MISSOURI
Associated Baptist Press
By Bob Allen
A Southern Baptist pastor charged with sex crimes stands trial this week in a county court in California, Mo.
Travis Smith, pastor of First Baptist Church of Stover, Mo., faces felony charges of sodomy and statutory rape in a high-profile case that gained media attention after church members stood by the pastor acquitted of similar charges in 2011.
Last December the St. Louis Post-Dispatch highlighted the case in a story on the difficulty of handling reported abuse cases in the Southern Baptist Convention, which recognizes the local congregation as sole authority in the hiring and firing of ministers.
Lamine Baptist Association removed the Stover congregation from its membership roll in April, though the official reason was lack of participation and not the pastor’s legal problems. Smith remains listed as pastor on the church website, along with affiliations with the Missouri Baptist Convention and Southern Baptist Convention.
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