This last week there was a report released concerning the Executive Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. The document reports on some of the most powerful leaders in the convention using their power to silence sex abuse victims and protect their abusers. According to the report, the Executive Committee has been guilty of deception for twenty years.
The elders of The Orchard Church are deeply grieved by these findings. We stand in full support of abuse survivors. We want to use this opportunity to let you know if you have experienced sexual abuse, we will walk alongside you in your pain and try to help you find the resources you need.
The Orchard Church is also calling upon the perpetrators listed in the report to publicly repent.
While we are encouraged that this investigation was carried out by the will of the vast majority of Southern Baptist Churches, we are mostly grieved.
While The Orchard Church has not been directly involved in anything related to the report, we acknowledge that this is our denomination.
Last December, when we saw the prophet Daniel offer a prayer of repentance for his entire nation, we followed his example and prayed.
Now, we will follow that example again, so that God may purify us and use us to bring healing to the convention.
Prayer
Father, Lord God Almighty – you are the Glorious One who keeps all his promises. We, your Church, have sinned, done wrong, acted wickedly, rebelled, and turned away from your commands and ordinances. We have not listened to your Word.
Father, all righteousness belongs to you, but this day public shame belongs to us: the people of the Church, the Southern Baptist Convention, the pastors, and deacons, leaders, and congregations.
We confess and repent.
We have ignored sexual abuse in our own midst.
We confess and repent.
We have empowered evil men to misuse your Name as they lied and injured abuse survivors.
We confess and repent.
We have allowed precious brothers and sisters to be humiliated and slandered so that we could hold onto power. So that we could maintain the appearance of holiness while our righteousness was really like filthy rags.
We confess and repent.
Too often we were silent when we should have spoken. We should have cared more about your people, than our positions or authority.
We confess and repent.
We have honored you with words, but our hearts are far away. We say we love your Word, but abuse and neglect it. We ignore the innocent and have embraced sexual brokenness.
We confess and repent.
We applaud arrogant, proud, boastful, unloving, and unmerciful people while neglecting the poor, single people, the divorced, the abandoned, widows, foster children, the abused and orphans. We have failed to be reconciled to persons of every people, tribe, tongue, and nation as image-bearers of God. We have made comfort our god while tolerating abuse from our pastors because they know how to twist the gospel to numerically grow a congregation. We have accepted hypocrisy while our pastors sexually abuse the flock because we are more concerned about protecting our name and our reputation than your truth, your justice, and your care for the powerless.
We have been overcome by evil and responded with fearful anger, rather than the confidence and love that comes from you.
We confess and repent.
Now, Lord our God – who brought your people out of the land of Egypt, and who redeemed your people through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus – may your anger and wrath turn away from your Church. Our sin has made us an object of ridicule to all those around us.
Father God, hear our prayer and petition. May your face shine upon the broken Church. Listen and hear us, O God. We are not presenting our confession and prayers based on our righteous acts, but based on your abundant compassion. Our sins are scarlet, in the Name of Jesus make them as clean as snow. Fill us with your Spirit once again so we might return to our first love and do your will.
Lord, hear! Lord, forgive! Lord, listen and act! Our God, for your own sake, do not delay, because your Church and your people bear your Name.
In the Name of Jesus Christ our Lord, we ask you. Amen.
