This week media has been flooded with news about Guidepost’s report of their investigation into Southern Baptist Convention’s response to allegation of sexual abuse, corruption and cover-up. Commissioned by the SBC, it was shocking. The full report can be read HERE. There were many articles in response, I found two particularly insightful. Russell Moore and David French.
At this point, I ask, were you aware of the Guidepost’s SBC report? If not, perhaps your attention was on other matters. This would be a good time to catch up. Hopefully, previous posts sensitized you to the subject and you have heard or read about it.
…there are more allegations of child sexual abuse in Protestant congregations than there are in Catholic ones…
The report is a defining event, not only for SBC, but all churches. Whether or not the SBC report has the attention of churches is yet to be determined, but I am certain people outside of the church are acutely aware and curious see how churches respond. We must not stumble like the Catholic Church has. What happens in the aftermath will determine whether observers see the Church as Stained or Beautiful. The credibility of our witness is in the dock.
Churches have no recourse but to respond. Silence is, in itself, a response, and will speak loudly.How we respond will reveal the true character of our institution.
Responding is a minefield. Leaders who choose to grab “the bull by the horns” or initiate a “sky is falling” narrative can create chaos in a church family, producing paranoia and suspicion, to no good end. Any response must begin with prayerful and honest self-examination. Transparency is of utmost importance. Action comes when we are convinced there is a problem.
It is time to abandon the myth that our churches are safe places and confess that we are as vulnerable and wounded as other communities. We must review the lens through which we perceive reality: our theology, language and practice.
For decades now, the church has been trained to believe that the greatest threat to it was external…when the reality is that it is internal…the rot in the SBC is just a picture of most “Christian” denominations and non-denoms…and it’s the tip of the iceberg… (Phoenix Preacher)
“For the time has come for judgment, and it must begin with God’s household. And if judgment begins with us, what terrible fate awaits those who have never obeyed God’s Good News?”??
1 Peter? ?4:17? ?NLT
“I cannot emphasize enough how important it is for pastors, church leaders, and church cultures to become trauma informed. Trauma is not something that happens “out there” to “those” people.” “Trauma is the mission field of our time.’”
@DianeLangberg
What looks like a serious crisis may mark the moment of new life; what looks a sinister threat may in reality be a great opportunity.
Hans Kung —THE CHURCH
The Body of Christ is beautiful; “when the church gets it right, she is beautiful. When the church gets it right—when we fulfill the intentions of our Lord Christ and His character is revealed through us—” (John Stumbo)
“Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me,
All His wonderful passion and purity,
Oh, Thou Spirit divine, all my nature refine,
Till the beauty of Jesus be seen in me.”
Next: When the church gets it right…
STILL ON THE JOURNEY