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Southern Baptist abuse probe is over. Debates over its meaning are not

Attendees listen to Bruce Frank, a chair of the Southern Baptist Convention's sexual abuse task force, during its annual meeting in Anaheim, Calif., in 2022. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Attendees listen to Bruce Frank, a chair of the Southern Baptist Convention's sexual abuse task force, during its annual meeting in Anaheim, Calif., in 2022. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) Attendees listen to Bruce Frank, a chair of the Southern Baptist Convention's sexual abuse task force, during its annual meeting in Anaheim, Calif., in 2022. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

By Andrew Schwartz 6 min read

In fall 2024, Megan Lively said, she heard from the FBI agent leading an investigation of the Southern Baptist Convention that the matter was going full steam ahead.

“She made it seem like there was a lot going on,” Lively recalled by phone Friday.

For this reason, she said she was shocked by the news she received a few days ago from that same agent: The U.S. Department of Justice has closed the investigation.

Through its media arm, the Southern Baptist Convention made the news public shortly after. The federal investigation, which was launched in 2022 and which court filings suggest to have been a sprawling affair, had ended with no sexual abuse-related charges.

The development comes as the Justice Department is dramatically changing its enforcement priorities. Closer to home for Lively, however — a North Carolinian and lifelong Southern Baptist who has become an outspoken advocate for sexual assault survivors — it comes as denominational leadership’s enthusiasm for ambitious reform efforts seems to be fading.