Jennifer Lyell, Southern Baptist Church Leader and Survivor, Dies Aged 47

Newsweek

4 hours ago

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Jennifer Lyell, who has previously made headlines for her allegations of sexual abuse against a Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) professor, has died at the age of 47.
The editor and author, who worked on around 12 New York Times bestsellers, died on Saturday after "a series of massive strokes," according to the religious publications the Baptist Standard and Christianity Today, which both cited Lyell's friend Rachael Denhollander.
Newsweek has contacted the SBC via email for comment.
What To Know
Lyell was deeply involved with the SBC, America's largest protestant denomination. She became a Christian at the age of 10, when she attended a Billy Graham crusade, a large-scale evangelical event, and went on to study at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary with the hopes of becoming a missionary.
In 2004, when she was 26 years old, she met David Sills, a professor in his late 40s at the time, who was president of the missionary nonprofit Reaching & Teaching International Ministries, who mentored her.
Devastated & heartbroken as we grieve the loss of a faithful friend to so many, @Jenlyell. And yet grateful her faith is now sight and she is with the Father who never failed her. I wish all could know the hilarious, blunt, and loyal friend I did. She's finally free and at peace. pic.twitter.com/j0e5vtdcij — Megan Nichols Lively (@megannlively) June 8, 2025
Some 10 years later, Lyell alleged to her bosses that she was groomed and abused by Sills. In 2018, Sills admitted sexual impropriety and resigned from his post.
None of this was public until 2019 when Lyell told her story to the Baptist Press, the official news publication of the SBC.
But when the publication first published the story, it said Lyell had admitted to an inappropriate relationship, which caused public backlash for Lyell, who was a vice president at the SBC publisher Lifeway.
Baptists Press retracted the story and apologized to Lyell, along with the SBC Executive Committee.
This controversy was one of several that Guidepost Solutions investigation taking place, which looked into how the SBC handled sexual abuse allegations in general, assessing two decades of cases.
Its 2022 report found that SBC had mistreated accusers, which led to multiple reforms, Christianity Today reports.
After the report came out, Sills sued the SBC and Lyell, alleging that they had made him a scapegoat.
"After various mischaracterizations, misstatements, and contrived investigations by Defendants, Plaintiffs have been wrongfully and untruthfully labelled as criminals and shunned by the SBC and every other religious organization with which Plaintiff Sills has tried to associate," his complaint says.
Lyell had stuck to her version of the story, writing on social media when the suit was filed: "I do not need to be under oath, to tell the truth—and there are no lies that will shake my certainty of what is true."
The headquarters of the Southern Baptist Convention in Nashville, Tenn., is seen on Dec. 7, 2011.
The headquarters of the Southern Baptist Convention in Nashville, Tenn., is seen on Dec. 7, 2011.
AP
What People Are Saying
Lyell's friend Megan Nichols Lively posted on X: "Devastated & heartbroken as we grieve the loss of a faithful friend to so many, Jennifer Lyell. And yet grateful her faith is now sight and she is with the Father who never failed her. I wish all could know the hilarious, blunt, and loyal friend I did. She's finally free and at peace.
Lifeway spokesperson Carol Pipes told Religion News Service: "We are saddened to hear the news of the passing of Jennifer Lyell. Lifeway sends our prayers and deepest sympathies to Jennifer's family and friends.
"It takes years and years to recover from trauma, and no one should be in the position of having to explain it to the whole public while they're still trying to do that."
Jeff Iorg, president of the SBC Executive Committee, said: "Jennifer Lyell's death is tragic and heartbreaking. My heart goes out to everyone who loved and cared for her because of the magnitude of their loss today.
"While her life was marked by much pain and turmoil, now she knows only peace and rest. The eternal good news of the gospel is our only source of hope today, and we are grateful for the sure hope it provides."
What Happens Next
Sills' most recent lawsuit in relation to this, filed in Tennessee, is still ongoing, according to Baptist News.
It is part of more than 24 filed against the SBC in relation to sexual abuse cases. It remains to be seen what will become of them.