Jeff Dalrymple to lead SBC department on sexual abuse response, prevention

Jeff Dalrymple, former executive director of the Evangelical Council for Abuse Prevention who became head of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee's department on Sexual Abuse Prevention and Response in January 2025. | Courtesy A Larry Ross Communications

The Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee has appointed Jeff Dalrymple to lead its recently created department on combatting and preventing sexual abuse within the denomination.

Dalrymple, the former executive director of the Evangelical Council for Abuse Prevention and a Southern Baptist, will begin his role as head of the department immediately, according to Baptist Press, the official news organ of the SBC.

SBC EC President Jeff Iorg highlighted Dalrymple's past work combatting abuse as a reason for his selection.

"Jeff has developed a broad understanding of issues related to sexual abuse prevention and response," stated Iorg, as quoted by the Baptist Press.

"Prior to his service at ECAP, he served as a vice president at Southern Seminary for nine years and with the Kentucky Baptist Convention for two years. He understands how to work with and among Southern Baptists — including our polity and denominational structures."

In response to the news, Dalrymple posted on X that he was "honored to serve Southern Baptists to help protect kids and to respond to abuse rightly."

In 2022, Guidepost Solutions released an extensive investigation report concluding that SBC leaders mishandled sexual abuse allegations against churches, engaged in intimidation of victims and resisted efforts to make churches safer mostly in order to avoid legal liability.

Later that year, the U.S. Department of Justice opened an investigation into the SBC regarding the allegations, with which the convention vowed to cooperate. The DOJ decided not to file any charges against SBC officials for lack of evidence, The Tennessean reported in March 2024. 

Last May, the DOJ filed a charge against former Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary evangelism professor and provost Matthew Queen, accusing him of falsifying records related to the investigation of the school's handling of abuse allegations. 

A civil lawsuit was filed in 2023 against the Executive Committee and multiple SBC member congregations, accusing them of violating the Racketeers Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. The plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed their complaint last May.

In September, the SBC EC voted to create a department dedicated to tackling and preventing sexual abuse within member congregations. The decision came in response to a vote at the SBC Annual Meeting in June, which called for the creation of a permanent entity for sex abuse response and prevention.

"We have had two task forces that have done difficult and hard work," Iorg told committee members at the time. "But it's time to stop talking about what we're going to do and take an initial, strategic step of action that puts into place an administrative response to this issue."