LITTLE ROCK (AR)
The Roys Report [Chicago IL]
October 17, 2024
By Josh Shepherd
An Arkansas Baptist church, under fire for alleged cover-up of sexual abuse, has devised a new way to control negative publicity—forbid members from speaking anything with “(negative) intent” in public.
The church, Immanuel Baptist Church (IBC) in Little Rock, Arkansas, has faced intense public scrutiny since December, when former IBC deacons alleged that church leaders failed to disclose sexual abuse of minors.
On February 4, longtime IBC Senior Pastor Steven Smith told the church’s board of deacons, “I can’t have trust restored if people inside the church are talking to the newspaper,” according to sources reported by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Two months later, Smith stepped down.
Now, Immanuel is revising its bylaws to include a restriction on free speech.
“Church members are expected to avoid making statements to the general public, media, or via the Internet with intent to breach Church business confidentialities, injure the reputation of the Church, or disregard Jesus’ imperative to love one another . . .” the proposed bylaws state.
However, the draft bylaws still obligate members and staff to “comply with the requirements of federal or state law,” notably as it pertains to “report(ing) any suspected child abuse.”
A member who doesn’t comply with the bylaws “may be subject to discipline or sanctions including temporary or permanent forfeiture (of membership),” states the draft document.
The IBC board of deacons held a congregational business meeting Sept. 8 to present the proposed bylaws, which are posted online.
Months prior, deacons had appointed Attorney Mike Rainwater, a longtime member, to lead a15-member committee to draft bylaws for the church. In his remarks, Rainwater called the process of drafting the bylaws “democratic, transparent, and authentic.” He noted that the committee had invested “about 750 man and woman hours in this project.”
Rainwater also implied some provisions in the bylaws were drafted in response to recent church scandals.
“We specifically did not want to react to our recent difficult situation but, on the other hand, we wanted to respond to that,” said Rainwater. “You can look at certain bylaws and you can kind of see what people have been through.”
The Roys Report (TRR) reached out for comment to church spokesman Phillip Ashworth and to attorney Rainwater at his law practice, but did not receive a response.
Sexual abuse of minors not disclosed for years
Since December, hundreds of members and at least eight former IBC deacons have reportedly left the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC)-affiliated church.
In recent months, former church staff member Patrick Miller and former church volunteer Reagan Gray have faced new criminal charges related to their interaction with minors at the church.
In 2019, IBC Assistant Director of Children’s Ministry Miller was charged with second-degree sexual assault related to the abuse of an underage girl in a church classroom. In a plea deal, Miller pleaded down to misdemeanor harassment in 2022 and was given a one-year suspended sentence.
Miller’s criminal conduct was not disclosed to the church for seven years. However, last December, one day after a report in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, former Pastor Smith addressed the situation in a church service.
“I wish we would have told you about these crimes sooner,” said Smith. A church statement at the time similarly claimed that disclosure would impede prosecutors’ investigation.
A second victim’s case, alleging assault and multiple other felonies committed by Miller when she was a minor, is currently pending in Pulaski County Criminal Court.
Recently, a third woman has come forward. Miller has denied the recent allegations.
In April, IBC student ministry volunteer Reagan Gray was arrested on charges of first-degree sexual assault of a high school boy who attended the church. She has pleaded not guilty.
Last September, Smith disclosed the allegations against Gray, which had occurred in the summer of 2020, to church members.
Smith claimed in the email to members that Gray had been “removed” from the student ministry. But months later, after church-mandated counseling, Gray resumed her youth leadership role.
In a January statement, Smith said, “It was wrong, and I apologize to those we hurt by allowing it to happen.”
Provision to silence members is unprecedented, say pastors
The 16-page document marks a significant change for the church, founded in 1892. Immanuel Baptist has been managed without governing bylaws for over 130 years, a rarity, particularly among large churches.
Courtney Reissig, a Christian author and former IBC staff member who spoke to media about the scandals at Immanuel, told TRR that it’s a “good move” for the church to establish written policies.
But Reissig, who left Immanuel last fall after being a member for four years, added, “I don’t want to assume motive, but I wish people didn’t have to get hurt for them to establish bylaws.”
Reissig also criticized the provision restricting members’ speech.
“If you have nothing to hide, then there is nothing to be afraid of when someone speaks to the media,” she said.
Multiple pastors told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that the provision on speech is not common among SBC churches. Former SBC president Bart Barber said, “That’s the first I have ever seen of a mention of the media in governing documents.”
Similarly, Todd Benkert, a longtime SBC pastor who now leads a nonprofit group called Hope’s Companion, criticized how the wording seeks to establish the negative “intent” of members who speak up about abuse.
“My experience with whistleblowers has always been a desire to see justice for survivors and keep predators from abusing again,” he told TRR. “I have never met a survivor or advocate whose intent was to injure the church. Their heart is to help not harm.”
Benkert, whose nonprofit group educates churches on trauma-informed abuse prevention, said the draft bylaws for IBC reflect a limited understanding of “biblical peacemaking as it relates to abuse dynamics.”
He pointed to how section 11 of the document cited Matthew 18, an often-misunderstood chapter, multiple times.
“The Bible teaches more about conflict resolution than one passage of Scripture in Matthew 18,” he said. “We need to understand how abusers can manipulate these policies and processes to silence their victims and avoid accountability.”
The board of deacons at IBC, which has a “feedback form” online for members, has stated that a revised version of the draft bylaws will be sent to members on November 7. Ten days after that, members are set to vote on the bylaws.
Correction: Details of the criminal charges against Miller have been updated for accuracy.