by Staff
PLYMOUTH, MI – The officers and Board of Trustees of the Baptist State Convention of Michigan (BSCM) unanimously passed a resolution calling on the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) to waive attorney-client privilege in connection with an investigation into how the Executive Committee handled sexual abuse allegations.
At the Annual Meeting in June, SBC messengers voted for a third-party investigation into the allegations. SBC President Ed Litton appointed a seven-member task force to work with Guidepost Solutions to conduct the investigation. The Executive Committee has declined the request of the Task Force to waive attorney-client privilege and allow the Task Force access to all pertinent materials.
In an opening statement to the BSCM resolution, the Board says, “We are disappointed and saddened that this resolution had to be produced in the first place.” The resolution calls on the EC to waive the attorney-client privilege “so that a thorough and transparent investigation can take place.”
Tim Patterson, Executive Director of the BSCM, said the group plans to take the resolution to the convention’s Annual Meeting.
The BSCM resolution joins a chorus of SBC entities, state conventions, and denominational leaders all calling on the EC to fulfill the will of the messengers.
The entire opening letter is as follows:
September 28, 2021
The officers and the Board of Trustees of the Baptist State Convention of Michigan have unanimously and enthusiastically approved the attached resolution, calling on the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention to follow the will of the messengers regarding the waiving of attorney-client privilege so that a thorough and transparent investigation can take place. We are disappointed and saddened that this resolution had to be produced in the first place, and have prayed (and will continue to pray) that those who have been elected by the messengers to serve the churches of the SBC will do the right thing. We want to be clear that we unequivocally stand with the abused and cry out for justice to be done (Amos 5:24).
Soli Deo Gloria,
Roy Henry, President
Ed Emmerling, 1st Vice-President
Roland Caldwell, Sr., 2nd Vice-President
Jerome Taylor, 1st Recording Secretary
Dr. Michelle White, 2nd Recording Secretary
The Board of Trustees of the Baptist State Convention of Michigan
To read the entire resolution, CLICK HERE.