October 1, 2026
NASHVILLE (BP) – Former Southern Baptist Theological Seminary professor David Sills has filed a request for a “structured judicial settlement conference” in his lawsuit against the Southern Baptist Convention and other defendants.
Sills originally filed the suit in November 2022, claiming a report from Guidepost Solutions about alleged mishandling of abuse claims by the SBC Executive Committee “perpetuated a false narrative” regarding Sills and his relationship with the late Jennifer Lyell.
Sills’ latest motion, filed Sept. 11, requests a settlement conference in early October. Defendants have reported they are not interested in such a conference.
The motion claims that “the SBC has recently expressed positions about the Guidepost Report that are consistent with Plaintiffs’ allegations and evidence in relation to David Sills.” It specifically refers to comments made by Florida pastor Willy Rice in the past couple of years.
In March 2025, when the Department of Justice closed its investigation of the SBC having brought no sexual abuse-related charges, Rice posted on X that the investigations had been a “snipe hunt” and a “ruse to destroy good people and gain power.”
At a press conference after his election as SBC president in June of this year, Rice said the issue of sexual abuse had been “weaponized” in the SBC, just as it had in the broader culture during the MeToo movement.
“I think there were people who were angry and wanted to take out their anger out on the Southern Baptist Convention,” he said.
Last month, also on X, Rice responded to criticisms of his earlier comments.
“I have never said that sexual abuse, or concerns about abuse, were a hoax,” he wrote. “In fact, I have said the very opposite. I was an enthusiastic and early supporter of abuse reform movements in the SBC. I did begin to speak out about ways in which I believe that movement was weaponized and politicized. I believe there were some unwise decisions made that were counterproductive to the goals we all should share.”
He closed the post with: “We need churches to be prepared and equipped to fight it, and we would be so much more effective if we fought it together instead of fighting each other.”
Lyell’s estate was dropped from the suit last year, a few months after her death in June 2025.
In addition to the SBC and its Executive Committee, remaining defendants include former SBC presidents Bart Barber and Ed Litton, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and its president Albert Mohler, and Guidepost Solutions.
Defendants filed for summary judgment in the case last September. In the absence of summary judgment or a settlement conference, the case is scheduled for trial Nov. 10.
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This article appeared on Baptist Press.
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