Robert Downen Profile picture
Jan 24, 2020 9 tweets 7 min read Read on X
NEW: In an interview today, ⁦Southern Baptist President @jdgreear strongly denounced disgraced leader Paige Patterson, and advised churches to consider Patterson's history of mishandling sex abuses before inviting him to preach. #SBCtoo #ChurchToo houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-t…
@jdgreear Greear's comments came after I asked him about decisions by two churches to host/honor Patterson, including a Dallas-area church that recognized him as a "defender of the faith" earlier this month. #SBCtoo #ChurchToo #CaringWell

More on that:
@jdgreear Greear: I advise any Southern Baptist church to consider this severe action before having Dr. Patterson preach or speak and to contact trustee officers if additional information is necessary. #SBCtoo #ChurchToo #CaringWell
@jdgreear Greear: "If our system of governance means anything, it means exercising due diligence and heeding what those whom we put in positions of trustee oversight have reported about official misconduct.” #SBCtoo #ChurchToo #CaringWell
@jdgreear Greear: “I know (Patterson's return to preaching) has caused confusion, frustrations, and in many cases fresh pain for survivors. We must be clear going forward for the sake of those who have been hurt and to those in churches and entities today.” #SBCtoo #ChurchToo #CaringWell
@jdgreear Side note: This is my first story as the @HoustonChron religion reporter.

I promise you that I, too, would have preferred it not involve sex abuses, Southern Baptists and/or Paige Patterson.

Really. I tried.
@jdgreear A bit more context: the crux of Greear's statement was about Patterson's recent return to SBC pulpits. The context is much more evident in the story, but I wanna further clarify for the Twitterverse.
Update: Patterson’s longtime attorney has responded to my request for comment.

“He would never respond to something like that.”

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More from @RobertDownen_

Mar 8
I missed most of the Department of Justice/Southern Baptist drama. But I saw quite a few people - including those who've vocally opposed abuse reforms - celebrating. Let's talk about that:
To be clear: I am not weighing in on the validity or strength of the DOJ's hypothetical case, or whether the SBC did/didn't break laws. I am just spotlighting one type of response, and way some folks selectively apply standards of proof to fit their own views.
When news broke that the DOJ had closed its investigation, some celebrated it as proof that there was never a real abuse crisis – as if the last 5 years just didn't happen.
Read 17 tweets
Mar 6
🧵🧵Super Tuesday in Texas will be a bellwether for the Texas GOP's ongoing civil war over school vouchers, the Paxton impeachment and, to lesser degrees, white supremacists and sex abuse scandals. Let me explain:
Ahead of election day, deep-pocketed groups and lawmakers have poured in millions amid fights over school vouchers, the Paxton impeachment and the broader future of the Texas GOP.
texastribune.org/2024/02/27/gre…
Tension in the Texas GOP isn't new. But the impeachment of Paxton, an ally of the well-funded far right, exploded those fights into all-out war.
texastribune.org/2023/09/16/ken…
Read 21 tweets
Feb 27
🧵🧵In leaked audio, Texas Supreme Court Justice John Devine says his all-GOP colleagues are "brainwashed" and "would sacrifice the Republic for the sake of the (legal) process."

More on his comments + 30-year rise from anti-abortion activist to jurist:
texastribune.org/2024/02/27/joh…
Devine also blasted his colleagues' ruling in the Jeff Younger case; said the all-GOP Court of Criminal Appeals is filled with "RINOs" and "trans-Republicans"; and accused Harris County Democrats of trying to use "dirty tricks" to steal elections. #txlege
texastribune.org/2024/02/27/joh…
The audio is a rare glimpse into the typically insular court and how Devine views his role on it. And it comes as he faces a heated GOP primary against Appeals Judge Brian Walker, who has campaigned on questions about Devine's ethics since the 1990s.
texastribune.org/2024/02/27/joh…
Read 9 tweets
Jan 23
🧵🧵A 2017 email accused Southern Baptist leader Paul Pressler of being a pedophile – and sheds new light on the role that Jared Woodfill, who is running for Texas House with Ken Paxton's backing, played in providing Pressler access to potential victims.
texastribune.org/2024/01/23/jar…
In the email, Pressler's then-aide wrote to the Pressler family, warning that he was a racist sexual predator who bragged about being naked w/ boys. The aide also wrote that he'd seen Pressler "manipulate" a nearly-homeless young man into a nude massage.
texastribune.org/2024/01/23/jar…

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The aide then attached a resignation letter and asked that he be taken off the payroll of Jared Woodfill's law firm. Woodfill is a prominent anti-gay activist in Houston, former chair of the Harris County GOP and was for years Pressler's law partner. Image
Read 9 tweets
Jan 19
In 2021, longtime Southern Baptist Convention attorney Jim Guenther wrote that he and others feared discovery in the Paul Pressler lawsuit would produce "a lot of evidence" that Pressler had sexually abused Duane Rollins "for many years." Image
Jim Guenther represented the SBC from 1966 until 2021, when he resigned in protest of a third-party investigation into the SBC's handling of sex abuse claims. The report later found that he played a key role in downplaying or ignoring warnings of a crisis. houstonchronicle.com/news/investiga…

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Here's Jim Guenther writing to (now-disgraced) SBC leader Augie Boto in 2011 about how the SBC's decision not to officially track sexual abuse complaints against ministers had proven "helpful" in a sex abuse lawsuit. Image
Read 4 tweets
Jan 14
Certainly looks like Ronald from Goyim Defense League, which has been very active in Houston and Texas. Image
Here he is from a recent Florida protest.
Read 7 tweets

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