Missouri Baptist trustee tussle returns spotlight to old allegations of mishandled abuse
Advocates for survivors of clergy sexual abuse criticized the Missouri Baptist Convention for electing a university trustee accused in 2005 of not cooperating with police in what media at the time described as Missouri’s biggest clergy sex-abuse case to date.
The Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests and the For Such A Time As This Rally announced Wednesday they will urge Missouri’s attorney general to launch a statewide investigation into Baptist child sex crimes and cover ups similar to one conducted last year involving the state’s four Roman Catholic dioceses.
Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Missouri, announced Feb. 24 that trustees will launch their own investigation into whether a newly elected trustee “imposed” on the university by the Missouri affiliate of the Southern Baptist Convention mishandled child sexual abuse allegations against one of his staff members in 2005.
The university did not identify the trustee, but For Such A Time As This, a #MeToo-type movement launched in 2018 to draw attention to sexual abuse and domestic violence in the Southern Baptist Convention, last week criticized the installation of Mike Roy, lead pastor of Pathway Church in Raymore, Missouri, to the Southwest Baptist University board of trustees.
In 2003 Roy hired Shawn Davies, a former classmate at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary he met in 1998, to lead music at First Baptist Church in Greenwood, Missouri, near Kansas City. Two years later Davies pleaded guilty to 27 counts of statutory sodomy, furnishing pornographic material to minors, supplying liquor to minors, sexual misconduct with a child under the age of 14, use of a child in sexual performance and endangering the welfare of a child.
Davies, recently released from prison and registered as a sex offender listed by the Stone County Sheriff’s Office as living in Reed Springs, Missouri, was already under investigation for similar crimes in Kentucky after a boy told police in 2001 that his youth minster showed him pornographic movies in either 1998 or 1999.
After leaving the small Kentucky church, which authorities declined to name to protect the privacy of victims, Davies reportedly worked at First Baptist Church of Ferguson, Missouri, in suburban St. Louis before finally landing at First Baptist Church in Greenwood.
News outlets including Associated Baptist Press, forerunner to Baptist News Global, quoted a detective as saying police faced setbacks in their nine-month investigation beca...
Winter Appeal 2023
To our friends,
2023 has been a long year with many ups and downs for us all. As we close out the year, we at SNAP hope that you are feeling like you are on your way to being healthy, fulfilled, and happy. This past year has brought both successes and challenges. Thanks to the support you have shown in the past, we’ve been able to celebrate the good days and weather the stormy ones. Now, we are once again asking for your support as we work to support survivors new and old as we ‘Move SNAP Forward.’
At SNAP we are proud to have hosted a very well-attended conference in August 2023. This event allowed us to gather friends, survivors, advocates, and allies for a weekend of camaraderie and connection. We were so happy to be able to welcome many first-time attendees to gather in person and are already looking forward to the next conference.
To strengthen our movement for justice, healing, and prevention, SNAP will be expanding our peer support and providing more volunteer opportunities in the coming year. Through this great work, we are ensuring survivor voices are represented as we work for significant change that will benefit children and survivors.
Right now, survivors worldwide are getting the help they need from SNAP, and more and more reach out to us daily, but we need your help to keep those programs going and get our volunteers the training they need to thrive.
Your tax-deductible gift to SNAP can help offset the cost of our important mission. If you are not in a position to contribute, you can still support us by sharing this letter with those who can. As we continue to fight for survivors across the globe, your donation or sharing the great work SNAP does will help us continue our work to protect the vulnerable, heal the wounded, and prevent abuse.
Your donation ensures SNAP will be there for those who need us more than ever!
Warmly,
Michael W. McDonnell, C.P.S.
Interim Executive Director