Thread by @liamsadams

Local Southern Baptist officials are the first line of defense in abuse prevention and response. But in east metro Atlanta, the opposite happened.
My story on the decisions by local SBC officials and the betrayal survivors felt: tennessean.com/story/news/rel…

Our article is about a story that has gained attention since @Meighanmaiam began speaking out (religionandjustice.com/blog). Our story adds to Meighan’s, while also giving special focus to a certain Southern Baptist official. (🧵)

That certain Southern Baptist official is Larry Cheek, who was the point person for local Southern Baptist life in east metro Atlanta as the associational missionary for the Stone Mountain Baptist Association. tennessean.com/story/news/rel…

We found three separate cases when Cheek didn’t take a strong enough stance against, or sometimes showed support for, ministers credibly accused of abuse. tennessean.com/story/news/rel…

A little context is really important here: national SBC leaders cannot mandate churches enact abuse reform, creating a need for local officials to rally churches to the cause. tennessean.com/story/news/rel…

Case #1:
…But in the Stone Mountain Baptist Association, which Cheek led for 25 years, in 2003, Cheek wrote a letter expressing support for a music minister who pleaded guilty to child molestation.

Case #2:
In 2018, after pastor Philip Lehman groomed and harassed Meighan McCammon, Meighan McCammon and her mom, Joy McCammon, wanted Cheek to help remove Lehman from the pulpit. But Cheek didn’t do that. tennessean.com/story/news/rel…

Case #3:
Many months after pastor Jeff McCammon’s arrest (cherokeescout.com/local-news/pas…) on abuse charges did Cheek respond and ultimately let Jeff McCammon and his church quietly, voluntarily withdraw its affiliation from the Stone Mountain Baptist Association.

This story points to just how important a role local SBC officials play. They are embedded in a community that is deeply interconnected for all kinds of reasons. tennessean.com/story/news/rel…

In this case, Grace Baptist Church, which now employs Philip Lehman (Case #2), once employed the music minister who pleaded guilty to child molestation (Case #1).
(Photo credit for this photo and the others: Joshua Jones for @onlineathens).

@onlineathens In 2003, when Cheek wrote the letter for Kyle Dobbs (Case #1) supporting Dobbs, he did so with 20-plus other people, including Grace Baptist Church members.

“It was heartbreaking. Some of these people we considered friends.” Lindsay Hau told me. Hau and her sister reported Dobbs, leading to the music minister pleading guilty and his sentencing. tennessean.com/story/news/rel…

In January, Hau and her sister saw a TikTok by @Meighanmaiam talking about Grace Baptist and Larry Cheek. tiktok.com/@religionandju…

@Meighanmaiam Also, @Meighanmaiam shared with me her story of reporting Philip Lehman’s behavior toward her, the end result of which fell far short of what Meighan and her mom, Joy, wanted. tennessean.com/story/news/rel…

@Meighanmaiam A recording from an August 2018 meeting offered key insight into how Lehman described his behavior (calling it “banter and sarcasm”) and Cheek’s response (who at one point suggested @Meighanmaiam’s parents influenced their daughter to consider Lehman’s behavior as inappropriate).

@Meighanmaiam (By the way, Cheek’s suggestion in that meeting was not true. “I realized what Philip was sending me was wrong and inappropriate,” @Meighanmaiam told me).

Back to that August 2018 meeting, in which Joy McCammon said, “Philip without question abused his power. It is our proposal that this be brought before the (Discover Point) church and that Philip steps aside.” tennessean.com/story/news/rel…

But Cheek and Bryan Alexander, who at the time worked for the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, who was also in that meeting, didn’t promise that.

Lehman remained pastor at Discover Point Church for about a whole other year until he resigned for “a sinful relationship with someone outside our church and community,” said a letter to Discover Point members. web.archive.org/web/2019062002…

I also talked to @griffingulledge, who became involved with Case #3 when Jeff McCammon was still pastoring an SBC church months after being arrested. Griffin made a few calls, setting in motion a process to disfellowshipping the church, but didn't go exactly as planned.

@griffingulledge Reflecting on how it played out (the church withdrawing), Griffin told me: “When you have an associational missionary who drags their feet, withholds information or is not doing everything in their power to root out abusers in our convention, then the system doesn’t work.”

@griffingulledge Joy and Meighan McCammon have said current leadership at Discover Point Church, the Stone Mountain Baptist Association and Georgia Baptist Mission Board, and those at the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina have showed support for them.

“It’s nice having the support and being believed,” @Meighanmaiam told me.
But trusting a person’s belief doesn’t translate to trusting their follow through. tennessean.com/story/news/rel…

After watching Meighan’s TikTok in January, Lindsay Hau was even less sure about substantive change in the past 20 years (reminder, see Case #1). “It’s just mind boggling how much apparently it has not changed,” Lindsay told me.

.@Meighanmaiam shares some of that wariness, a residual feeling from what she said was “betrayal” by those with whom she shared deep familial bonds. Also, she notes Lehman (reminder, Case #2) is still pastoring an SBC church. tennessean.com/story/news/rel…

@Meighanmaiam “Not to use his (Lehman) own words, it feels like a slap in the face,” @Meighanmaiam told me. “I am still nervous about whether action is really going to be taken or if I have to wait another five years.” tennessean.com/story/news/rel…