jennifer lyell david sills

Then Basham quotes three male friends of Lyells alleged abuser who all say they cant imagine him behaving the way Lyell has described. Today, she feels that belief, known as complementarianism, has created an unhealthy culture. 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. We were horrified by what she shared with us. David Sills, a former seminary professor and missionary who admitted sexual misconduct, has sued a group of Southern Baptist Convention leaders and entities, claiming they conspired with an abuse survivor to ruin his reputation. Lyell told RNS that at first, she did receive a great deal of support from Southern Baptist leaders when she told them about the abuse she experienced. But we must not be silent.. She mentions them many times during this recording. Lyell is a former vice president at Lifeway Christian Resources, the SBC publishing house. Lyell built a strong relationship with Sills family over the years as she spent many of her weekends and holidays with them. 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. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Based on the information we now have I retract any suggestion that Jennifer Lyells physical relationship with David Sills was consensual., By Aug. 3, 2021 about six weeks after the SBC annual meeting at which a Sexual Abuse Task Force was authorized Midwest Christian Outreach issued an update to its post with this note from Henzel: 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. He said people often turn to clergy when they are at their most vulnerable. Litigating this case publicly could cause extreme discomfort for some of the defendants named, forcing them to testify under oath about matters they have tried to handle discreetly. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. If this seems like a contradiction, this is just the beginning. There are elements that sound like an abuse victim pleading with an abuser, I just want you to be like a dad, and there are elements where the story does not seem plausible given what we knowpay special attention to the police. Tom Ascol, Tom Buck and Megan Basham tweeted about the Sills lawsuit and accused not only Lyell, but also Religion News Service reporter Bob Smietana who has covered the SBCs sexual abuse situation for years of misconduct. Jennifer Lyell . Defamation?! Read our republishing, terms of use and privacy policies here. "David Sills was repentant and obedient to the rules of the SBC," the complaint alleges. Help keep The Christian Post free for everyone by making a one-time donation today. ", Follow Samuel Smith on Twitter: @IamSamSmith. [I] became an aunt to their grandchildren, and their grown children became like siblings to me, she wrote. Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson thinks he redeemed himself. And for so long, people have been unable to understand those categories., RELATED: The cost for coming forward one survivors life after #MeToo. However, today's topic is not about an up-and-coming musician, rather it is a cautionary tale for up-and-coming ministers of the Gospel. We were horrified by what she shared with us. Lyells claim that she was abused by David Sills while he was a professor at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary resulted in a controversial news story published by Baptist Press, the denominational news service, which portrayed the relationship as consensual. The law should reflect that, Legacy of Wounded Knee occupation lives on 50 years later, Holy Queer author seeks Black church inclusion beyond singing with choir, Three big numbers that tell the story of secularization in America. And recovering from abuse as an adult is a long-term process. . It looked idyllic on the surface. We must clearly tell the truth so that our churches and ministries are safe and as pure as they can be.. The leaders who had the information and ability to correct the inaccuracies supported her privately but were publicly silent. In a grievance filed Nov. 21 within the Circuit Courtroom of Cell, Alabama, David Sills, a former professor of missions and [] Lyell told Religion News Service she wished she had never gone public. In a release to Baptist Press (BP) and others, Jennifer Lyell, now 41 and director of the books ministry area at LifeWay Christian Resources, alleges Sills initiated sexual contact with her on a mission trip in 2004. David Sills, the professor, and his wife, Mary Sills, allege defamation, conspiracy, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence and wantonness in connection with untrue claims of sexual abuse made by Jennifer Lyell in 2021. She stated that the pattern continued and escalated for more than a decade following that trip.. 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. Based on the information we now have I retract any suggestion that Jennifer Lyells physical relationship with David Sills was consensual. She lost her reputation, her job and even her health in the process. However, according to media reports none of the local police had any reports regarding these alleged incidents. I have never been unwilling to be questioned when making allegations that arent only moral, but are also criminal and Im extremely thankful that all parties who received and investigated my allegations did press me for details necessary to understand what I was alleging given my age and the fact it was not a single occurrence as well as that I did not report anything to them for a very long time.. The court filing addresses this issue: This court has personal jurisdiction over the defendants. Lyell still attends a Southern Baptist church, in large part because of the friendship and support she has received from her pastor and his wife. What Ascol, Buck and Sills share in common is adherence to an extreme version of Reformed theology, known as hyper-Calvinism, that has been on the resurgence in the SBC over the past 30 years. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. While churches say they want to care for survivors of abuse, those survivors are often viewed with suspicion, having to prove they are worthy of compassion and respect. I am grateful for the diligent, fast work of Guidepost Solutions, particularly as the EC leadership delays from June-October 2021 took up 1/3 of the investigation period allowed by the investigation motion. Now, David Sills and Mary Sills contend they have been smeared repeatedly in the process and seek monetary damages from the SBC; the SBC Executive Committee; former SBC President Ed Litton; current SBC President Bart Barber; Lyell; Lifeway Christian Resources; Eric Geiger, a former executive vice president at Lifeway; Willie McLaurin, interim president of the Executive Committee; Rolland Slade, former chairman of the Executive Committee; Southern Baptist Theological Seminary; Al Mohler, president of Southern Seminary; and Guidepost Solutions, the firm that conducted the independent investigation. She said Southern Baptist leaders do not hesitate to use their public platforms to debate theology or drive culture war issues but rarely call out abusive behavior in their own camp especially if it means correcting other denominational leaders. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (RNS) Jennifer Lyell was trying to do the right thing. George's resignation was "due to a personal moral failing," Midwestern told the Recorder on June 1. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our. The same day, Geiger and Lyell contacted Mohler, he said. Sills also served as an International Mission Board (IMB) trustee and a member of the IMBs presidential search committee. The lawsuit centers on allegations that Sills sexually abused Jennifer Lyell starting in 2004 when Lyell was a student and Sills was a professor. . Just over two years later, she stated the allegations to then-LifeWay Senior Vice President Eric Geiger and Mohler. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. And the incidents Lyell describes would have caused the creation of police reports. She did so after learning her abuser, a former Southern Baptist seminary professor, author and missionary, had recently returned to ministry. Lyell is a former Reaching and Teaching International board member. But I am a victim nonetheless.. But her feelings toward the denominations beliefs about gender roles have shifted. He said that he could fix it by me becoming part of his family and then once I was part of his family, that sort of thing would never happen again, she continued. Also at the same time Buck inserted himself into the behind-the-scenes interrogation of Lyell, he maintained a public campaign to identify an alleged leaker of a column written by his wife discussing difficulties in their marriage and in her earlier life. 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. Lyell told Baptist Press she has attempted to contact the Louisville Metro Police Departments Special Victims Unit. Who those others were is not clear. 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. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (each updated 1/26/2023). Hope youll give us another try and check out some other articles. The audio discussion features Jennifer Lyell speaking to Ron Henzel and Don Veinot of Midwest Outreach. She describes being shocked and blaming herself despite that she had not initiated the encounter. Lyell mentions police at her house and Dr. Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary calling the police. 1. According to Baptist Press, Lyell was involved in the relationship with Sills from the time she was 26 until she was 38. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. 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. One of Lyells advocates over the past three years has been Mohler, who has publicly stated he believed Lyells story as she has told it. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". 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. But at Lyells request, SBTS, the flagship seminary of the Southern Baptist Convention, did not make the details behind Sills resignation public at the time. At the time, she was a 26-year-old master of divinity student, and the alleged relationship continued until she was 38, spanning a period in which Lyell moved from Louisville, Ky., to Chicago and then to Nashville, she told BP. Adult is a former Reaching and Teaching International Board member as she many... He said people often turn to clergy when they are at their most vulnerable Resources the! You purchase a product or register for an account through one of the local police had any regarding., president of the links on our site, we may receive.! This seems like a contradiction, this is just the beginning the cookies in the process the thing. 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