Christa Brown
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Christa Brown is an American author and survivor advocate known for her public role in reporting, commentary, and media coverage related to clergy sexual abuse within the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). She is the author of the memoirs Baptistland and This Little Light, which examine abuse, trauma, and institutional responses within conservative Christian contexts. Brown has been featured in major national and regional journalism addressing the SBC’s handling of sexual abuse cases in Southern Baptist churches, and has appeared as an interviewee in the documentary film For Our Daughters.
Advocacy
Brown’s story and her work became widely known through her participation in investigative reporting on sexual abuse within the Southern Baptist Convention. She was one of the survivors featured in the Houston Chronicle’s multi-part investigative series that documented decades of abuse allegations and examined how denominational structures and leadership responded to reports of misconduct.[1] Subsequent reporting by national outlets, including the New York Times,[2] Vice[3] and Ms. Magazine,[4] has identified Brown as a survivor advocate whose public testimony and analysis contributed to broader scrutiny of the SBC during a period of institutional reckoning. The Religion News Association named Brown as one of the top religion newsmakers of the year in 2022 based on how her “advocacy for fellow survivors of sexual abuse helped force a reckoning over the Southern Baptist Convention’s history of mishandling cases of sexually abusive ministers and of mistreating victims.”[5]
Southern Baptist Convention Abuse Reporting and Registry Controversy
In 2006, Brown first proposed that the Southern Baptist Convention create a centralized system for record-keeping and information-sharing on credibly accused clergy sex abusers, and media has continued to report on Brown’s involvement in debates surrounding proposals to establish a registry of clergy accused of sexual abuse within the SBC. When Brown met with SBC leaders about a church wide database of offenders, a member of the executive committee “turned his back to her during her speech and another chortled.”[6] ABC News's 20/20 featured Brown’s advocacy work in a 2007 exposé on clergy sex abuse in Protestant churches, including the SBC.[7]
Documentary Film
Brown appeared as an interviewee in the documentary film For Our Daughters, produced by historian and author Kristin Kobes Du Mez. The film examines sexual abuse and institutional accountability within Christian organizations, including the Southern Baptist Convention, and features testimony from survivors, journalists, and scholars.[8] Coverage of the film has identified Brown as one of several survivors whose experiences illustrate systemic failures within religious institutions.[9]
Commentary Writing on Institutional Accountability
In addition to her books, Brown has written commentary on religion, abuse, and institutional accountability for Baptist News Global and other media outlets. Her opinion writing has focused on survivor perspectives and critiques of denominational responses to abuse allegations and has been cited in discussions of ongoing reform efforts within the SBC.[10]
References
- ↑ Downen, Robert; Olsen, Lise; Tedesco, John (February 10, 2019). "20 years, 700 victims: Southern Baptist sexual abuse spreads as leaders resist reforms". The Houston Chronicle. Retrieved January 15, 2026.
- ↑ Graham, Ruth; Dias, Elisabeth (May 22, 2022). "Southern Baptist Leaders Mishandled Sex Abuse Crisis, Report Alleges". The New York Times. Retrieved January 15, 2026.
- ↑ Stankorb, Sarah (January 4, 2023). "The Southern Baptist Church Ignored Its Abuse Crisis. She Exposed It". Vice. Retrieved January 15, 2026.
- ↑ Shaw, Susan (June 6, 2022). "Sexual Abuse in the Southern Baptist Convention Points to Subordination of Women and Girls". Ms. Magazine. Retrieved Janaury 15, 2026. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ "RNA members name Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision top story of 2022". December 21, 2022. Retrieved January 15, 2026.
- ↑ Bailey, Sarah Pulliam (May 22, 2022). "Southern Baptist leaders covered up sex abuse, kept secret database, report says". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 16, 2026.
- ↑ "Preachers Accused of Sins, and Crimes: 20/20 uncovers ministers accused of abusing children in their congregations". ABC News. April 12, 2007. Retrieved January 15, 2026.
- ↑ Kobes Du Mez, Kristin (September 26, 2024). "For Our Daughters". YouTube. Retrieved January 15, 2026.
- ↑ Matas, Caroline (October 7, 2024). "A Love Letter (and Challenge) to Evangelical Women, 'For Our Daughters' Documents Devastating Cost of Christian Patriarchy". Religion Dispatches. Retrieved January 15, 2026.
- ↑ Brown, Christa. "Christa Brown, Author at Baptist News Global". Retrieved January 15, 2025.
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