Two deacons at a prominent Arkansas megachurch say their church is trying to get committee members investigating the handling of abuse to sign a “sweeping nondisclosure agreement” (NDA), according to the Arkansas Democrat Gazette.
The deacons are members of Immanuel Baptist Church (IBC) in Little Rock, Arkansas—a prominent Southern Baptist Convention (SBC)-affiliated church pastored by Steven Smith. Since December, Smith has been under fire for failing to inform his congregation of alleged child abuse by IBC Assistant Director of Children’s Ministry Patrick Miller. Smith reportedly learned of the alleged abuse in 2018, but didn’t report it until last year when the alleged abuse became public.
The two deacons, who spoke on condition of anonymity to the Gazette, are aware of devlopments on a church committee investigating how IBC handled reports of Miller’s abuse and the alleged abuse of a former youth volunteer.
One deacon told the Gazette that IBC not only asked members of the investigation committee to sign NDAs, but also members of the church’s personnel and finance teams. The other deacon told the Gazette that IBC wanted those on the investigation committee to promise in writing that they won’t disclose the existence of the NDAs.
The new NDA policy is “inappropriate,” one deacon reportedly said, noting the church was founded in 1892. “In over 130 years . . . we haven’t imposed muzzle tactics on our people who dutifully serve on these important committees. These NDAs should just be summarily rejected.”
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TRR reached out to IBC for comment on the NDA policy but did not receive a response.
At least two members of the 9-member Investigation and Communication Committee at IBC have resigned, according to the Gazette.
“There is an ongoing tendency from church leadership to try to keep things very quiet and respond only when outside pressure forces it — it’s problematic when the first reaction to important and especially sensitive matters is to suppress the information and focus effort toward controlling narratives,” one of the deacons reportedly wrote in an email to the Gazette.
“It is one thing to want to … refer to yourself as the shepherd, but shepherding has the care of the flock as its primary interest, not optics,” he wrote. “The current approach of leadership is only serving to delay the work of recovery for Immanuel.”
NDAs have been increasingly used to silence whistleblowers in churches and Christian organizations. Several advocates have been outspoken in asking Christian entities to reject the use of NDAs.
The consequences for IBC deacons not signing an NDA with the church are unclear. The committee can be disbanded at the discretion of the church’s legal counsel, according to a previous report.
Miller withdraws petition to seal his guilty plea
Meanwhile, Miller, the former IBC staffer whose effort to seal his court records first sparked awareness of his case, has reversed course.
On Monday, Miller’s attorney, Bill James, filed a “motion to withdraw petition to seal” at a court in Little Rock. “After further consideration, Defense Counsel feels it would be in the best interest of Mr. Miller to withdraw their petition to seal this case,” it stated in part.
In a statement from attorney Joseph Gates and reported by the Democrat-Gazette, two alleged victims of Miller, now teenagers, stated they are “pleased” by the action.
“While Patrick Miller took the easy way out and avoided facing us whom he has harmed in the courtroom, we are pleased that our objections have been heard,” they wrote. “Patrick Miller’s criminal acts will not be hidden.”
In a multi-year staff tenure that ended in January 2016, Miller taught a class of fourth-grade girls, which met on Sunday and Wednesday nights in an IBC classroom.
According to previous statements by Gates, Miller fondled and sexually abused multiple girls after grooming them through games of “hide and seek” where they would be locked in darkened rooms at the church..
Investigation ongoing amid calls for pastor’s resignation
In a letter recently obtained by TRR, longtime IBC deacon David Choate accused Pastor Smith of failing “to take appropriate action to protect Immanuel children” and called on him to resign.
Smith responded in a public statement last Friday, admitting his “handling (of) both situations in question undoubtedly should have been better.”
The pastor also said that “accusations impugning (his) character and integrity” were unwarranted and alleged that Choate’s letter as “untrue, inaccurate (and) misleading.”
Smith also proposed that IBC hire a third-party firm to investigate the church’s handling of Miller’s alleged abuse.
Four months earlier, at least two IBC members had also proposed hiring a third-party, but the church decided against it.
Previously, Smith said IBC’s recently-formed investigation committee would meet with a “party outside the church” and conduct an inquiry. The deacons then would communicate the investigation’s findings to the church.
However, according to multiple sources, that outside party has been an attorney for the church’s insurance company. And the NDAs reportedly state that committee members will communicate only with the attorney and cannot disclose information even to deacons.
TRR asked IBC spokesperson Phillip Ashworth about the discrepancy but did not hear back.
In a statement, the two alleged victims of Miller said the case is “not over” and implied future legal action. They urged any other victims to contact the Arkansas Child Abuse Hotline.
“Please do not be afraid to speak up,” they stated. “We are speaking up. We are letting our voices be heard, and full justice is coming.”
Correction: An earlier version of the article inaccurately stated that the deacons quoted are on the investigation committee.
Freelance journalist Josh Shepherd writes on faith, culture, and public policy for several media outlets. He and his family live in the Washington, D.C. area.
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3 Responses
This same scenario of criminal activity with a concomitant cover up and eventual narrative management seems not to be a bug but a feature of authoritarian Evangelical Churches, as we are seeing over and over again thanks to the Roys Report. Maybe the problem is in the authoritarian aspect of these churches. Authoritarianism and secrecy seem to go hand in hand, and never with a good outcome.
How might these Evangelical Churches become less authoritarian?
One idea is that they could be governed by a board that isn’t comprised of a bunch of older white men, most of whom are upper middle class or wealthy.
The pastor needs to be accountable to the actual community. Women typically outnumber men in church attendance. They almost always outnumber men in the hours of unpaid labor they give to churches. Yet men hold all positions of authority. Boards should include women, people living below the poverty line, people with disabilities, etc.
I have been in a church where women were re-organizing Sunday School to be more accommodating for children with disabilities. Even though a special education teacher and a mother of a disabled child were part of the effort, they had to get approval for every single step from the board. They board consisted of all white men, none of whom had any experience teaching children, let alone being accommodating to children with disabilities. It was ludicrous.
Being a middle aged white man with a nice investment portfolio doesn’t make one fit to run a church. Yet that’s who you see running all these churches.
And this article shows the result of that. No accountability combined with a doctrine that teaches men are sexual predators by design and it’s the role of women (and girls) to make sure men don’t assault them.
American women are leaving churches in droves so maybe it won’t matter anymore in a few years.
As always, these jokers care more about protecting the system and their empire than being faithful to the Lord they claim to serve. I point them to Matthew 7:21-23.