Lives in: Mayfield KY Used to live: Mayfield KY AKA: Anthony White, Anthony Scott Jackson, Anthony Scott Jackson, Anthony S Jackson Related to: Lindsey R Jackson, Akia T White, Antonio D Jackson, Carlos L Jackson, Darrell Albert White View Details 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. Just over two years later, she stated the allegations to then-LifeWay Senior Vice President Eric Geiger and Mohler. He unsuccessfully ran for the SBC presidency in June. But I am a victim nonetheless.. And so, we invoked our policies and procedures,"Mohler told The Christian Post in a phone interview. Sills local church, Ninth & O Baptist Church in Louisville, confirmed to Baptist Press that Sills is no longer a member and that the church acted swiftly and firmly after hearing the accusations. Jennifer Lyell claims she never wanted the attention her abuse allegations created nor to harm the family of David Sills, her alleged abuser. Lyell previously was a vice president at Lifeway, which is located in Nashville, Tenn. She voluntarily agreed to an interview with Baptist Press in 2019, by her account hoping her story would encourage other survivors of sexual abuse to come forward. Lyells case is of particular interest because Guidepost did not talk to some described as corroborating the allegations of abuse and because SBC Elites declared on their own authority that this was a case of Sex Abuse. That, in turn, led Smietana to write a story titled When Abuse Victims are Adults, Theyre Often Treated as Sinners, Threats to Churches, explaining the attack on Lyell. She did so after learning her abuser, former Southern Baptist seminary professor, author, and missionary David Sills, had recently returned to ministry. Her case has become one of the most high-profile illustrations of the larger reckoning over mishandled knowledge of sexual abuse within the SBC. In 2004, Lyell was a 26-year-old master of divinity student when she met cultural anthropology professor David Sills, who is 23 years her senior, on the Louisville campus of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Who those others were is not clear. Jen came forward at incredible personal cost to herself, to defend those who had no voice, Denhollander said. Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. No thinking person with a backbone takes them seriously., Exactly one year before Basham published Southern Baptists #MeToo Moment, Midwest Christian Outreach, a small online apologetics site run by Don Veinot, highlighted Lyells case. "She relayed to me what had happened to her. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The following year, Jennifer Lyell, a former vice president at Lifeway Christian Resources, told Baptist Press she had been a victim of emotional and sexual abuse by Sills, who had been her professor. Sills files defamation suit against SBC, Lyell, others MOBILE, Ala. (BP) - A former Southern Baptist seminary professor and his wife have filed suit against the SBC and 10 other individuals and entities connected to the SBC, including Jennifer Lyell and Guidepost Solutions. We say that we are not this hierarchy but in reality, we function like we are protecting the barracks of the Vatican, she said. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent. Sills has not denied engaging in an inappropriate relationship with Lyell, and he resigned his post at Southern Seminary after being confronted about it. It took months for Baptist Press to retract the article and address errors in it and that only happened after the former BP staff had been replaced and the article had been criticized by abuse advocate Rachael Denhollander. Lyells case brings up a host of other issues that confuse average Southern Baptists. However, according to media reports none of the local police had any reports regarding these alleged incidents. And because of their power and influence, pastors and other religious leaders have a responsibility to set up boundaries in their relationships with other people. And now the two competing narratives of what happened between Sills and Lyell likely will add more fuel to the SBCs internal debate over the nature and extent of sexual abuse as a real problem. On October 7, 2019, Jennifer Lyell, a LifeWay employee, penned an open letter to Southern Baptists expressing her grief caused by what she alleges was an erroneous Baptist Press report released in March this year. Yet victims who are not minors must decide for themselves whether to contact authorities, he said. InterVarsity Press, which published one of Sills' books, removed Sills' biography page from its website and the webpage for Sills book Changing World, Unchanging Mission: Responding to Global Challenges. As Veinot explains on the website: Our mission is to give clear answers, and a solid defense of the orthodox biblical faith, to all types of unbelievers atheists, agnostics, as well as members of cults and new religious groups such as the Jehovahs Witnesses, Mormons, the International Churches of Christ, and so on. Things changed, however, once the abuse became public. She stated that the pattern continued and escalated for more than a decade following that trip.. That was untrue. The church said it acted swiftly and firmly and that Sills is no longer a member. Basham frequently tweeted and replied to tweets about the issue, at one point portraying herself as an investigative reporter who was just asking the questions no one else would ask. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". Baptist Press reporting did, in fact, mislead people. David Sills, an 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. 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. Return to homepage. Lyell first disclosed the situation to a therapist in March 2016, she said. And there were aspects of it certainly that I think is something that an abuser can use., Abuse advocate and attorney Rachael Denhollander said that Lyells story reflects a bigger problem with a complementarian culture that defends male leaders but views women leaders and survivors of abuse as expendable., Abuse survivor Rachael Denhollander, right, discusses the Southern Baptist Conventions history of addressing sexual abuse with ERLC President Russell Moore at the Caring Well conference in Dallas, on Oct. 4, 2019. Lyell built a strong relationship with Sills family over the years as she spent many of her weekends and holidays with them. Buck, like Ascol, holds no official role in SBC life and has no direct connection to her claims of abuse from Sills. David Sills and Mary Sills contend they have been smeared repeatedly in the process and seek monetary damages. And that retraction happened only after Denhollander had publicly criticized the SBCs treatment of Lyell during a major conference on abuse in the fall of 2019. MOBILE, Ala. (BP) - A former Southern Baptist seminary professor and his wife have filed suit against the SBC and 10 other individuals and entities connected to the SBC, including Jennifer Lyell and Guidepost Solutions. 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. Upon hearing Lyells claims last May, SBTS immediately took action. A former Southern Baptist Theological Seminary student has come forward to detail how former professor David Sills, who resigned last year, engaged in an inappropriate and "abusive" sexual relationship with her that lasted for over a decade. Mohler draws praise from Lyell and some criticism too. He said that he is "brokenhearted over the reality" of the situation. Lyells experience reveals the difficulty survivors often face when they try to speak up about their experiences. Lyell told Religion News Service she wished she had never gone public. Im also fine to answer any questions you or the other gentleman has to ensure you have clarity and believe me. For Sills, no reason for his resignation was stated by Southern. Hilary Scarsella, assistant professor of ethics and director of women and gender studies at Colgate Rochester Crozier Divinity School, said survivors of clergy abuse can feel trapped because they know publicly disclosing the abuse may have consequences, both to their own faith and their place in the community. Neither Smietana nor his editor offered comment to BNG when asked about the situation. The string of email correspondence viewed by BNG implies Buck contacted Lyell to ask questions about her claims. 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. Lawsuit protests the SBC and third-party firm for supporting allegations in a new legal challenge referencing historic abuse report. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. The group maintained a shared online file of their correspondence. Sills was a professor at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary until his resignation on May 23, 2018. Mohler assured that he stands behind Lyell and her statement. I shared how Dr. David Sills, then a tenured professor at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, first sexually acted against me on a mission trip in 2004, a pattern that continued and escalated for more than a decade following that trip. Lyell, who served as vice president of LifeWay Christian Resources, posted a confession in 2018 claiming how Sills, who has been married for over 30 years, sexually abused her and groomed her. When a pastor or leader is involved in a sexual scandal, the language of affair is used, even when its a predatory use of spiritual power, he said. Lyell spends some of the recording taking about a blogpost written by Peter Lumpkins (likely this post.). Geiger, senior pastor of Mariners Church in Irvine, Calif., confirmed to BP that Lyell shared her allegations with him. Basham is a conservative writer for the Daily Wire website, which describes itself as a counter-cultural outlet for news, opinion and entertainment., In June, Basham launched a full-force assault against Lyells credibility with an article titled Southern Baptists #MeToo Moment published on the first day of the SBC annual meeting. Want to share a story? 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