Since they were first offered an opportunity to pool their resources and buy background checks on volunteers and employees at a discount 11 years ago, about a third of Southern Baptist churches have signed up for the OneSource program from LifeWay Christian Resources.
Earlier this year, LifeWay reported that 16,000 congregations and other church organizations ran background checks on men and women it hired through a service called backgroundchecks.com. (The Southern Baptist Convention has so far resisted calls to set up a database of its own, saying the national registry was more dependable.)
Other denominations are also increasingly using searchable databases on prospective employees as the #churchtoo movement begins to shift church attitudes toward sexual abuse and prevention.
Most background checks sift through more than 600 million felony, misdemeanor and traffic records. Perhaps most importantly, they also check the nationwide sex offender registry.
But that may give churches and other religious groups a false sense of security about preventing abuse, experts say.
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Only 5% of people on the sex offender registry are repeat offenders, according to a recent study in New York state. The vast majority are first-time sex offenders.
Running potential employees through the sex offender registry is useful, said Jeglic. But the data it provides is limited.
All I can take away from this story is just another firm figured out another way to capitalize on the big gov databases. Here churches react to threat of liability exposure due to potential abuse that may occur from hiring or permitting the wrong person to volunteer in church doings. Certainly church leadership does have a responsibility to their brethren to act in good faith, however imposing affirmative restraint based solely on past sin (conviction) absolutely defies any notion of evangelical repentance – Faith in Gods hand.
Erroneous as it may be, the Southern Baptists are putting their faith in gov database first and faith in their Lord second, so they do not find themselves experiencing what their Catholic rivals are- massive civil torts. One could argue the Atheists have the Baptists right where they want them – as surely every member of their flock will be run through the electronic check exposing every member to data collection and misuse via identification data points used by the paid agent\ vendor!
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/24/child-identity-theft-is-a-growing-and-expensive-problem.html
“Only 5% of people on the sex offender registry are repeat offenders, according to a recent study in New York state. The vast majority are first-time sex offenders.”
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What!?!? When did this happen?!? I thought recidivism was frightening and high, reaching upwards of 80%. This must be a typo. Meanwhile, NY continues to be the ML equivalent of the Hotel California (or perhaps more appropriate, the Roach Motel…RCs check in, but they never check out).
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“In addition, a 2010 South Carolina study showed that many sex offenders plead down their to charges to a nonsex crime so they aren’t included in the registry.”
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Gee, why would people be doing this, since it’s merely a non-punitive regulatory scheme? Good thing the judicial system isn’t warping the process and undermining this incredibly useful regulatory scheme. It’s almost as though it’s seen as punishment. Huh.
If, Jesus showed up in most Southern Baptist Churches He would be kicked out and told not to return. The SBC has drifted far the foundation of the Christian Faith.
“A lot of the information on the registry is incorrect. It gives us a false sense of security.”
LOL OMFG.. Really now..
(cue scary music): Living in the shadows..flying under the radar..slipping through the cracks… /boo
It doesn’t MATTER if the info is current, complete or accurate. Why? The legislate intent and “goal” is inauthentic and intentionally malicious It’s a public shaming tool masquerading and being trotted out as a preventative “safety” mechanism.
I’m a Christian, and both my current pastor, and the one at my previous church, know about my status on the registry…and neither have ever treated me as if I’m less of a person or less important than every other member. If a church body is truly living out their faith, they wouldn’t be doing this. Jesus didn’t come to segregate us into groups by whether we are saints or sinners, instead he declared we are all sinners in need of grace.
I read a lot of your comments all the time on these matters but I wonder how many of you are actually doing anything to fight these laws I my have contacted many attorney’s to help me to challenge these idiotic laws of the rest of everyone on the registry did the same thing instead of waiting for someone else to do it ,then it is gonna be years before any of these laws are not gonna go away.
If you do not have the money then we need to get as many people as possible to pool the money to challenge these laws I am sure that narsol would be willing to help as a matter of fact we could start a separate fund to fight the fight. Now let’s see how many people are going to step up.
We have a serious problem within the Catholic Church. I certainly wouldn’t be comfortable with a child related offender teaching Sunday School or leading a kids group. Yes, I’m entitled to my opinion!
USA,
Yes The Catholics have a problem and you should be uncomfortable with convicts teaching Sunday school. That you focus on child assailants for restraint is short sighted however, a convicted rapist of women is just as much a threat to Sunday schoolers. Same goes for those convicted of gun violence. For this observer the Catholic church has been it own worst enemy. Proof enough exists in the opinions forwarded by Catholic members of SCOTUS !n the Wetterling Act review where history repeated itself and the Catholics looked the other way, and said nothing while the unionized democratic socialists of 1930 Germany amassed power through the use of regulatory law.
Here’s the problem with caring about a “child related offender” doing whatever – it is a trivial reality that ANYONE could be an active or future child molester and no one has any clue about it. So it doesn’t matter at all if your Sunday School teacher is a “child related offender” or not. If a church or anyone else is ACTUALLY going to protect anyone, they are going to have to ignore the background checks and Registries and monitor every single teacher. But what they are doing instead is paying extra attention to background checks and even more worthless, the Registries, and thus are not actually protecting anyone. It is a distraction and diversion. Which is why we continue to see churches molesting children. And we always will until they stop focusing on the past.
Just as an aside, I’m not comfortable with probably 90+% of the people living in Amerika teaching or leading my children in anything. Especially people who think Registries are okay. Dangerous people with dangerous ideas.
Although LifeWay sells products created by non-SBC persons and entities, generally speaking its products feature Christian teachings from a conservative perspective (consistent with the 2000 Baptist Faith & Message). It will not sell, and will if needed discontinue selling, works by authors who disagree with its policies. As an example, in October 2016 it pulled all works by author Jen Hatmaker after she endorsed same-sex marriage.[8]
LifeWay’s ministry on the subject of sexuality and gender expression categorizes non-normative identities as sinful lifestyles,[9] the threat of which requires church members be “ready when homosexuality devastates.”[10] This is generally consistent with Article XVIII of the Baptist Faith & Message (the doctrinal statement of the Southern Baptist Convention, LifeWay’s parent[11]), though the Article does not specifically address such gender expression issues as transgender or gender reassignment.[12]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LifeWay_Christian_Resources
This is history repeating itself, though previously under the name of eugenics, which started spreading worldwide.
I’m sure Jesus Christ is just elated with the Baptist churches practice of continual shame. I’m sure he praised this kind of attitude somewhere within his ministry… Wasn’t it at the stoning of the adulterous woman? Yes! I think it was.
Stupid Baptists!!! Bunch of southern racists hiding behind a Bible translated and commandeered by a homosexual and archaic king.