Nashville, Tenn. | The Tennessee Supreme Court will hear the appeal of the Southern Baptist Convention in a case connected to an inquiry by the SBC Credentials Committee.
Preston Garner, a longtime worship pastor and school music teacher, and his wife, Kellie, filed a defamation suit in 2023 against the SBC, Guidepost Solutions, and others. The Garners claim the SBC defamed them while following up on a confidential report made to the SBC’s abuse hotline.
The SBC argued in court that it was protected by the church autonomy doctrine, a First Amendment right which keeps courts from interfering in disputes with religious bodies that involve religious faith, doctrine, or governance. Two lower courts rejected the SBC’s argument. The SBC asked the Tennessee Supreme Court to step in, which it has now agreed to do.
“Churches have a sacred calling to protect their flocks. When a church leader in a position of trust is accused of serious misconduct, religious bodies must be free to take action without being dragged through intrusive, costly, and unnecessary litigation,” senior counsel Daniel Blomberg told Baptist Press in written comments.
The SBC’s abuse hotline, which is maintained by Guidepost Solutions, received a report in 2022 from a woman claiming that Garner had sexually abused her 12 years prior when he was serving as interim pastor in North Carolina.
An SBC employee, on behalf of the Credentials Committee, sent a letter to Everett Hills Baptist Church in Maryville, Tenn., where Garner had been employed as worship pastor about the possibility that the church “may employ an individual with an alleged history of abuse.”
At the time the letter was sent, Garner was also employed as a music teacher at The King’s Academy, a Christian school. He was set to take another position at First Baptist Church of Concord, Tenn. Garner said he ultimately lost both jobs because of the SBC letter.
The Tennessee Supreme Court’s order gave six more denominations permission to file amicus briefs. The case will be placed “on the docket for oral argument upon the completion of briefing.”
—excerpted from Baptist Press