the Florida pastor, who prosecutors didn’t identify, are part of the case against North Carolina pastor Matt Queen, also former administrator at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, who is accused of falsifying records in an attempt to cover up an abuse report. In a news release last week, FBI Assistant Director James Smith said Queen was part of a “conspiracy to destroy evidence related to the ongoing investigation of sexual misconduct.”
The Florida pastor, who served as the seminary’s chief of staff at the time, is Heath Woolman, currently the lead pastor of Fruit Cove Baptist Church in St. Johns, Florida, according to two people familiar with the events outlined by federal prosecutors and an analysis of records from Woolman’s tenure at Southwestern.
Federal prosecutors didn’t respond to a request for comment about the status of any investigation into Woolman. Woolman did not respond to a request for comment. Woolman has not been charged as part of the federal investigation. Also, Friendly Avenue Baptist Church in Greensboro, North Carolina, announced Sunday it placed Queen on leave for the duration of the federal inquiry.
The ongoing federal investigation into Southwestern administration is the result of a broader inquiry by the U.S. Department of Justice into the Southern Baptist Convention following a third-party report on abuse and cover-up by leaders of the Nashville-based denomination. The federal investigation into the convention’s administrative arm, the SBC Executive Committee, concluded in February, according to the executive committee.
But the case against Queen and potentially other former Southwestern staff seems to have a long road ahead. Last week’s news release said the investigation is ongoing, and Queen indicated in a statement last week he will fight the charges in trial.
Southwestern President David Dockery confirmed the identities of Woolman and another previously unidentified employee, Terri Stovall, in a statement Tuesday in response to a request for comment.
“This episode is a matter of deep regret to me. I am, however, grateful that several employees in whom I placed great trust acted responsibly, especially Terri Stovall. I commend the service and integrity of these employees,” said Dockery in the statement. “We remain resolute to continue to cooperate fully with the Department of Justice in all aspects of this investigation.”
The event at the heart of the case involving Queen and Woolman is a Jan. 26, 2023, meeting in which Woolman instructed Stovall to destroy a document containing details of an earlier report of alleged abuse by undergraduate student Christian Flores.
The document outlined how Stovall, a professor and dean of women at Southwestern, notified the chief of seminary police in November 2022 of a forthcoming arrest warrant for Flores. Flores’ alleged assault was “against an individual unaffiliated with the seminary,” said Dockery in a statement Tuesday. Dockery said in his statement the chief of campus police “took no further action in November.” That chief of seminary police is no longer employed at Southwestern.
Following Flores’ arrest by area municipal police on Jan. 24, 2023, Stovall provided Woolman the document with details about the earlier report to seminary police. Woolman instructed Stovall in that Jan. 26 meeting to destroy the document, according to federal court records, though Stovall ultimately retained a copy.
Dockery said in his statement Tuesday that Woolman, who served under Dockery as chief of staff, at one point lied to the president and said he had not instructed Stovall to destroy the document. “For nearly five months we operated within the tension of knowing that employees in whom we had confidence had differences of recollection regarding the January conversation,” said Dockery in his statement.
Eventually, Queen revealed he heard Woolman instruct Stovall to destroy the document, which was the basis of the federal charges against Queen last week. Queen had resigned from his post as interim provost and the seminary had placed Queen on administrative leave.
Both Queen and Woolman eventually left Southwestern to become pastors of the churches that they currently lead. Woolman’s candidacy for senior pastor of Fruit Cove Baptist received endorsements from Queen and Dockery, according to a Fruit Cove Baptist website archive. Dockery said in his statement Tuesday about that endorsement: “If asked to provide the same recommendation today, and based on information received subsequent to that time, I would not be able to provide the same recommendation.”
In a May 14, 2023 address to the Fruit Cove congregation, Woolman praised how thorough the church’s hiring process was.
“They have looked for every skeleton in every closet,” Woolman said to the congregation. “I don’t have any skeletons in any closets, and I was still scared they would find skeletons in closets.”
Liam Adams covers religion for The Tennessean, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at ladams@tennessean.com or on social media @liamsadams.