No thinking person with a backbone takes them seriously., Exactly one year before Basham published Southern Baptists #MeToo Moment, Midwest Christian Outreach, a small online apologetics site run by Don Veinot, highlighted Lyells case. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (RNS) Jennifer Lyell was trying to do the right thing. Sills also served as an International Mission Board (IMB) trustee and a member of the IMBs presidential search committee. The court filing addresses this issue: This court has personal jurisdiction over the defendants. Why so much outrage over the burning of an LGBT Pride flag? 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 spring of 2019, Lyell, then a well-respected leader in Christian publishing, decided to publicly disclose that she was a survivor of sexual abuse. Also at the same time Buck inserted himself into the behind-the-scenes interrogation of Lyell, he maintained a public campaign to identify an alleged leaker of a column written by his wife discussing difficulties in their marriage and in her earlier life. Although the lawsuit was filed in Alabama, David Sills lives in Mississippi. Return to homepage. I have never been unwilling to be questioned when making allegations that arent only moral, but are also criminal and Im extremely thankful that all parties who received and investigated my allegations did press me for details necessary to understand what I was alleging given my age and the fact it was not a single occurrence as well as that I did not report anything to them for a very long time.. . Geiger told Lyell he was responsible to share the allegations with Southern and invited her to participate in the process, Geiger recounted to Baptist Press. Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson thinks he redeemed himself. He said that he is "brokenhearted over the reality" of the situation. 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. 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. I shared how 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 for more than a decade following that trip. How did Bob Smietana avoid being named in this lawsuit? RNS published a story about the Sills lawsuit Nov. 28 and noted at the end of the story the complaint against Smietana and RNS. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. Some especially a group of Calvinist pastors questioned Lyells account and accused her of trying to make a consensual affair look like abuse. They simply want to push their agenda & cancel anyone who refuses to kowtow to their self-righteous bloviating. In that email, Lyell makes the exact statement the lawsuit attributes to communication with Smietana. But we must not be silent. However, not everyone has believed a sexual abuse crisis exists in the SBC. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. I think her efforts to call attention to this horrible aspect of abuse are needed.. Things made a little more sense last Friday when a woman named Jennifer Lyell (below) released a statement explaining how she had been engaged in an "inappropriate relationship" with Sills for nearly a decade, beginning when she was his student. She graduated from Southern with a master of divinity in 2006 and enrolled in an SBTS doctoral program for one year after that. David Sills and his wife, Mary, filed the suit Nov. 21 in Mobile County circuit court. Jennifer Lyell Lyell previously was a vice president at Lifeway, which is located in Nashville, Tenn. She voluntarily agreed to an interview with Baptist Press in 2019, by her account hoping her story would encourage other survivors of sexual abuse to come forward. He said people often turn to clergy when they are at their most vulnerable. Mississippi lawyer Don Barrett, one of the attorneys representing David Sills and his wife, Mary Sills, said that part of the complaint was in error, the story said. Jennifer Lyell was trying to do the right thing. Sills files defamation suit against SBC, Lyell, others MOBILE, Ala. (BP) - A former Southern Baptist seminary professor and his wife have filed suit against the SBC and 10 other individuals and entities connected to the SBC, including Jennifer Lyell and Guidepost Solutions. But I am a victim nonetheless.. Old login credentials will no longer work. However, Ascol, Basham and Buck were copied on the email, and in another email, Lyell indicates Basham had accessed the video without Lyells knowledge or permission. She did so after learning her abuser, a former Southern Baptist seminary professor, author and missionary, had recently returned to ministry. George resigned on May 3 while Sills resigned on May 23, the Biblical Recorder reported. Whatever else is accurate or inaccurate in the lawsuit filed by David and Mary Sills against the SBC, Lyell and 10 others, the quotation attributed to a Lyell email to Smietana of RNS actually comes from a different Lyell email sent to Veinot and Henzel June 18, 2021. The following year, Jennifer Lyell, a former vice president at Lifeway Christian Resources, told Baptist Press she had been a victim of emotional and sexual abuse by Sills, who had been her professor. Tom Ascol, Tom Buck and Megan Basham tweeted about the Sills lawsuit and accused not only Lyell, but also Religion News Service reporter Bob Smietana who has covered the SBCs sexual abuse situation for years of misconduct. Im also fine to answer any questions you or the other gentleman has to ensure you have clarity and believe me. I am not a sinless victim. Lyell contends it was not consensual. In his lawsuit filed Nov. 21, Sills claimed Lyells allegedly false claims were repeated in SBC media as an opportunity to improve the appearance and reputation SBCs handling of abuse cases and made him a bona fide scapegoat.. Lyell is a former Reaching and Teaching International board member. Henzel told CR that he did not know how the audio was leaked and did not feel comfortable speaking about it. Ascol ran for SBC president on the slogan Change the direction.. Man At Center of Massive SBC Sex Scandal Sues Denomination, Along with 11 Prominent Southern Baptists For Lying About Him The Soap Opera Plods On Upon hearing Lyells claims last May, SBTS immediately took action. And Christian theology about sin and about the roles of men and women often makes it difficult for survivors who come forward. Join thousands of others to get the FREEDOM POST newsletter for free, sent twice a week from The Christian Post. Her name appears on 37 pages of the report. Just over two years later, she stated the allegations to then-LifeWay Senior Vice President Eric Geiger and Mohler. 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 Baptist Press eventually apologized for the article, but Lyell said she had already been devastated by the repercussions of its inaccurate reporting. They may, at best, support survivors or criticize fellow denominational leaders in private but will not use their power to do the same in public, she said. And because of their power and influence, pastors and other religious leaders have a responsibility to set up boundaries in their relationships with other people. Since Mohler made a public comment just a few days ago, surely, he now has an obligation to answer this important question. The suit was filed in the Circuit Court of Mobile County, Ala., on Monday, Nov. 21. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (RNS) Jennifer Lyell was trying to do the right thing. That was not accurate. I am not a sinless victim. For example, why did Lyell continue the relationship with the alleged abusers after graduating from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS)? LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP) -- Nine months after Southern Baptist Theological Seminary professor David Sills resigned for undisclosed reasons, a woman has released a statement of allegations including details of what she says was a morally inappropriate relationship with Sills for more than a decade, beginning while she was a Southern Seminary student. All rights reserved. As I understand it, that is not accurate. Rest assured, though, that regardless of venue, the case will be vigorously defended.. Jen came forward at incredible personal cost to herself, to defend those who had no voice, Denhollander said. Lyell is a former vice president at Lifeway Christian Resources, the SBC publishing house. Sills resigned from the Kentucky-based schoollast May shortly after Lyell presented her claims to SBTS President Albert Mohler. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". These ultra-conservatives believe the SBC is sliding into liberalism and needs to be rescued by them. Ascol retweeted her, insisting: Exactly. And so, we invoked our policies and procedures,"Mohler told The Christian Post in a phone interview. This led to a general understanding that what happened between Dr. David Sills and Ms. Jennifer Lyell was a consensual affair. (RNS) A former seminary professor and missionary who admitted sexual misconduct has sued a gaggle of Southern Baptist Conference leaders and entities, claiming they conspired with an abuse survivor to break his repute. She lost her reputation, her job and even her health in the process. We say that we are not this hierarchy but in reality, we function like we are protecting the barracks of the Vatican, she said. Pooler said church members often become nonprotective bystanders, whose inaction enables abuse to continue and abusers to go unpunished. The abuser often spends years grooming a victim and then does not let the victim go. The implication of Ms. Lyells statement was that Dr. Sills had acted criminally. He resigned from his trustee post, and as a result from the search committee, in May 2018. The lawsuit centers on allegations that Sills sexually abused Jennifer Lyell starting in 2004 when Lyell was a student and Sills was a professor. I couldnt deal. On July 6th, this story would resurface because Bob Smietana, a liberal reporter of the pagan Religious News Service wrote an apologetic for Jennifer Lyell, When abuse victims are adults . 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. Once the person gets access, they keep that access, he said. 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And for so long, people have been unable to understand those categories., RELATED: The cost for coming forward one survivors life after #MeToo. 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. She began her thread saying, " What I referenced today about the Baptist Press' defamatory statements regarding @jenlyell and her abuser, former SBTS prof. David Sills, was the tip of the iceberg. Ascol is a Florida pastor who leads Founders Ministries, a group of Southern Baptist Calvinists. Three Southern Baptist seminary faculty members have recently resigned their positions. 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. 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. Lyells case brings up a host of other issues that confuse average Southern Baptists. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Its complicated. He did call the police. But at Lyells request, SBTS, the flagship seminary of the Southern Baptist Convention, did not make the details behind Sills resignation public at the time. Critics of the SBC investigation and of the existence of a crisis of sexual abuse in the denomination frequently point to Lyells story as questionable, but they have been minority voices. David Sills | MOODY PUBLISHERS The following year, Jennifer Lyell, a former vice president at Lifeway Christian Resources, told Baptist Press she had been a victim of emotional and sexual . . Rather than seek the truth, defendants repeated and circulated false statements about Dr. Sills, causing him to be cast as a toxic pariah, the brief states. "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. Denhollander, an abuse survivor whose testimony led to the conviction of former national gymnastics doctor and serial abuser Larry Nassar, said evangelical theology had created a kind of porn culture in churches. The timeline raises many natural and difficult questionsquestions that are not prompted by a desire for lewd details, but rather to fully understand what has become a public case used to discredit how the SBC handles abuse allegations. Plaintiffs David Sills and Mary Sills file this complaint against Defendants, alleging defamation, conspiracy, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, and wantonness concerning untrue claims of sexual abuse initiated by Defendant, Jennifer Lyell, and thereafter Photo via Baylor University. Facebook/The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Bible teacher Jen Wilkin addresses criticism of her views on sending children to public schools, Teen, 21-year-old man indicted for murder of Memphis pastor, Deion Sanders' prayers are constitutionally protected, lawyer tells University of Colorado, Revival at Kentucky college faces hurdles from school leadership, moves worship off-campus. The lawsuit also claims that Sills broke off the relationship and that Lyell continued to pursue him.