EDITOR’S NOTE: Following the release of this story on Matt Queen’s indictment, it has been reported that he has pled not guilty. He said in a released statement, “I fully cooperated with this investigation and have pleaded not guilty to the charge against me. As a Christian, a (former) seminary professor, and now a pastor, my integrity is everything to me and I will cling to that integrity and seek to be vindicated by God and man. Until that day, I do not intend to comment or discuss this matter further. I covet your prayers for me and my family. Thank you.”
While the current Department of Justice investigation of the Southern Baptist Convention and its entities stemmed from the Guidepost Solutions report released in May 2022, an indictment handed down yesterday (May 21, 2024) focuses on a situation that took place after the report. The Guidepost report detailed how allegations of sexual abuse were handled by SBC leaders during the previous 20-year period.
Matt Queen was charged with obstructing justice in a sexual misconduct case and arraigned May 21.
Queen served as a professor at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, from August 2010 until June 2023. He allegedly gave the FBI falsified information in 2023 about reported sexual misconduct by a student at the seminary’s undergraduate-level Texas Baptist College in November 2022. Various news outlets noted attempts to reach Queen, who also served as SWBTS’ interim provost from January to June 2023, but he had not provided public comments by press time.
Queen was put on administrative leave in June 2023 when the seminary learned of his May 2023 denial to investigators that he had heard a SWBTS executive staff member tell a seminary employee in a January 2023 meeting to “destroy” a document outlining the alleged November 2022 incident with the students. The document included details about the lack of action taken by the seminary in 2022. A grand jury subpoena was issued to SWBTS in October 2022 for all documents “related to allegations of sexual abuse against anyone employed by or associated with the Seminary.”
Southwestern’s response
In a statement posted to swbts.edu May 21, SWBTS officials said “the seminary facilitated the arrest of the accused student, who was suspended and later withdrew from the college,” in January 2023 after becoming aware of a Jan. 24 arrest warrant. The institution also disclosed the matter to the DOJ upon learning of “the original report and the later responses of certain staff,” the SWBTS statement notes.
“The seminary has repeatedly informed staff of their duty to fulfill the obligations of the subpoena. The seminary has and will continue to cooperate fully with the DOJ in its investigation of sexual abuse.
“After the seminary learned of Queen’s actions in June 2023, he was immediately placed on administrative leave and resigned as interim provost,” according to the statement. “All employees alleged to have acted improperly in this matter are no longer employed by the seminary.
“Southwestern Seminary takes seriously its moral and legal duties to care for victims of sexual abuse. The actions alleged in the indictment are antithetical to the values of the seminary.”
Where SBC entities are in the investigation
As The Baptist Paper has followed the DOJ investigation, information published in March 2024 reported responses from all SBC entities. SWBTS and Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary were the only two SBC seminaries not to respond to The Baptist Paper.
The Baptist Paper staff confirmed the following were not part of the investigation and had not been contacted by the DOJ (Office of the U.S. Attorneys) related to the SBC investigation as of March — International Mission Board, North American Mission Board, Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, Lifeway Christian Resources, GuideStone Financial Resources and national Woman’s Missionary Union. The SBC Executive Committee reported in early March that it had been released from the investigation with “no charges filed.”
A spokesperson for Southeastern Seminary said they had no official information.
A spokesperson for New Orleans Seminary said, “To our knowledge, [NOBTS] has not been the target of any investigation. We responded to a request for documents more than a year ago and have had no contact with the DOJ since.”
A spokesperson for Gateway Seminary said, “Gateway, in response to a request from the SBC legal team, provided information to assist with their response to the DOJ investigation. Other than that, Gateway has had no other involvement in the investigation and no direct contact with the DOJ.”
Southern Seminary responded to the request for information but declined to comment.
Next steps
As far as the DOJ and the SBC, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams of the Southern District of New York confirmed the investigation is “ongoing” but did not elaborate on what that means.
Queen, who was named pastor of Friendly Avenue Baptist Church in Greensboro, North Carolina, earlier this year, also is known by many in Southern Baptist life for his recent presentations on sharing the gospel.
While allegedly providing a false statement under oath initially, Queen is the one who ultimately admitted under oath what he had done.
The 49-year-old Queen could face up to a maximum of 20 years in prison, but the DOJ report also notes actual sentencing will be determined by a judge and that “charges contained in the information are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.”
The full indictment report by Williams can be found here: u.s._v._queen_information_0.
