Pastor Travis Smith's Fate Lie in Hands of the Congregation for Past Sex Abuse Charges
The Rev. Travis Smith has made a point to address his congregation about forgiveness stating:
"For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you," he read from the Gospel of Matthew.
It's
interesting because since Pastor Smith's arrest in October on sexual
abuse and statutory rape charges, which follow similar allegations from
2010, forgiveness from his congregation has become critical to his
survival as its pastor.
Well, at this time there is a group of
about 100 souls -- "not a bishop, nor a disciplinary committee nor
national church leaders" -- who will decide Smith's future in the
Southern Baptist Convention.
Unlike members of many denominations
-- such as Catholics, Lutherans, Methodists, Episcopalian and
Presbyterians -- thankfully Southern Baptists don't conform to a
centralized, hierarchical structure.
The Religious News Service reported, instead, authority resides at the local church level. And that's true even amid allegations of clergy misconduct.
So
while Catholic bishops have the authority to remove abusive clergy
throughout their dioceses, interesting enough, among Southern Baptists,
that task falls to individual congregations.
"When a church rallies around its pastor, there's disbelief that someone they trust could do something like this," said Diana Garland, dean of the school of social work at Baylor University, which was founded by Baptists.
"It often feels so much safer to blame the victims for causing his
downfall, rather than accept that the power of a religious leader has
been abused."
But what happens when those
circling the wagons around their pastor are also those who have to make
the ultimate decision about his fate -- his career, his paycheck, his
reputation?
The most recent accusations
against Smith, 42, by two different women, stem from alleged incidents
in 1998, 1999 and 2005, when the women were minors. Those allegations
led to what the Missouri Highway Patrol called a "lengthy
investigation." Prosecutors charged Smith with six felonies, including
sexual abuse, second-degree statutory rape and forcible rape.
In more detail, the crimes went like this:
In
2010, according to news reports and law enforcement officials, Smith
was arrested after a 14-year-old girl, a friend of his daughter, accused
him of molesting her during a fishing trip. Another girl then came
forward and said Smith began having sex with her, in 2005, when she was
15. Both girls were members of his congregation.
Last year, Smith
was acquitted in one case and the other was dropped. A year later, he
was arrested on the current charges, which involve different girls.
Source
