Wednesday, February 27, 2008
This Should Not Happen
MMI looks at sex abuse in the SBC
I admit that the SBC structure is such that they do not have the institutional systems to deal with something like this, but to effectively look the other way instead of move to solve the problem and help the victims is definitely NOT WJWD.
Sadly, the church is going to be "infiltrated" by sin in a very serious manner. It is inevitable and unavoidable. The measure of the church IS NOT the avoidance of scandal, but how it deals with scandal.
I am going to say that again because I think it is so important. The church, any church, will suffer scandal from time-to-time. We are a collection of sinners and we live in the already, not yet. Until Christ comes again it is going to happen. The measure of being faithful servants to Christ and His kingdom is not in "containing" the scandal, but in handling it forthrightly, openly, and compassionately. I want to propose some simply guidelines for a church to handle scandal.
1) If there is any credible evidence whatsoever of scandal, particularly sexual or financial, the ministry of the individuals involved must be immediately suspended. Remember, we believe in original sin, that implies a presumption of guilt not innocence. At this stage, efforts should be made to control the nature of the accusations from being widely known, but we cannot afford to leave a potential miscreant in a position like this, they had their presumption of innocence when they got the job.
2) Lawyers be damned. Forgive my french here, but a lawyer's goal is to avoid the appearance of guilt. Again, we believe in original sin, guilt is a forgone conclusion, it is only a question of "guilty of what.". Frankly, if the church suffers financially because we failed to have sufficient control of a miscreant then we deserve it.
3) The victim is not the enemy, even if the accusation is baseless and false. If someone claims such falsely then something has happened at the hands of the church where they have been grievously injured on some other level. Only in very, very few instances is this sort of thing charged purely as a deep-pockets scam. And again, as people that seek to bring God's peace and healing to the world, we need to minister, not ostracize.
The bottom line is this, as Christians we believe in confession, repentance, and forgiveness - grace. We do not believe in defending ourselves, we believe in giving and humility, even unto death.
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The SBC Executive Committee is studying a motion referred from the convention last June regarding the feasibility of a database of clergy offenders, but leaders insist in public statements there is little the denomination can do beyond providing resources to the 44,000 autonomous churches that voluntarily align with the nation’s second-largest faith group behind Roman Catholics.What I read here is the SBC playing defense against litigation instead of offense to root out the abusers and offense to aid the victims. Any denomination which claims there is "little" they can do about a problem like this and at the same time claims to be targeted for litigation based on that which they can do "little" about is trying to have thing both ways. The bottom line is that any institution the size of the SBC is going to have a statistically significant level of this stuff and to deny it is simply to put your head in the sand.
SBC President Frank Page told a Tennessee newspaper in May there are instances of sexual abuse in Southern Baptist churches, just like there are in all public institutions. “I do not believe we have a systemic problem,” the pastor of First Baptist Church in Taylors, S.C., told The Tennessean. Page speculated the SBC was being singled out as a possible target for lawsuits.
I admit that the SBC structure is such that they do not have the institutional systems to deal with something like this, but to effectively look the other way instead of move to solve the problem and help the victims is definitely NOT WJWD.
Sadly, the church is going to be "infiltrated" by sin in a very serious manner. It is inevitable and unavoidable. The measure of the church IS NOT the avoidance of scandal, but how it deals with scandal.
I am going to say that again because I think it is so important. The church, any church, will suffer scandal from time-to-time. We are a collection of sinners and we live in the already, not yet. Until Christ comes again it is going to happen. The measure of being faithful servants to Christ and His kingdom is not in "containing" the scandal, but in handling it forthrightly, openly, and compassionately. I want to propose some simply guidelines for a church to handle scandal.
1) If there is any credible evidence whatsoever of scandal, particularly sexual or financial, the ministry of the individuals involved must be immediately suspended. Remember, we believe in original sin, that implies a presumption of guilt not innocence. At this stage, efforts should be made to control the nature of the accusations from being widely known, but we cannot afford to leave a potential miscreant in a position like this, they had their presumption of innocence when they got the job.
2) Lawyers be damned. Forgive my french here, but a lawyer's goal is to avoid the appearance of guilt. Again, we believe in original sin, guilt is a forgone conclusion, it is only a question of "guilty of what.". Frankly, if the church suffers financially because we failed to have sufficient control of a miscreant then we deserve it.
3) The victim is not the enemy, even if the accusation is baseless and false. If someone claims such falsely then something has happened at the hands of the church where they have been grievously injured on some other level. Only in very, very few instances is this sort of thing charged purely as a deep-pockets scam. And again, as people that seek to bring God's peace and healing to the world, we need to minister, not ostracize.
The bottom line is this, as Christians we believe in confession, repentance, and forgiveness - grace. We do not believe in defending ourselves, we believe in giving and humility, even unto death.
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