“Grateful.” That is SBC Executive Committee President Jeff Iorg’s reaction to news that the Department of Justice has closed its investigation into the Southern Baptist Convention and its entities with no sexual abuse-related charges filed.
“I’m grateful that it’s come to an end and that we can move forward now with this part of our legal journey behind us. That’s my overwhelming feeling of relief and gratitude today,” Iorg told Kentucky Today.
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The Executive Committee spent more than $2 million on the DOJ investigation and Iorg says the end of the probe removes one of the legal battles that has nearly broken the EC’s budget. But he says there are still choppy financial waters ahead as the SBC navigates ongoing lawsuits related to the EC’s handling of sexual abuse claims.
“The large unpredictable expenses for us are related to the three major lawsuits that are still before us,” said Iorg. “And so, until those are resolved, we still don’t have a fixed and final cost of these legal expenses, but at least one of those issues has been removed.”
The Executive Committee is requesting that messengers to the 2025 Annual Meeting in Dallas approve earmarking $3 million in Cooperative Program funds to pay legal expenses.
Iorg said reaction to that request has been mixed.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Lawrence Smith and originally published by Kentucky Today.
