Provost and Vice-President (academic) / Professor: University of Western Ontario: $345,000: 2020: David W. Litchfield: Vice-Dean / Professor: University of Western Ontario: 2020: Martin Belanger: Director, Investments: Southern Seminary President R. Albert Mohler Jr. told BP he could not disclose why Sills' employment at the seminary ended. Or, East Rutherford, New Jersey, to be exact. NTT Assistant Professor of Mathematics, M.S. It also names Jennifer Lyell, a former seminarian and vice president for Lifeway, who has repeatedly alleged that Sills was abusive, an allegation Mohler has also made on social media and in an interview for a documentary about the denominations response to its sexual abuse crisis. In the spring of 2018, after more than two years of therapy, she disclosed to her boss at Lifeway that a former professor named David Sills had first "sexually acted . She said she was a 26-year-old Masterof Divinity student when it began. In a grievance filed Nov. 21 within the Circuit Courtroom of Cell, Alabama, David Sills, a former professor of missions and [] Halftime may only be 12 minutes, but Denise Sills journeyed back about 20 years in her mind during a recent Giants . Originally signed as a rookie free agent by the Buffalo Bills on May 9, 2019Waived by Buffalo on Aug. 31, 2019Signed to the Giants' practice squad on Sept. 2, 2019Signed to the Giants' active roster on Dec. 17, 2019Released by the Giants on Aug. 31, 2021 and signed to their practice squad on Sept. 1, 2021Added to the active . Dr. Sills is a great professor. Lifeway was made aware of the lawsuit last week. Sign up for our newsletter: In February, Lyell received a public apology from the SBC executive committee over its handling of the matter. Jon Deedrick has been named as interim president for Reaching & Teaching. George, curator of Midwestern Seminarys Spurgeon Library and its digitized Spurgeon Archive, had edited two volumes of previously unpublished sermons by Charles Spurgeon in a planned 12-volume series, The Lost Sermons of C.H. video. Our testimony to the Lord Jesus Christ is at stake in how we respond to every one of those cases., Southern Baptists grapple with #MeToo complicity, Competing Baptist bodies grapple with their identity in Dallas. SBC leaders "repeated and circulated false statements" about him, the lawsuit says, causing him to be "cast as a toxic pariah." Professor of Music Performance MU 413C. The Sills claim they have been "wrongfully and untruthfully labelled as criminals and shunned by the SBC. Baptist Press reported Sills' resignation in June 2018 based on reporting by North Carolina's Biblical Recorder news journal, which cited a statement from the seminary affirming that Mohler "received the resignation of Dr. David Sills from the Southern Seminary faculty on May 23, 2018.". Screen grab. "If I were not to come forward, a church or ministry that gets his resume and does an internet search would have no way to know the truth behind his resignation, she said. Kentucky Southern Baptist leaders among hundreds accused of sex abuse, Southern Baptist seminary chief regrets embrace of religious leader accused of hiding sex abuse, Prosecutor who had sex with murder detectiveaccused of misleading FBI, Male judges are 'close to extinction.' You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Site by Mere. Kevin DeYoung and Greg Gilbert have provided a . 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Photo via Baptist Press, David Sills was repentant and obedient to the rules of the SBC, the complaint alleges. He has planted and pastored churches in both the United States and Ecuador, and he is the founder and president of Reaching & Teaching International Ministries . Also named as a defendant is Lifeway Christian Resources, a research and publishing arm of the SBC, and Guidepost Solutions. David Sills admitted to misconduct but claims he has been falsely attacked by Southern Baptists and their investigative firm. The GoGrant will cover. No information has been released about the cause of Sills resignation. While tens of thousands flocked to campus, school officials met in a storage closet to make decisions that would honor what is happening.. Pro Football Focus' Trevor Sikkema looked at all of the matchups in this weekend's slate of preseason finales, and chose something to watch for in each game. David Sills was repentant and obedient to the rules of the SBC, the complaint alleges. David Sills is a professor in the Anthropology department at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary - see what their students are saying about them or leave a rating yourself. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary has followed best practices in this matter and has nothing to hide, he said. Evangelical association names itself as co-defendant to defend religious exemptions. Georges departure, Midwestern said in its statement to the Biblical Recorder, has not affected the employment of anyone else at Midwestern or Spurgeon College. In addition to the Sills' lawsuit, the SBC is facing two other lawsuits that reference Guidepost's report, Baptist Press reported. When confronted about the relationship after Lyell presented her claims to SBTS President Albert Mohler, the lawsuit says, Sills resigned from his post at Southern Seminary. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. In February, the SBC's Executive Committee also expressed regret for its response to Lyell's claims, saying SBC leaders failed to "adequately listen, protect, and care for" Lyell when she came forward to share. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The subsequent criticism from abuse advocates eventually led to calls for an independent investigation into how SBC leaders had treated abuse survivors. Sills, professor of missions and cultural anthropology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, had been a member of the International Mission Board presidential search committee seeking a successor to David Platt, who is transitioning to a pastor-teacher role at McLean Bible Church in Northern Virginia. An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. 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. She wrote, "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 . Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. 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. 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. M. DAVID SILLS (B.A., Belhaven College; M.Div., New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary; D.Miss., Ph.D., Reformed Theological Seminary) is professor of Christian Missions and Cultural Anthropology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. At the time, Lyell maintained that she faced opposition when seeking justice through the SBC. ", Leah M. Klett is a reporter for The Christian Post. Because this a personnel matter, we cannot comment further.. The Sillses suit claims Guidepost never sought statements from or interviews with Dr. Sills and Mrs. Sills, or their pastor, instead relying primarily on statements from defendants Mohler and Lyell, as well as purported SBC documents.. ", The lawsuit claims that Lyell, Mohler and others sought to "falsely attack the honesty and the character of David Sills and Mary Sills, casting them as violent criminals.". This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. 765-285-5517. But I am a victim nonetheless.". Reid, 59, SEBTS senior professor of . David Pooler, professor of social work at Baylor University, said sexual misconduct by clergy and other religious leaders is often labeled as "having an affair." . On May 22, the SBC Sexual Abuse Task Force released the results of the Guidepost investigation that affirmed widespread mishandling of known cases of sexual abuse in the SBC and its churches. Sills was a professor at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary until his resignation on May 23, 2018. Southern Seminary is committed to the highest standards of both principle and policy, a spokesperson said. Christian George, curator of the Spurgeon Library at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Missouri, resigned May 3 due to a personal moral failing, according to the Biblical Recorder, news journal of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina. She can be reached at: leah.klett@christianpost.com. David Sills in an undated photo. Gary Hollingsworth, executive director-treasurer of the 570,000-member body, said he accepted Aderholts resignation based on the importance of staying focused on the conventions vision statement of seeing every life saturated and transformed by the hope of the gospel.. LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP) -- Nine months after Southern Baptist Theological Seminary professor David Sills resigned for undisclosed reasons, a woman has released a statement of allegations including details of what she says was a morally inappropriate relationship with Sills for more than a decade, beginning while she was a Southern Seminary student. ", Lyell said in her statement, "The denominational institutions, the local church, and the missions agency [Sills led] ultimately believed me, supported me, and took the action for which they were responsible. Join thousands of others to get the FREEDOM POST newsletter for free, sent twice a week from The Christian Post. The recent Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in Dallas passed resolutions affirming the dignity and worth of women in their distinctive God-assigned roles and condemning all abusive behavior as unquestionably sinful and under the just condemnation of our Holy God., Addressing what a news release called a months-long slew of firings and resignations within Southern Baptist entities, most for reasons of moral or ethical failure, Southern Seminary President Albert Mohler said during a panel discussion at the SBC annual meeting that Southern Baptists should not circle the wagons in response to what he called the humiliation of the Southern Baptist Convention., The church of the Lord Jesus Christ should be the safest place for anyone vulnerable to come and seek help, Mohler said, according to the release. Our policies and procedures are clear and are consistently applied. Sills, considered an expert at training pastors in the developing world, also lost his job as president of a missionary group called Reaching and Teaching, and was disciplined by his Louisville, Kentucky, church. The complaint names Southern seminary and Mohler, as well as the SBCs Executive Committee, SBC President Bart Barber, and his predecessor Ed Litton as defendants, along with several other leaders. Southern Seminary is committed to the highest standards of both principle and policy. They also claim that allegations by Lyell, Mohler and others were part of a campaign to falsely attack the honesty and the character of David Sills and Mary Sills, casting them as violent criminals., The complaint also alleges that Lyell wrote to Religion News Service, asking to review an article being written about the SBC abuse crisis, saying she intended to advance her false narrative by taking a hand in the actual writing of an article by RNS.. Get the most recent headlines and stories from Christianity Today delivered to your inbox daily. This past summer, Mohler issued a statement, saying that the abuse allegations had been investigated and confirmed. In service of this goal, survivors and others who reported abuse were ignored, disbelieved, or met with the constant refrain that the SBC could take no action due to its polity regarding church autonomy even if it meant that convicted molesters continued in ministry with no notice or warning to their current church or congregation, investigators wrote. Guidepost declined to comment, as did Lyell. David Sills, a former professor of missions and cultural anthropology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, and his wife, Mary, filed a complaint on Nov. 21 in the Circuit Court of Mobile, Alabama. In service of this goal, survivors and others who reported abuse were ignored, disbelieved, or met with the constant refrain that the SBC could take no action due to its polity regarding church autonomyeven if it meant that convicted molesters continued in ministry with no notice or warning to their current church or congregation, investigators wrote. Lyell said Sills first acted sexually against her on a mission trip in 2004, establishing a pattern of abuse that continued for more than a decade. David Sills. This is why the most egregious, cruel lies do not leave me without hope when those asserting them are reckless enough to do so in a form that not only allows my witness but provides a clear means by which it will be formally provided.. Error! David Sills. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. Dayton, Ohio Area. M. David Sills Faye Stone Professor of Christian Missions and Cultural Anthropology, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary . Leaders at the SBC Executive Committee tried to head off the investigation and, when they could not do that, tried to derail it. The church said it acted "swiftly and firmly" and that Sills is no longer a member. But in an attempt to improve the SBC's damaged reputation amid a denomination-wide sex abuse scandal, SBC leaders turned on Sills, viewing him as an "easy target; a bona fide scapegoat," the lawsuit claims. In August, the SBC announced the Justice Department is investigating multiple arms of the denomination over mishandling allegations of sexual abuse. You have permission to edit this article. Those attempts failed. The lawsuit centers on allegations that Sills sexually abused Jennifer Lyell starting in 2004 when Lyell was a student and Sills was a professor. A former Southern Baptist seminary professor who resigned following accusations of sexual abuse has filed suit in Alabama against the Southern Baptist Convention and 11 other defendants claiming defamation of character and conspiracy. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. Neuro Engineering Rehabilitation and Degeneration Laboratory, Wright State University. In 2019, Baptist Press, the SBC's in-house news service, incorrectly reported that Lyell had admitted to being involved in a "morally inappropriate relationship" with her former professor. Subscribers receive full access to the archives. Browse 60+ years of magazine archives and web exclusives. Our legal team is in the process of reviewing the complaint and we do not have any further comment at this time, said Carol Pipes, director of corporate communications. We have changed software providers for our subscription database. All rights reserved. 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