Southern Baptist Convention’s mission arm the International Mission Board privately searches for other victims related to sex abuse case, does not encourage reporting to law enforcement.

This morning I got an email from my Google Alert for “Mark Aderholt” and saw there was a new article discussing how the International Mission Board, the SBC arm that conducted an internal investigation in 2007 into one of their employees who sexually abused me in 1996 (when he was not an employee.) I was happy at first. My first reason for coming forward was to make sure that this man had not abused anyone else considering his access to vulnerable people on the mission field for over a decade.

As I looked for the original post, I couldn’t find anything except for what a few newspapers posted. At about 10:30 this morning, I received the following screenshots from an anonymous sender.

This is a letter the International Mission Board sent out to a group of people (that I am unaware of who it includes and doesn’t include).

You will note a few things:

  1. It is sent privately to a group of people when in fact, this should be a public statement as well as a private inquiry.
  2. It immediately goes to defend Mr. Aderholt stating that he maintains his innocence and to their knowledge, they don’t know of anything else.
  3. They want to find out if there are other victims so they can “offer counseling resources to help them.” Interestingly enough, I have been asking for counseling resources as well.*
  4. What is of utmost importance, aside from that, is that they do not at any point SAY ANYTHING ABOUT REPORTING CHILD ABUSE OR ILLEGAL CONDUCT TO LAW ENFORCEMENT. You think they would know this by now. It’s kind of why we’re in this pickle now, isn’t it?
  5. Their first concern is to minister to victims. Their primary concern is NOT following the law.
  6. In listing ways to report illegal activities like abuse and harassment, they do not say “call your local law enforcement” or “call the FBI”…they list FOUR ways, all of them INTERNAL, of letting them know about the illegal activity. They do not recommend contacting law enforcement.
  7. It highlights the amount of discretion that will be used in providing any follow-up.

If you are the recipient of this letter and an abuse survivor, or a survivor period, please contact your local law enforcement to begin taking the proper steps of finding help and justice.

INTERNAL REPORTING ALLOWS PREDATORS TO KEEP OFFENDING.

When will the Southern Baptist Convention hold the IMB accountable in the same manner that they hold their churches accountable? The IMB is acting in a way that is diametrically opposed to what the SBC is attempting to do in reshaping their policies and informing people to REPORT TO LAW ENFORCEMENT.

Once again, the IMB is operating in an inappropriate manner and I’m assuming this is after they have been counseled by the law firm they hired. If they cannot follow instruction from the SBC HQ or from the third party they hired, what hope do they have?

They need to know that the days of keeping things secret are over.

I do hope they follow through on their promise to help victims get the counseling they need. I know I’m still waiting for that answer to my request. But most importantly, I hope they report all abuse and all illegal activity to law enforcement and encourage those in their care to do the same.

I have recently asked for help for current counseling directly related to the IMB’s negligence in handling this situation over the last 12 years as well as past and future counseling expenses. I was told “yes” for current expenses and was told there was a list of counselors they recommend. Upon me sharing my counselor of my choosing, I did not hear back for several days and when I did, I was told my request was sent on to “leadership.” I have not yet heard back. May 2019 update: I had the chance to meet with a staff leader and trustee along with a support person of my choosing to discuss this. This is currently on-going. I do hope we can meet an agreement soon that is suitable.