A reasonable inference is also that Defendant Lyell intended to advance her false narrative by taking a hand in the actual writing of an article by RNS and Smietana, each of whom had previously served as a resource to Defendant Lyell for the purpose of publishing her malicious allegations against the Sills Plaintiffs. Help keep The Christian Post free for everyone by making a one-time donation today. 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. A Response to Rachael Denhollander and Others.. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. . Henzel told CR that he did not know how the audio was leaked and did not feel comfortable speaking about it. All rights reserved (About Us). Though 30 pages in length, the key facts allged are right on the first page. The lawsuit also claims that Sills broke off the relationship and that Lyell continued to pursue him. She mentions them many times during this recording. 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. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our. David Pooler, professor of social work at Baylor University, said sexual misconduct by clergy and other religious leaders is often labeled as having an affair. But that description misses the power imbalance at play. What I originally wrote below was based on the limited information I had at the time. This issue caught fire on Twitter, where critics of SBC leadership and of the sexual abuse study picked it up, prompting retweets and commentary. He did call the police. Pastors and churches called for her to be fired. When a pastor or leader is involved in a sexual scandal, the language of affair is used, even when its a predatory use of spiritual power, he said. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. She wrote, "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 . We hope you will! Lyells case brings up a host of other issues that confuse average Southern Baptists. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. How did Saddleback get kicked out of the SBC? The fallout was quick and devastating. 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. Her story has already helped countless other people around the country, in ways that she may not even know about. Im also fine to answer any questions you or the other gentleman has to ensure you have clarity and believe me. Three Southern Baptist seminary faculty members have recently resigned their positions. RELATED: Jennifer Lyell wanted to stop her abuser by . I had discussions on our boards here with people who were convinced by the reporting that David Sills and Jennifer had an "affair" and that he was held responsible for it while she was not. Lyell was not writing to a professional journalist with a national news organization; she was writing to two bloggers who run a small nonprofit that investigates cults and preaches against the Enneagram. Basham questions Lyells description of events, her claims to have reported the abuse to police, and her ability to enlist others to corroborate her story. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent. UPDATE #1: Shortly after this article was published, Jennifer Lyell graciously reached out to us and provided crucial details of her case both to me and to Midwest Christian Outreach, Inc. President Don Veinot. Filing claims Guidepost never interviewed or even contacted him before publicly naming him a predator. (Guidepost Solutions is the firm hired by the SBC Executive Committee to investigate charges of sexual abuse within the convention. She praised SBTS for acting swiftly after she contacted Mohler. In a separate email, Lyell recounts to Henzel her understanding that Ascol put Midwest Christian Outreach on the trail of her story in the first place. Defamation?! Individuals who knew her story alerted that particular mission agency to the details behind Sills resignation from SBTS and Sills is no longer listed as a missionary for that organization. David Sills Women are seen first and foremost as sexual objects, means to an end, she said, adding women are seen as temptresses, trying to bring a good man down and getting married is seen as a way of helping men deal with their lust. Sills was a professor at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary until his resignation on May 23, 2018. Then Basham quotes three male friends of Lyells alleged abuser who all say they cant imagine him behaving the way Lyell has described. Rest assured, though, that regardless of venue, the case will be vigorously defended.. The hundreds of titles that the Books business team has acquired, developed, or managed under Jennifer's leadership include more than a dozen New York Times bestsellers, as well as CT . The case as outlined by David and Mary Sills directly contradicts the narrative told by Lyell and widely accepted as truth. This led to a general understanding that what happened between Dr. David Sills and Ms. Jennifer Lyell was a consensual affair. Why so much outrage over the burning of an LGBT Pride flag? In her statement, Lyell says that it began when she was a student. ", Follow Samuel Smith on Twitter: @IamSamSmith. It interwove Lyells story with this discussion. Old login credentials will no longer work. Read our republishing, terms of use and privacy policies here. Sills, former professor of missions and cultural anthropology at Southern, did not respond to request for comment. The Capstone Report reached out to verify the audio and for comment about the provenance of the audio. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (RNS) Jennifer Lyell was trying to do the right thing. This and so much more is contained in a roughly 2-and-a-half-hour audio interview never released that hit the Internet today. This is why the most egregious, cruel lies do not leave me without hope when those asserting them are reckless enough to do so in a form that not only allows my witness but provides a clear means by which it will be formally provided., Sills files suit against SBC and 11 other defendants, claiming his relationship with Lyell was consensual and he became a scapegoat in the SBCs sexual abuse crisis, Not everyone believes theres a sexual abuse crisis in the SBC, No, we will not take down an article you dont like | Opinion by Mark Wingfields, Guidepost report documents pattern of ignoring, denying and deflecting on sexual abuse claims in SBC, SBC Executive Committee publicly apologizes to sexual abuse survivor, SBC report shows how five words turn abuse victim from survivor to whore| Opinion by Marv Knox. And these men couldnt even lift a finger when she was defamed and crushed and destroyed. Lawsuit protests the SBC and third-party firm for supporting allegations in a new legal challenge referencing historic abuse report. They didnt they just kind of defaulted to me, and then realized later, Oh, crap, we shouldnt have done that., SBC Elites cite distinguished lawyer and Southern Baptist Matthew Martens; however, Martens has written persuasively, Supporters of a constitutional amendment to ban women pastors in the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), New intel points to Covid origin in a lab leak, remember when this was a, NAMB PR VP Mike Ebert emerges as key witness in McRaney v. NAMB What will, Leaked audio interview with Jennifer Lyell hits, featured in a new documentary on sex abuse in the SBC, David raped Bathsheba promoter involved in new SEBTS abuse class, SBC Abuse Expert Rachael Denhollander Sided with Amber Heard, SBC Elites defend credibly accused standard to ruin lives, Bart Barber flipflops on pledge to bring vote to ban Women Pastors in SBC, Evangelical Elites lied you to about the origins of Covid, Woke SBC Elites Delete History To Hide Their Schemes. Within days, the professor had been confronted and resigned. Its complicated. The suit states: On June 18, 2022, Defendant Lyell wrote to Religion News Services (RNS) and Reporter Bob Smietana, the following: My thinking was I could just verbally work through your article and clarify/add the information you didnt have or was inaccurate as well as answer the broader questions you asked when the information you had didnt reconcile for you. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (RNS) Jennifer Lyell was trying to do the right thing. And for so long, people have been unable to understand those categories., RELATED: The cost for coming forward one survivors life after #MeToo. Attorneys misidentified an email from Lyell, which was sent to a pair of ministers, not to RNS. And recovering from abuse as an adult is a long-term process. Sills is also an author. InterVarsity Press, which published one of Sills' books, removed Sills' biography page from its website and the webpage for Sills book Changing World, Unchanging Mission: Responding to Global Challenges. If so, when so that press can verify this element of the story that is now so obviously a glaring contradiction in the narrative. We say that we are not this hierarchy but in reality, we function like we are protecting the barracks of the Vatican, she said. Louisvilles Ninth and O Baptist Church told BP it is the congregation referenced in Lyells statement. Today, she feels that belief, known as complementarianism, has created an unhealthy culture. In the spring of 2018, after more than two years of therapy, she disclosed to her boss at Lifeway that a former professor named David Sills had first sexually acted against her without her consent during a mission trip he was leading while she was a seminary student. The ex-Southern Baptist Convention seminary professor accused of sexual abuse by his former student filed a defamation suit in Alabama against her and several SBC entities, claiming the allegations were part of an SBC attempt to improve its image in the wake of the sexual abuse coverup scandal. Reid, 59, SEBTS senior professor of . "As the official news service for the Southern Baptist Convention, Baptist Press should be known for integrity, truth and accuracy. Megan Lively, who was raped by a fellow student at a Southern Baptist seminary, Southern Baptist Conventions Executive Committee earlier this year offered a public apology, Buy newspaper front pages, posters and more. 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 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.. Who those others were is not clear. Lyell, who served as vice president of LifeWay Christian Resources, posted a confession in 2018 claiming how Sills, who has been married for over 30 years, sexually abused her and groomed her. Based on the information we now have I retract any suggestion that Jennifer Lyells physical relationship with David Sills was consensual. Jennifer Lyell, who now works as an executive for LifeWay Christian Resources, posted a confession online last week claiming how Sills, who has been married for 30 years and has three grandchildren, sexually abused her and even groomed her from the time she was a master of divinity student until just a few years ago. In a filing made in the Mobile, Ala., Circuit Court, David and Mary Sills allege "defamation, conspiracy, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, and . 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. BNG has obtained documentation showing this section of the legal filing misrepresents the context of a quotation attributed to sexual abuse survivor Jennifer Lyell a fact available to the three tweeters because they apparently had access to the original email from which it was drawn. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. Then Buck retweeted Basham to highlight her commentary about Sills and the SBC investigation. RELATED: Southern Baptist leader, experts say churches should address the abuse of adults. Join thousands of others to get the FREEDOM POST newsletter for free, sent twice a week from The Christian Post. Then things went terribly wrong. A clergy person has enormous power. David Sills, an ex-Southern Baptist Convention seminary professor accused of sexual abuse by his former student filed a defamation suit in Alabama against her and several SBC entities. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The church needs a way of understanding sin and violence that enables Gods grace without giving abusers back their power, their access and their good regard, she said. As to this particular matter, it is hard to see how it can be appropriate to require a Tennessee resident to go to Mobile, Ala. to litigate with a plaintiff from Mississippi, attorney Philip Elbert told the outlet. Buck, like Ascol, holds no official role in SBC life and has no direct connection to her claims of abuse from Sills. And it was not just the real devastation was the fact that I could not understand and still no one understands why that Baptist Press and the EC did what they did.. This wasnt by accident; I believe it was by design, Lyell wrote. Basham is a conservative writer for the Daily Wire website, which describes itself as a counter-cultural outlet for news, opinion and entertainment., In June, Basham launched a full-force assault against Lyells credibility with an article titled Southern Baptists #MeToo Moment published on the first day of the SBC annual meeting. Any criticism of complementarianism is seen as a sort of gateway drug into theological liberalism., I think a culture that believes that its righteousness is dependent on preserving and protecting the strictest form of complementarianism is a culture that sees women as a threat, sees women as a risk, sees women as more likely to sin, she said. I am not a sinless victim. Anytime time you have to invoke these procedures is heartbreaking but simultaneously necessary. After Denhollanders criticism, Baptist Press issued a statement, saying it had failed to convey that the heart of Lyells story was about sexual abuse by a trusted minister in a position of power at a Southern Baptist seminary.. As such, Jennifer Lyell seems to be someone who is the victim of horrendous sexual abuse. You've read 0 of 5 of todays most popular posts. Upon hearing Lyells claims last May, SBTS immediately took action. 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. Guidepost and the SBC are two of 12 total defendants named in the lawsuit that revolves around allegations that David Sills sexually abused Jennifer Lyell starting in 2004, when Lyell was a . Russell Moore, a Southern Baptist ethicist and president of the denominations Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, said the power dynamics involved in abuse have often been misunderstood in evangelical circles. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. Jennifer Lyell Lyell is a former vice president at Lifeway Christian Resources, the SBC publishing house. 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. Why Midwest Christian Outreach was interested in such a deep dive into Lyells story is not clear. Baptist Press reporting did, in fact, mislead people. He said that he is "brokenhearted over the reality" of the situation. 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. Nine months after The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) professor David Sills resigned for undisclosed reasons, a woman has released a statement of allegations including details of what she describes as sexual abuse by Sills, beginning while she was a Southern Seminary student. Ascol ran for SBC president on the slogan Change the direction.. Sills has not denied engaging in an inappropriate relationship with Lyell, and he resigned his post at Southern Seminary after being confronted about it. 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