Responding to the Scandal
We used to think that the problem of child molestation belonged to other people, but not to fundamental Baptists. Now we are learning otherwise. We are hearing more and more reports of sexual predation, pedophilia, and cover-ups on the part of fundamental Baptist leaders. The resulting impression upon the public is that the clergy of Baptist fundamentalism is unusually goatish, thuggish, and corrupt.
This is not the place to evaluate the truth of individual claims. In a few instances individuals have probably been accused unfairly. Over the past five years, however, too many of these episodes have been verified for us to dismiss them all. Men have gone to prison. More should. The problem is too widespread and has affected too many of the different networks of fundamentalism to permit us to believe that it is merely anomalous or that it is limited only to one branch of fundamentalism.
What is being exposed within fundamentalism is heinous. Pastors, missionaries, and deacons have preyed upon the powerless. Even worse, Christian leaders and Christian organizations have covered up the commission of these crimes. The effect has been to protect the perpetrators. Those who have suffered most—the victims—have been denied justice and have seen their abusers keep their freedom, their livelihoods, and sometimes even their positions of leadership.
So what are we supposed to do? If we are interested in truth and right, if we want to see Christ’s name exalted and not besmirched, and if we care about people, how should we respond to these reports? I wish to provide part of the answer to that question. More needs to be said, but fundamental Baptist leaders, churches, and institutions absolutely must adopt certain core responses.
Of course, certain responses are simply wrong. First, we should not blame the secular media for their reports on these scandals, nor should we dodge their questions. We are witnessing events that are not only newsworthy but salacious. We know in advance that the reporters neither understand nor sympathize with us. We must go out of our way to avoid any appearance that we have something to hide.
Furthermore, we must reject any temptation to blame the victims. An adolescent of thirteen or fourteen is an unequal match for an adult of thirty, especially if the adult is wrapped in the mantle of authority. Yes, the adolescent ought to know what is right and wrong—but our job is to protect youngsters from having to make adult choices. They are not yet prepared for those choices, and we must not treat them as if they were.
Nor should we blame the victims for going outside the fundamentalist network to seek justice. The whole reason that they have been forced to this extreme is because they could not find justice within the structure of the churches and other institutions that were supposed to help them. Our anger (and we should be angry!) should not be directed against the victims who have appealed to other authorities, but against those spiritual authorities who abdicated their responsibility to defend the powerless.
We must also refuse to allow ourselves to be distracted by extraneous considerations. Accusers should never be dismissed just because someone thinks they seem odd or neurotic. Those are actually behaviors we might anticipate in someone who was molested as a child. On the other hand, simply because the accused has a reputation for successful ministry does not mean that he is above accountability. The same character traits that can make a man a visibly effective preacher can sometimes make him an efficient sexual predator.
Those are responses that we should never make. We do have an obligation to respond, however, and that obligation includes certain right reactions.
Our first response must be to refocus upon personal integrity. Many accusations are true, but in the present atmosphere the possibility of false accusations ought to strike fear into every minister. All it takes is one, unsupported claim to end a ministry. Consequently, we have a duty to live our lives such that no credible charge can be leveled against us. We must go out of our way to ensure that we avoid even the appearance of impropriety. How? By common sense precautions. We will install windows so that people can see into our offices. We will never be alone with any female other than our wives and daughters. We will never be alone with a child, even of the same sex, other than our own children. We will never touch a minor in any way except in full view of other adults—and we will guard those touches carefully against misunderstanding.
Just as importantly, our second response must be prevention. We cannot change what has already happened, but we can do our best to ensure that it will not happen again. Every church needs a child protection policy. The policy should define when and where adults are allowed to have contact with minors at church activities. It should prohibit adults from being alone with minors in an unsupervised environment. It should require everyone involved in ministry to minors to receive specific training aimed at avoiding abusive relationships. Very importantly, it should require a background check for every church member who works with minors. It should specify procedures for pursuing complaints and suspicions. It should be widely distributed so that every parent knows its provisions. For a good example of such a policy in a secular organization, churches might look at the Cadet Protection Policy of the Civil Air Patrol.
Our third response should involve prosecution. When pastors and church leaders become aware of abusive situations, they should report these situations to police and child protective agencies. In fact, they should do more than to report. They should demand that the authorities take action. Concerns over confidentiality are badly out of place here, as are concerns over 1 Corinthians 6:1-8. Paul was not writing to the Corinthians about situations in which crimes were being committed or the powerless being victimized. In most states, pastors have a legal obligation to report any situation that they even suspect of being abusive. Justice and protection for victims requires action against abusers. Christian leaders have a duty to protect the powerless. Too often have they adopted the role of shielding the abuser.
The fourth response is more systemic, but just as necessary. Baptist fundamentalists absolutely must repudiate those models of leadership that foster abusive and predatory behavior. Too many fundamentalists equate spiritual leadership with bluster, demagoguery, egotism, authoritarianism, and contemptuousness toward deacons, church members, and especially women. We must stop tolerating such attitudes.
Pastoral authority extends no further than the right to proclaim and implement the teachings of Scripture. Pastors must recognize the God-ordained authority of the congregation, and congregations must hold pastors accountable. Churches must seek pastors who focus upon the exposition of Scripture, who are gentle in their dealings with people, who are open and transparent, and who welcome criticism and accountability. Most of all, churches must reject numerical and financial growth as a measure of success and realize that the very first qualification of any minister is that he must give evidence of knowing and loving God.
Baptist fundamentalism has endured dark episodes in the past, but none has been blacker or more ugly that the present hour. We have no one else to blame. We have been too lax for too long. If the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God, then we should welcome the purifying effect that the exposure of sin will have upon us, and we should respond rightly.
The Descent From The Cross
Christina Rossetti (1830-1894)
Is this the Face that thrills with awe
Seraphs who veil their face above?
Is this the Face without a flaw,
The Face that is the Face of Love?
Yea, this defaced, a lifeless clod,
Hath all creation’s love sufficed,
Hath satisfied the love of God,
This Face the Face of Jesus Christ.
Kevin T. Bauder Bio
This essay is by Dr. Kevin T. Bauder, who serves as Research Professor of Systematic Theology at Central Baptist Theological Seminary (Plymouth, MN). Not every professor, student, or alumnus of Central Seminary necessarily agrees with every opinion that it expresses.
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Then, we saw people that went to and attend my wifes church growing up who basically had all of the wrong responses Bauder presents here. That was horrible as well. They were more concerned about the public nature of these sins and that the label of IFB churches was given as a broad brush stroke to all Independent Fundamental Baptist churches then they were about the victims and the abuse they endured both sexually and by their church.
Bauder has done here what I was waiting for someone to do within these circles. As Bill Roach said above, too much of what the 20/20 interview said is true. This needs to stop and this is not something that should be named among any church or organization.
What Dr. Bauder wrote was this: “The fourth response is more systemic, but just as necessary. Baptist fundamentalists absolutely must repudiate those models of leadership that foster abusive and predatory behavior. Too many fundamentalists equate spiritual leadership with bluster, demagoguery, egotism, authoritarianism, and contemptuousness toward deacons, church members, and especially women. We must stop tolerating such attitudes.”
What is causing me some concern is that the main focus of the scandals, at least in these particular cases, are not really from the side of fundamentalism that follows these “models of leadership.” While I whole-heartedly agree that the bluster, demagoguery, etc. is a serious problem, I don’t think that was a cause for what happened in the cases presented by 20/20 and I don’t think it was an underlying problem in the ABWE situation. Rather, in the criminal cases on 20/20, the majority of the stories presented were from our side of fundamentalism, the side that blanches at the pomposity and egotism Dr. Bauder is writing about here.
While the 20/20 show did show some of these kinds of pastors preaching (if you could call it that), the scandals were ours. Marquette Manor was being led by Pastor Simmons at the time of these crimes and he wrote a chapter in From The Mind Of God To The Mind Of Man, not something being sold in the bookstore at First Baptist in Hammond I suspect. Moreover, the problems at Marquette during that time, which are mind-numbingly incredible, have no connection with the IFB groups that so many on this blog are piling on (again, most of the time, rightly so).
So while I’m not defending these IFB pastors who are this way, I repudiate these violations of 1 Peter 5 as much as anyone..my own church family would concur with me on this…I have to say that in this particular case, they are not the problem here.
My point is that if we are going to own up and say that fundamentalism needs fixing, and I think there is an overwhelming agreement on that point here, then we have to own up to what actually caused this to happen. Frankly, it was a toleration of sin in lives of the pastors/deacons. I’m reminded of the opening paragraphs of Richard Baxter’s Reformed Pastor when he asks those piercing questions about the spiritual lives of pastors. What I have taken away from this is a renewed desire for wisdom to avoid compromising situations, grace to live a crystal clear life above reproach, and humility to admit when I fail the Lord in these matters. I don’t want to come to the place where after I have preached to others, I myself have become a castaway.
Matt
NOTE: Not all the pastors at Marquette at the time were involved in this stuff or were even aware of it.
That being said, I would like to offer two comments. 1) When these things happen, it is wise, good, and helpful to do some soul searching to see if there are weaknesses that contribute to such sad and sinful situations. 2) We must remember that the sin nature remains in all Christians, and we shouldn’t be terribly shocked that it manifests itself in appalling ways at times. I personally doubt that IBF churches produce more of this than others, though perhaps it may be so. However, I have seen a fair share of this kind of shameful behavior in other groups as well. It’s easy to point the finger at those with whom we disagree, and feel a bit vindicated that we warned about that. “I told you so” is a common human foible which we all share.
Perhaps IBF‘ers are so separated that they don’t know about similar situations in other groups. Perhaps IBF‘ers are so convinced that they have the truest form of Biblical Christianity that they are shocked to find such sin in their midst, though not surprised to find it in others. Maybe the good that can come out of these tragedies is to show IBF‘ers that they are not superior to all other Christians. My background is IBF, and technically, I am still IBF, though do not fellowship exclusively in IBF circles. Because of this, many of my IBF brethren do not want to fellowship with me. Familiar story? No matter. My life is too full, and my ministry too busy to fret about such matters. I have found many good and godly men within the IBF, for which I am grateful. I have also found many good and godly men outside IBF circles, with whom I enjoy warm fellowship. I have also found too many shallow and petty men within the IBF, and have found much the same outside IBF circles. Guess what? We are all sinners! No need for superiority. We’ve all got too much remaining sin to be judging the servants of another. I’ve got my hands full keeping my own remaining sin in check. If I become careless, I fall. That’s true of all Christians in all camps. It may not be an IBF “thing” at all. It’s probably a “sin thing.” When we think we stand, we must take heed lest we fall. Perhaps there is too much pride of “we take the right stand.” May these tragic falls teach us all greater humility and vigilance.
Cordially,
Greg Barkman
G. N. Barkman
[handerson] Aaron,I understand, I think.
Perhaps I’m responding to a larger culture that I associated with Bauder’s comments. As a movement, the “personal integrity” card has been played mainly to protect against the accusation of immoral conduct not against the temptation to immoral conduct. Usually it is discussed in context of the more “normal” sin of adultery, not in the the current extreme of child abuse, but the philosophical argument is the same in both cases. My only point is that the that whole concept is illegitimate and misleads people about the nature of sin. You say “most of us are never even tempted to abuse a child” but how do you know what each individual struggles with? (I GUARANTEE you that confession is not going to come out at the next pastors’ luncheon.) And so instead of teaching people how to fight sin in their own hearts, we teach them how to avoid being accused of sin.
My point (as minor as it may be) is that we cannot assume our hearts wouldn’t stoop to this sin or any other. On the whole Bauder seems to be saying “yes, we have sin in our midst; we need to deal with it.” I’m just asking that the FIRST thing we say is “yes, we have sin in our hearts and we need to deal with that.”
I would put the whole thing in slightly different terms. The “we have sin our hearts” part goes under the heading of repentance. The “we conduct ministry in a way that accusations are unlikely” goes under the integrity heading (along with other things) and the “we take steps to avoid temptation,” I’d put under precautions. The last two really are almost inseparable, though. It’s pretty hard to take precautions against temptation and not simultaneously safeguard against accusation, and vice versa.
[GNB] I personally doubt that IBF churches produce more of this than others, though perhaps it may be so.I agree. That is, if we assume that most IFB people are Christians, I have to believe we have less of this problem than the general population. Otherwise, Philip.1:6 (and a bunch of other passages) would appear to not mean much. And I think “systemic” problems in IFB that contribute to this as a church problem are not unique to IFB either. Surely no one believes that IFB has a corner on the markets of, say, authoritarian leadership, bad theology, pride, misogyny, etc. These things were around before IFB.
I suspect these problems are not unusual in all highly-independent groups (and some not-very-independent ones).
I think we’re also pretty murky on what “IFB” is. We know the oppressive, cult-like leader plus obsessive dress code plus translation obsession plus doctrinal neglect plus sky-scraper preaching (story upon story) flavor of IFB is out there. People who have done their homework also know that lots of churches exist that are none of those things though still Baptist, independent and fundamentalist.
So are we including all of these widely differing folks in the “IFB” bucket? To me, the distinctions are so numerous and substantial it’s almost meaningless to refer to them all as a single group.
All that to say that the question “does IFB have a sex abuse and coverup epidemic?” depends on how you define “IFB.”
I appreciate your note on judgmentalism also. It could be my imagination, but it seems like there’s been an almost gleeful eagerness to cast the first stone in this whole business. Isn’t there something a bit off when our first impulse in response to any brother’s mishandling of a situation is to publicly accuse him of sin and call for his repentance? (Perhaps the term is “self righteousness”?)
I think Kevin’s essay here, though, shows none of that.
Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.
[RPittman] In light of these conditions, do IFBs have a greater problem than others? The answer is obviously NO but there’s no comfort or resting in being less wicked than others. We must deal with the problem that we do have but there’s no cause to single out and castigate IFBs. .Surely abuse/molestation in the average IFB church is far less than, for instance, than the abuse/molestation incidence in the public housing project in which I do some ministry. Believe me, I know. I’m on the phone often to Child Protective Services. It’s harder to gage how often it happens in relation to the general population. For instance, if I extrapolate from my experiences at Hyles-Anderson College, I can say the incidence of ultimately successful prosecutions was far higher than the general population. And that was in the early 80’s, when molestation reporting was far less mainstream. Whether that extends to all IFB at the same level remains to be seen.
But I think the issue is that church is supposed to be better. Believers ought to have a life that is distinctly better (that’s not elitism, just Scripture). The church ought to be better in its pursuit of protecting the weak and giving justice to the oppressed, wherever it’s within our purview (I know that sounds very “Kingdom Now”-like, which I do not embrace, but it’s still true).
It’s kind of like if a Jewish couple sent their son to a Boy Scout meeting, and he was sent to a gas chamber. The family’s shock would be far greater, because they would expect that from a Nazi, but not a scout leader.
Similarly, I was kind of hoping churches would be better than the world at some of this stuff. I’m sure Jesus was too.
[RPittman] However, there are two inherent factors that converge and make us particularly vulnerable—authority and trust. It does not have to be extreme authoritarianism or overly trusting to set the trap. We do ourselves disservice by portraying this as extremes because this points the finger at the other guy meanwhile ignoring the potential threat in our own midst.I suspect it is problematical not just because the leaders demand such trust and authority, and not just because the polity is structured to grant it, but also because the personality of many people who attend IFB churches has a certain streak that is vulnerable to it. I’m thinking of the behaviors outlined in, for instance, The Authoritarian Personality, Theodor W. Adorno, Else Frenkel-Brunswik, et al. 1950.
In all of our discussions, I fail to hear some basic Biblical issues. Scripture clearly teaches that “… every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death (James 1:14-15).” Child molestation and sexual lust is like every other sin.Thank you! Properly recognizing the source of sin and the process of temptation is where we must start in dealing with these tragedies. This issue is what I was struggling with when I questioned Bauder’s approach to “personal integrity.” Personal integrity is more about the spiritual fight against sin than about avoiding accusations. (Christ Himself couldn’t avoid false accusations and if He had followed typical expectations, He would never have spoken to the the woman at the well or met with publicans and sinners.) So personal integrity is not a list of rules, but an honest, humble evaluation of our own sinfulness, confessing our struggles to brothers and sisters in Christ, Spirit-dependence, and accountability.
Beautifully, when our main concern is fighting sin in our hearts, it in turn, leads us to careful accountability in our church ministries - not because we want to avoid accusations, but because we want to avoid allowing for situations that would tempt us or others around us. If we learn anything from these tragedies, it is the deceitfulness and destructiveness of sin. We also learn that we must be “killing sin, or it will be killing us.”
That being said, the fact that it is found at all in conservative, Bible-believing churches is a reminder that: 1) sin is everywhere, even in churches, and we ought not be terribly surprised when it manifests itself. That is part of our fallen condition, and will continue to plague us until we are fully sanctified in heaven. 2) to the extent we practice sloppy churchmanship, the problem will be magnified. Evangelistic methodologies that encourage unconverted people into church membership needs to stop. Styles of leadership and church government that are weak on accountability need to be changed. Pulpit ministries that lack serious exposition of Scripture need to be eliminated. Inconsistent and unBiblical practices of church disicpline need to be strengthened. Greater emphasis upon inward holiness rather than external standards needs to be encouraged.
In short, we need a revival of serious, Biblical Christianity.
Cordially,
Greg Barkman
G. N. Barkman
I just never got interviewed by 20/20.
Jeff Brown
Jim Racke
I also agree with Bro. Brown that child abuse is nothing new. It has been redefined in some ways- I’ve heard some really strange things labeled as abusive, like expecting kids to develop a work ethic and live without unrestricted access to tvs and computer games. And while abuse has gotten more media attention and garnered quite a bit of indignation, it hasn’t lessened to any degree that seems significant. We’ve reported suspected abuse just in the last week- the police show up, take a report, and the kid goes right back home into that environment- while neighbors threaten us for calling the cops. Isn’t that just peachy? But are we going to stop doing right based on unpleasant outcomes?
People, in general, are too busy trying to preserve the status quo instead of asking hard questions about right and wrong and taking appropriate action.
[RPittman] I keep hearing the cliche “dictator pastors.” Pastors may be domineering, aggressive, gregarious, controlling, etc. but they are hardly dictators. In America, we have religious liberty. No one is required to attend any one church. We choose with whom to associate. If we make poor choices, then it is the result of our own choice. Sometimes, people choose to associate with a church having a domineering pastor. However, they are free to leave at will. It appears to me that we are trying to blame someone else for our poor choices.Clearly you are correct. If a situation is intolerable, the proper solution is to refuse to tolerate it. An armed uprising (such as in Libya) is hardly necessary. Send a letter removing your membership. Find another church.
But I take exception with what you say in two ways…
1). I think the term “dictator pastor” is a great way to say what the Scriptures express in I Peter 5:3. It’s the attitude of the pastor in question in that verse, not the submission of the people. Though you are correct that the submission to a “dictator pastor” is the fault of the people under such spiritual abuse (at least the adults), the spiritual abuse of authority is entirely the fault of the pastor, who is in the Word all the time, and should, we would think, know better.
2). There is a psychological trick involved in the ultra-submissive behavior of the crowds under the sway of the “dictator pastor”. Too often, he controls and defines their total reality. Departure will be costly. They will lose friends, perhaps family-ties, and (in the most extreme cases) suffer a church discipline that will feel completely valid to them. They may view themselves as “in sin”. Remember, these folk have been raised in an attitude where all of Scripture is twisted to make that over-reaching authority seem like “God’s Will.” So let’s not be too hard on those who suffer in these settings. And we mustn’t discount their psychological distress as they recognize the ways in which they were used and manipulated.
A short story to illustate. I do not offer this to open a debate about BJU or their rules. I simply state what happened to illustrate how when you are surrounded by an environment and the control it exerts, your mind can be tricked into forgetting the real relationship.
About 1985 I was at BJU. I had met Scott, a young man who had been a Christian for just a few weeks when his pastor sent him off to BJU. Talk about total immersion in a culture! A few weeks into the new semester, one evening, we heard a clattering behind the speech building (I have no idea if it is in the same place now). We walked behind the building, to find Scott perched on top of the fence-post (disregarding the barbed wire), ready to make his leap for freedom. “Scott,” I said, “What are you doing?” Reply: “I can’t take it anymore. I’m going to go crazy here! There’s rules for everything! I have to escape!” “Scott”, I said, “It’s a college, not a prison. If you really feel that way, go back to your room and pack. Tomorrow, go to the administration building and withdraw as a student. Walk out the gates tomorrow afternoon with your bags in hand.” There was a long pause. “Oh, right.” And he climbed down. He also stayed all year.
[Mike Durning]I entirely agree. We are all familiar with the concept of mental conditioning. We applaud it when it shapes our children to be good thinkers or our soldiers to be stalwart under fire. However, we need to remember that a conditioned person has literally surrendered some level of personal will. Susan, this is the point I think you are missing. Many people in dictatorial churches (I will let others decide which churches fit this description) have reached a level of conditioning that includes significant surrender of will. They believe that their church is the only church within 100 miles that pleases God and that going to any other church will call down God’s wrath on them. They further believe that their Christian duty is to obey the church leadership without question or complaint, and that the church’s authority extends to just about every aspect of their life.
2). There is a psychological trick involved in the ultra-submissive behavior of the crowds under the sway of the “dictator pastor”. Too often, he controls and defines their total reality. Departure will be costly. They will lose friends, perhaps family-ties, and (in the most extreme cases) suffer a church discipline that will feel completely valid to them. They may view themselves as “in sin”. Remember, these folk have been raised in an attitude where all of Scripture is twisted to make that over-reaching authority seem like “God’s Will.” So let’s not be too hard on those who suffer in these settings. And we mustn’t discount their psychological distress as they recognize the ways in which they were used and manipulated.
I have personally tried many times to get friends and family out of such churches. In almost every single conversation, the same question arises: “But where would I go?” These people are literally unaware of the dozen other gospel-preaching churches within 10 miles of their house, and they’re too afraid even to visit another church. Here is where the “taboos” come into play. Their church has so many taboos that it really would be virtually impossible to find another church that met the criteria for “godliness” laid down by the church leadership. The church member is conditioned to reject immediately any church that employs the wrong music, Bible version, dress standard, etc..
Furthermore, when pressed about the glaring problems in the leadership, these members begin rationalizing their church’s/pastor’s behavior. It’s Stockholm Syndrome. Like addicts, or like victims of Stockholm Syndrome, these people are no longer able to exercise sufficient personal will to leave. They surrendered it in bits and pieces over many years. Now, they need intervention from the outside. Even if they do leave and relocate to a healthy church, it will take years to erase the programming and rebuild their autonomy (the good kind). I’m not speaking hypothetically; I’ve been down this road with both friends and family.
My Blog: http://dearreaderblog.com
Cor meum tibi offero Domine prompte et sincere. ~ John Calvin
You raise some great questions, the most pointed being how to help people that may not want help. First, we should admit that there are people who need help but don’t want it. Most addicts, for example, need significant support and even pressure to get through their delusions and rationalizations.
However, this doesn’t come up with me very much. I don’t go out of my way to make happy people unhappy with their churches. Normally, people contact me for help, through email or facebook or even SI. They’re confused, because crazy things are happening in their churches, and they think something’s wrong, but they can’t bring themselves to do anything about it. These people are living with loads of cognitive dissonance. For example, they will tell me some really awful things that a church leader has done, but then say, “But he’s such a godly man.” When I reply, “Do godly men do that?” I can see the pain in their souls. Some of them will admit that their churches are horribly sick and even abusive, but still refuse to relocate to a healthier situation. The point is that even people who call out for help or send out signals that they want help, often resist help when offered.
Now, why is my intervention, which includes bringing people to my way of thinking, any morally superior to what their pastors do? Well, my goal is to help them reach a place of autonomy, whereas their pastors want to keep them under control. Also, I refuse to use guilt, shame, and fear as manipulation tools, whereas their pastors specialize in those activities. I suppose someone could call it re-brainwashing, but all the people who have relocated have told me that they are much happier and freer than they used to be.
My Blog: http://dearreaderblog.com
Cor meum tibi offero Domine prompte et sincere. ~ John Calvin
Some of this discussion raises the ugly prospect that someday, somewhere, (if it hasn’t yet happened) someone will kidnap a member of an IFBx church (KJVO, Dictator pastor, extremist views) and try to deprogram them.
Would we approve? Well, I suppose it depends on which views were being deprogrammed.
Discussion