Was James Holcomb Rankin Named in The Southern Baptist List of Abusers?
James Holcomb Rankin was an associate pastor at Hurst’s Bellevue Baptist Church. On August 22, 2018, he was granted deferred adjudication on a charge of possessing child pornography, which was filed after disturbing images were discovered on the pastor’s computer. Rankin claimed the photos were taken as part of research for a human trafficking lesson. In 2018, he was listed as serving 96 months probation and is a registered sex offender in Texas.
Southern Baptist Convention News
According to the Washington Post, a 300-page report was launched on Sunday, May 22, 2022. The document contains horrifying new information concerning specific abuse occurrences and clarify how denominational officials actively resisted abuse avoidance and change for years.
Southern Baptist Convention leaders have actually revealed an extensive and independent third-party investigation that discovered that abusers were often neglected, forgotten, or even condemned by high-ranking congregation authorities from within this religious denomination of more than 16 million members. Moreover, it showed these leaders typically lied to their very own members to avoid them from knowing the flagrant sexual misconduct.
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A History of Ignored Abuse
Almost all of these disclosed occurrences fell outside of the statutes of limitations, making it uncertain how many predators were in fact charged. According to the report, an in-house list of predators was kept.
The report states that an essential Southern Baptist leader was credibly implicated of sexual abuse just 1 month after completing his two-year term as the convention’s president. The report also names three prior presidents of the convention, a previous vice president, and the previous head of the SBC’s administrative arm as prominent SBC leaders who helped in covering up for and even encouraged suspected abusers.
One victim talked about being treated with hostility as she claimed she was sexually assaulted by a youth pastor. The accused pastor served in several Southern Baptist churches in a number of states. During a conference with the SBC leaders in 2007, a member of the Exec Committee “turned his back to her during her speech and another chortled.”
Accountability in the Baptist Convention
Russell Moore, the previous head of the SBC’s policy branch, the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, stated ‘this is not all Southern Baptists, look at all the good we do.’ The report demonstrates a pattern of stonewalling, intimidation, coverup, and retaliation.” He desires this document will deliver much-needed reform and hold those responsible for their sexual abuse.
To learn more about resources available for survivors in Texas, visit this page: https://abuseguardian.com/sexual-assault-lawyer/texas/sex-trauma-therapist-tx/
Abuse Guardian for Texas
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