Updated Jun 9, 2018

The Baptist Church is staring down its own #MeToo moment

Haley Britzky

A sign outside a Baptist church says, "Love never fails. Welcome." — Outside the Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Sumter, South Carolina before Hillary Clinton spoke in 2016. Photo: Mark Makela/Getty Images

Delegates at the Southern Baptist Convention in Dallas, Texas, next week will be deciding to approve a resolution that confronts the church's treatment of women, NBC reports.

Why it matters: The #MeToo movement is hitting every industry, leaving no stone unturned — church included.

What to watch for: The resolution would acknowledge that throughout history, men in the church have "wronged women, abused women, silenced women, objectified women by ungodly comments and ungodly acts, preyed on women, left women unprotected, failed to report injustices and evils committed against women to civil authorities established by God and failed to act out of the overflow of the image of Christ."

The convention's outgoing president, Steve Gaines, signed the resolution along with president of the Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Jason K. Allen, NBC reports.

The response: A rally is planned for the second day of the convention; the organizer, Cheryl Summers, told NBC the women participating want "reform of culture and for training of pastors and church leaders."

"If the church founded by Jesus Christ is not the safest place [for women], we're doing it wrong."

— Executive director of the Billy Graham Center for evangelical training, Ed Stetzer

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The Baptist Church is staring down its own #MeToo moment

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