Woke pastors weaponized allegations of sexual assault for political gain and now some of the Wokest face questions from federal investigators. Sow the wind, reap the whirlwind.
Adam Greenway shows pattern of threats to silence bad publicity. Note similarity in how Greenway spoke to Bumgardner and in separate case to Dr. David Allen.
A former Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (SWBTS) student said he spoke with federal investigators as the Department of Justice probes the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) over allegations the denomination and its entities mishandled sexual abuse cases.
“On Monday, August 22, I was contacted by federal investigators form the Department of Justice,” said David Bumgardner. “I both answered investigators and voluntarily provided information.”
The DOJ is looking into the multiple SBC entities about sex abuse cases, according to a statement released by the SBC. However, until now no specific entity was known to be a target—Bumgardner’s release makes SWBTS the first publicly known.
Bumgardner is a former SWBTS student and at times journalist with Baptist News Global. Specifics of the allegations discussed with federal investigators are difficult to determine and Bumgardner declined to provide details about which federal investigators he spoke with this week.
Bumgardner said he filed two police reports with SWBTS campus police. One of those reports was “jointly filed with the victim.”
Naturally, people are interested in what cases Bumgardner reported to police and what cases he discussed with investigators.
Perhaps his writings provide a few clues?
Bumgardner’s writing at BNG included details of sexual assault on the campus of SWBTS. One case involved the sexual assault of a male student by another, older male student. According to the account, the older student groped the younger male student while they watched a movie on campus.
This is one case. There are other cases.
There have been public complaints about the way the Adam Greenway Administration at SWBTS handled a case of rape.
In 2021 Tiffany Eustice posted to Facebook this story: “A friend was raped by another man (not a student). She went to higher ups, they interrogated her for hours with no woman present and blamed her for the incident. I am only scratching the surface. I went to a professor about family issues. I told him when I went home I got suicidal. I was hospitalized (by the school) for suicidal ideation and PTSD. After I got kicked out, I asked them to at least let me stay on campus or with a friend on campus for my mental health and safety, though I wouldn’t attend classes. Their response was ‘You’re exaggerating. Figure it out and go home.’ The same professor called my dad without my permission and told him I was saying he was abusive (a word I never used to the best of my memory) and sent me home – the same home I told him made me suicidal. He also told my dad there was ‘more to’ me being kicked out than he could say – though he told me it was a one time offense. I got literally cornered at home, interrogated, and my dad got in my face so I left the house and was told not to come back. If it had not been for friends who stepped up, the school would have left me homeless and jobless.”
Adam Greenway’s attempt to silence Bumgardner mirrored attempts to intimidate Dr. David Allen
What are federal investigators probing exactly? There are a host of issues that federal investigators might find of interest. For example, David Bumgardner told the story of how after a meeting to express concerns about allegations that the Greenway Administration at SWBTS mishandled sexual abuse cases, Greenway threatened Bumgardner.
According to Bumgardner, “Before our meeting ended, Greenway proceeded to give me a word of ‘pastoral encouragement.’ He reminded me there were things in my file of which I would not be particularly proud, although he also assured me he knew I was now a ‘different person.’”
Now, some might doubt Bumgardner’s story because of their dislike for him. Conservatives were rankled by Bumgardner not only over theological issues but over the fact he was involved in publishing details of a rough draft involving Tom Buck and Jennifer Buck. However, Bumgardner’s recounting of this meeting with Greenway was published June 6, 2022. This date is important because it precedes another and independent recounting of Greenway using private information to threaten a leading conservative Southern Baptist professor.
Compare Bumgardner’s story of Greenway’s attempted intimidation to what Dr. David Allen related. According to Dr. Allen:
“During the May 6 meeting, some comments made to me by you were especially insulting. I simply inquired, in light of my faithful service to SWBTS for 30 years, why you were attempting to unilaterally move me to retirement status against my will.
“In response, to be told that ‘email correspondence exists’ between the former president of Southwestern Seminary and myself as his Dean; that ‘email correspondence exists’ from me or about me, during my tenure as a member of the Board of Trustees of SWBTS in Ken Hemphill’s presidency, and then to be told that you had ‘read every one’ of them, in a word, left me flabbergasted. Such statements are inappropriate, an invasion of privacy, and unethical. The very fact that you brought up these emails which have no bearing on my present employment status is hugely problematic. Your comments were certainly intended to intimidate me by bluffing that some problematic or inappropriate document exists. The problem is, no such materials exist. To imply otherwise is defamatory, insulting, demeaning, and completely unbecoming.”
Note the fact that Greenway used confidential information to threaten someone in order to compel silence and submission to his will.
Federal investigators should examine how this type of behavior was used against Dr. Allen, Bumgardner, and students who reported sexual abuse at SWBTS. The way Tiffany Eustice alleged she was treated contains similarities that are disturbing.
Only federal investigators can make that determination if this behavior warrants a closer look. However, at the very least this is unchristian behavior that SBC trustees should discipline.
And Greenway is not the only SBC entity leader using threats to silence critics. There are cases involving IMB and NAMB that likewise show how SBC Elites use legal threats to silence critics worried about sexual abuse.
Why are so many SBC entity leaders using the same method to silence those talking about sex abuse cases? Is there a conspiracy at work?