Her allegations brought down megachurch pastor Bruxy Cavey. Then the anonymous trolls came for her boss, the Southern Baptist Convention, demanding his resignation.
But this week she’s getting a platform to tell all.
At last check, 1.2 million people have registered for her new book. She’s on the cover of The New Yorker this week. And while Cavey has a “C” rating from the Southern Baptist Convention, some people have complained that he’s being used as an example as she gets the spotlight.
“These pastors who are getting such a great platform are in need of a serious overhaul, especially when they’re being used as an example,” said Larry Jacobs of the Dallas-based Southern Baptist Convention.
Cavey has apologized for his tone on social media, and said his remarks were taken out of context. But Jacobs said he believes his message is too negative.
“I think he is using anger to kind of whip people up, and I think that is not the purpose of his ministry, and I think he owes pastors a public apology because he is not an apologetics ministry,” Jacobs said.
Many Southern Baptist leaders, including the president of the Southern Baptist Convention, retired Southern Baptist Convention senior church scholar Dr. James MacDonald, also publicly have said Cavey’s remarks were out of context.
And, Jacobs notes, Cavey has said a lot of controversial things in his career.
“The thing about Cavey is that he’s been in the ministry for over 30 years, and he’s never apologized for things he’s said that are hurtful and that have caused pain, and I don’t ever remember him apologizing,” Jacobs said.
Jacobs says what’s needed is not just an apology but a conversation about how to move forward.
“I would say to him that the message of his ministry is not only how to handle the issue and how to handle the pain, but also the whole mindset of how to handle the pain,” Jacobs said.
“He’s got a platform. There’s an old saying — the only job he doesn’t have yet is what he’s doing in those 10 minutes every day. He’s gotta find the balance point, and it seems to me for him it’s been about getting people to think outside of their conservative box, and I think he’s doing that,” Jacobs said.
A few of the people angry about Cavey have been on Twitter and accused him of blaming conservative evangelical