Some people call it conviction. I call it distraction. A deadly one.

At the 2025 Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) annual meeting in Dallas, over 10,000 delegates gathered to cast votes and pass resolutions. What could have been a moment of reckoning for an institution drowning in a decades-long crisis of sexual abuse became, instead, a carefully staged performance.

While survivors are still waiting for meaningful justice, care, or even acknowledgment from the churches that failed them—

the SBC was busy drafting a new list of enemies.

And somehow, they think that’s what God is most concerned about.

A War on the Wrong Things

The SBC adopted a resolution titled “On Restoring Moral Clarity through God’s Design for Gender, Marriage, and the Family.” In it, they declared war on:

• The 2015 Supreme Court decision that legalized same-sex marriage, Obergefell v. Hodges
• Transgender identity and gender-affirming care, especially for minors
• “Willful childlessness” and declining birth rates
• Planned Parenthood and reproductive health care
• Participation in sports by trans athletes
• Sports betting and pornography

You read that right: childless couples, LGBTQ+ individuals, and online sports gamblers have all been lumped together as part of a moral crisis.

All while the SBC remains under scrutiny for harboring and protecting sexual abusers within its own ranks.

The Pain They Won’t Talk About

In 2019, The Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News released a bombshell investigation revealing that over 700 survivors had reported sexual abuse tied to more than 380 Southern Baptist leaders and volunteers. Many of these cases were hidden, ignored, or quietly reassigned.

To this day, the SBC has:

• No coordinated trauma response
• No long-term survivor care plan
• No fund dedicated to reparations or counseling
• No public database with full transparency about accused abusers still in ministry

What they do have? A newly proposed $3 million legal defense fund—just in case more lawsuits come their way.

This is not accountability. This is insurance.

“Moral Clarity” or Moral Cowardice?

SBC President Clint Pressley took the stage and made their stance crystal clear:

“For Southern Baptists, the waters of sexuality are not muddy.”

He cited the Book of Ephesians as the foundation for marriage and gender roles, praising the SBC’s clarity on “God’s design.” He mocked the transgender community, stating:

“I don’t have to be a Christian. I have eyes that tell me a grown man participating in female sports is wrong.”

He didn’t mention abuse survivors once.

No passionate declarations about protecting children from predators. No heartfelt appeals for churches to take survivor care seriously. No plans to train leaders in trauma-informed ministry or accountability structures.

Instead, the loudest message was: “We know who the problem is. And it isn’t us.”

The Harm to LGBTQIA+ People Is Real

Let’s be clear:

When the SBC targets LGBTQIA+ people, they’re not just making theological statements. They’re putting lives at risk.

This isn’t hypothetical. It’s measurable