A Little Rock church that has been grappling with child sexual abuse accusations is considering proposed bylaws that would provide it with a first-ever written roadmap to governance but also restrict members’ ability to speak with reporters and other nonmembers.

Under the proposed rules, members of Immanuel Baptist Church would be “expected to avoid making statements to the general public, media, or via the Internet with intent to breach Church business confidentialities, injure the reputation of the Church, or disregard Jesus’ imperative to love one another as He loves us so that others will know we are His disciples (John 13:34-35).”

The bylaws also say members “are expected to prayerfully attempt to resolve disputes among themselves or alongside Staff Pastors or Ministers under the Holy Spirit’s guidance,” pointing to Matthew 18:15-17 as the model.

The passage calls for sins to be addressed brother-to-brother, initially, then by a group of two or three witnesses, and eventually, if necessary, by the entire church.

“The potential for such resolution should be completely exhausted before bringing parties outside the Church into an intra-Church matter,” the draft bylaws add, citing 1 Corinthians 6:1-7,

which admonishes Christians not to have the “unrighteous” settle their legal disputes.

The draft bylaws don’t define “Church business confidentialities” or say what constitutes an injury to “the reputation of the Church,” nor is it clear how “intent” would be determined.

The limitations on speech do not affect anyone’s obligations to “comply with the requirements of federal or state law” or to “report any suspected child abuse to the Arkansas Child Abuse Hotline,” the draft bylaws note.

Members and staff are also required to report suspected criminal conduct to authorities and to comply with subpoenas, court orders or any other “authoritative legal directive,” the draft states.

Immanuel’s efforts come as a former child ministry worker and a former church volunteer are facing criminal proceedings related to abuse accusations.

Steven Smith, who apologized for his failure to more promptly tell members about such allegations and on March 27 announced his resignation as lead pastor, had criticized members for discussing the accusations and other church matters with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, telling the deacon board at its Feb. 4 meeting, “I can’t have trust restored if people inside the church are talking to the newspaper.”

Some of the deacons had been required to sign nondisclosure agreements. Top church leaders had brought in outside legal counsel.

By April 7, when he preached his farewell sermon, hundreds of members had already broken away.

RESTRICTIONS CALLED UNCOMMON

Immanuel Baptist’s effort to adopt bylaws for the first time in 132 years is “a very positive step,” but the restriction on media interactions is atypical, said Matthew Branaugh, an attorney and editor at the Christian publication Church Law & Tax.

“The church had been around for 130-plus years, and so the fact that there weren’t bylaws in place, I think surprised many,” Branaugh said.

“I commend the church for saying, ‘Okay, let’s learn from this situation, and let’s find a way to positively address it,” he said.

If congregants want to limit members’ conversations with the media, “That’s their prerogative. It’s just not common. It’s not something I’m familiar with in any way, shape or form, as far as the kind of work that we’ve done over the years when it comes to this topic,” he said.

Prominent Southern Baptist pastors were also unaware of similar provisions.

“That’s the first I have ever seen of a mention of the media in governing documents,” former Southern Baptist Convention President Bart Barber said in a text message Tuesday morning.

Arkansas Baptist State Convention President Brad Lewter said the congregation he leads, Grand Avenue Baptist Church in Fort Smith, doesn’t have similar restrictions and isn’t aware of any congregations that do.

It’s not something he’d want to add, he said.

“When you know the context of Immanuel, I can understand why they put it in there, but I’m not sure it’s the healthiest thing,” he said.

Three young women have accused Patrick Stephen Miller, the church’s assistant director of children’s ministry from May 2014 to January 2016, of sexually abusing them when they were children.

In June, he pleaded innocent on charges of second-degree sexual assault and kidnapping involving one of the accusers.

He had already been charged, in January 2019, with second-degree sexual assault after his first accuser came forward. He pleaded guilty in 2022 to misdemeanor harassment and was given a one-year suspended sentence, with 19 days’ credit for time served.

In September, the church announced the existence of a third accuser. No additional charges have been filed, and Miller’s attorney, Bill James, has denied anything improper occurred.

A former Immanuel church volunteer, Reagan Danielle Gray, has been charged with one count of first-degree sexual assault for allegations involving a high school boy. She has pleaded innocent.

Smith withheld information about the allegations involving Miller from the congregation, only informing them on Dec. 10, hours after the Democrat-Gazette reported on Miller’s effort, since abandoned, to have his criminal record sealed.

Smith had previously disclosed some of the allegations against Gray but consistently portrayed them as noncriminal in nature.

A MONTHS LONG PROCESS

Founded in 1892, Immanuel has long been one of the state’s largest Baptist congregations. Over the years, it has been governed by “oral tradition” rather than written bylaws, its leaders have said.

The deacons decided that should change, voting in March to begin a bylaw drafting process.

Little Rock attorney Mike Rainwater, who chairs Immanuel’s bylaws drafting committee, did not respond to messages left at his office Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning.

The draft bylaws were unveiled at a church meeting on Sept. 8, a video of which was posted on the church’s website at ibclr.org/bylaws. No questions were allowed.

Addressing the audience, Rainwater emphasized the amount of work the 15-member committee had put in.

“We’ve met over five months. We’ve had at least 15 meetings,” he said. “We have about 750 man and woman hours in this project right here, so there’s a lot of effort that’s gone into it.”

Rainwater emphasized the importance of being “democratic, transparent and authentic.”

“We specifically did not want to react to our recent difficult situation but, on the other hand, we wanted to respond to that. You can look at certain bylaws and you kind of see what people have been through,” Rainwater said.

Among other things, the bylaws would expand the numbers of church trustees and introduce term limits. Women as well as men would be encouraged to serve.

The bylaws also outline the process for removing a minister; it would require a majority vote at a “Special Church Family Business Meeting.”

The draft also prevents church members from voting on matters when they have a conflict of interest.

“We want a governing process that is open, that you can see through. There’s no hidden places in the middle of all that,” Rainwater said.

Those failing to meet church standards risk having their memberships “administratively terminated by church discipline,” the draft bylaws state.

Committee members and volunteers who fail to comply with church policies potentially face “temporary or permanent forfeiture” of their positions.

In the draft document, no due process rights are outlined for Immanuel members facing expulsion from the church.

The disciplinary process will be “addressed in a manner that meets biblical requirements and principles, as determined by the Pastoral Staff,” it states.

It also encourages the addition of new deacons “representing younger and median adult Church members.”

The draft was unveiled after it had been received favorably by the board of deacons and church staff, Rainwater said.

A followup meeting was scheduled for Oct. 6, and the drafting committee promised to post a recording of it on their webpage at ibclr.org/ bylaws. It wasn’t available there Tuesday.

A vote on the bylaws had been set for Sunday, but it was postponed so the committee could get “pastoral leadership and feedback” from their new interim pastor, John McCallum, the webpage stated.

McCallum, who pastored First Baptist Church in Hot Springs for nearly three decades, did not respond to messages left at Immanuel Baptist on Monday and Tuesday or an email sent Monday.

Immanuel members have been promised a new draft by Oct. 31. The new target date for the vote is Nov. 10, the webpage noted.