NASHVILLE (TN)
Baptist News Global [Jacksonville FL]
March 31, 2025
By Mark Wingfield
“Pastor Johnny” will not be collecting $100 million from the Southern Baptist Convention as he had hoped.
Almost all Johnny Hunt’s defamation lawsuit against the SBC, its Executive Committee and Guidepost Solutions was dismissed in summary judgment March 31 by William Campbell, chief judge for the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee.
Only one count against the SBC remains active, which relates to a tweet by former SBC President Bart Barber. On December 5, 2022, Barber publicly tweeted: “Hunt was the subject of a third-party investigation in response to allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman half his age in ways that would, to my knowledge, constitute a felony in any jurisdiction in the US.”
Guidepost Solutions, the company that led the investigation into alleged mishandling of sexual abuse in the SBC and included allegations against Hunt in its final report, was relieved of all liability regarding Hunt’s claims.
Hunt’s trial was scheduled to begin June 17 in Nashville. If that trial date holds, the only count to be considered now would be the claim regarding Barber’s tweet. It is not clear from the court’s March 31 order how that will play out.
Campbell issued a one-paragraph judgment granting the defendants’ request for summary judgment. That order says a “forthcoming memorandum” will explain the reasons for the ruling.
“We are grateful for this decision and the forward progress in our legal process,” said Jeff Iorg, SBC Executive Committee president.
Amid a myriad of legal expenses related to sexual abuse investigations and claims, the SBC has spent more than $3 million on the Hunt case alone.
Hunt, a former president of the SBC and former executive vice president of the SBC North American Mission Board, filed suit in March 2023. His legal document refers to him throughout as “Pastor Johnny.” Although he has admitted to an improper interaction with a women not his wife at a beach condo, he denies committing assault.
He claims the Guidepost report and other actions by the SBC and its officials defamed him and cost him millions of dollars in lost income. The 72-year-old demanded up to $100 million in total damages — equal to half the SBC Cooperative Program’s annual income.
Related articles:
‘Pastor Johnny’ sues the SBC and Guidepost
Johnny Hunt tells his side of the story, including his definition of ‘adultery’
‘Pastor Johnny’ is the head of a family empire that feeds off the SBC