{"id":31800,"date":"2022-09-10T15:44:33","date_gmt":"2022-09-10T20:44:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/7-myths-the-church-believes-about-sexual-abuse\/"},"modified":"2022-09-10T15:44:33","modified_gmt":"2022-09-10T20:44:33","slug":"7-myths-the-church-believes-about-sexual-abuse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/7-myths-the-church-believes-about-sexual-abuse\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Myths the Church Believes About Sexual Abuse"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Luis Galvez photo – Unsplash<\/div>\n

By Joy Allmond<\/em><\/p>\n

For most church leaders, the idea that their church might harbor a sexual abuser is \u201chorrific,\u201d says J.D. Greear, president of the Southern Baptist Convention and lead pastor of The Summit Church in Durham, North Carolina.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost pastors I know got into ministry to serve and protect God\u2019s people,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cChurch leaders should be the first to run to your defense,\u201d Greear says to abuse survivors in the audience of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission\u2019s national \u201cCaring Well\u201d conference, focused on resourcing the church to care for abuse survivors and protect people from predators.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we don\u2019t do that, we dishonor the name of Christ. When we don\u2019t do that, we betray the gospel that has been committed to us. We have to learn from our past, and we have to change our future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Greear points out seven widely believed myths that keep the church from engaging the sexual abuse crisis\u2014and prevent leaders from protecting people from abuse and making their church a refuge for abuse survivors.<\/p>\n

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Myth #1: Sexual abuse in the church isn\u2019t really a problem. <\/strong><\/h3>\n

Greear says sexual abuse has often been easily dismissed as \u201cthe latest leftist attack\u201d on the church.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe problem of sexual abuse in the Southern Baptist church didn\u2019t begin in February with the publication of an article in a newspaper,\u201d he says, citing the first in a series of pieces in the Houston Chronicle<\/em> that detailed years of sexual abuse in SBC churches.<\/p>\n

\u201cSurvivors and advocates have been calling our attention to this for years.,” he says. Many “have showed great courage in doing so\u2014courage they shouldn\u2019t have needed to show.\u201d<\/p>\n

Greear adds that believing this myth has caused some in the church to miscategorize the words of people who have sounded the alarm on this issue \u201cas attacks from adversaries instead of warnings from friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

Citing that it\u2019s wrong to characterize a survivor or advocate as \u201cbitter\u201d because they raised their voice when their warnings weren\u2019t heeded, he says anger is an appropriate response\u2014even a biblical response\u2014in circumstances where abuse allegations are ignored or minimized.<\/p>\n

Referencing a recent Lifeway Research study that found 1 in 10 churchgoers under the age of 35 who have left church say they have done so because abuse wasn\u2019t taken seriously, Greear says, \u201cWhen we fail to take them seriously or [attempt to] save face by minimizing them, not only do we put more people in harm’s way\u2014we create obstacles to faith for those affected.\u201d<\/p>\n

He says this danger should keep church leaders more on mission than ever to protect their flocks.<\/p>\n

\u201cDealing with this isn\u2019t a distraction from the mission,\u201d says Greear. \u201cIt is<\/em> the mission. What greater lie could we tell about the gospel than for us to not be doing whatever it takes to make church a safe place for the vulnerable?\u201d<\/p>\n

Myth #2: Abuse only happens in Catholic\/liberal\/complementarian churches.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

For years, Greear says, evangelicals believed this was a Catholic problem.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe danger of this myth is na\u00efve,\u201d he explains. \u201cIt relegates abuse to an ideological problem when it should be seen as a depravity problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

Faulty worldviews, Greear adds, exacerbate our depravity, but to brush this aside as a problem for those who believe differently from evangelicals is to dismiss people affected by sexual abuse.<\/p>\n

Myth #3: The church is best equipped to handle this internally. <\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve heard this myth repeated sometimes publicly and privately by Bible-believing people,\u201d Greear says.<\/p>\n

He adds that leaders err when they use Paul\u2019s admonition in 1 Corinthians chapter six that believers shouldn\u2019t take other believers to court.<\/p>\n

But he clarifies that this is referring to civil litigation\u2014not a criminal violation: \u201cThe Scriptures clearly say we submit ourselves to government authorities, because through them God has committed the execution of justice.\u201d<\/p>\n

If we\u2019re dealing with a criminal issue, Greear says we disobey Scripture if we don\u2019t get authorities involved.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome things aren\u2019t just immoral, they\u2019re illegal,\u201d he says. \u201cCharges of sexual abuse are clearly in criminal authority.”<\/p>\n

Myth #4: A posture of grace requires giving the benefit of the doubt to those accused. <\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cThere is a charitable impulse in us to give the benefit of the doubt (to someone accused of abuse), especially if it\u2019s someone we know and love,\u201d says Greear. \u201cBut what about benefit of the doubt for the one bringing the accusation?\u201d<\/p>\n

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See also  Is It \u2018Ministry Failure\u2019 To See a Counselor?<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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He warns church leaders against confusing God\u2019s forgiveness with a restoration of abusive church leaders back into their positions of authority.<\/p>\n

\u201cGod removed every stain of our sin through the cross,\u201d he says. \u201cIf by \u2018second chance\u2019 you mean meaningful engagement in church that recognize the full forgiveness in Christ \u2026 then, yes.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut if by \u2018grace\u2019 you mean them having another chance to have leadership over and access over those they\u2019ve harmed \u2026 then, no. That isn\u2019t redemptive. That\u2019s folly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Greear adds that Christian teachings on grace and forgiveness never mean covering up sin in ways that expose others to harm. If an abusive leader is truly repentant they will understand that, and not pursue another position of leadership.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is forgiveness, hope, and restoration,\u201d he says. \u201cThank God Jesus died for the abuser just as a did for the victim. \u2026 But sin has consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n

Myth # 5: Enduring abuse in marriage is part of learning to love like Jesus. <\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cAnother version of this myth is, \u2018People will always let you down; nobody\u2019s perfect,\u2019\u201d says Greear. \u201cOr, \u2018Everybody breaks your heart, but Jesus never will \u2026 just deal with it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Aside from believing\u2014and perpetuating\u2014this myth, many leaders, he says, are simply afraid of feeling responsible for a divorce.<\/p>\n

\u201cGod hates divorce,\u201d says Greear. \u201cBut God also hates abuse. We don’t enable one thing God hates to try to prevent another. Being casual or deferential as an attempt to avoid divorce is like saying, \u2018Let’s do evil so that good may come.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Myth #6: We would know an abuser if one was in our church. <\/strong><\/h3>\n

Greear says this myth might be the most pervasive\u2014and the most dangerous.<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst of all, abusers are often very likeable,\u201d he says. \u201cThey can be disarming and charming. They thrive in environment of na\u00efve assumptions and no accountability, and where stereotypes rather than sober thinking rules the day.\u201d<\/p>\n

After all, he says, how else did prominently known abusers get to those positions of power and influence?<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we expect abusers to look creepy or feel ominous, then we add to the (feeling of) isolation and sense that no one will believe (victims),\u201d says Greear.<\/p>\n

He explained how the church needs an understanding of sin that leads us to ask the right questions, not go strictly on personality instincts.<\/p>\n

Myth #7: Updating policies will take care the problem. <\/strong><\/h3>\n

Simply doing this won\u2019t protect people, says Greear.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes they are an essential step toward addressing [sexual abuse],\u201d he says. \u201cBut those policies must be paired voluntarily with changes in attitude and culture.\u201d<\/p>\n

Greear adds that until a church develops a culture of transparency, protection, and accountability, no strategy will properly address everything.<\/p>\n

One way, he says churches can build this culture, is through the emphasis of \u201cmeaningful membership\u201d\u2014where people feel known.<\/p>\n

When meaningful membership is a staple of a church\u2019s culture, Greear says,  people may become “close enough to sense when something is off and are willing to ask questions.\u201d<\/p>\n

The work ahead<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re commanded to be above reproach,” says Greear. “Any healthy, wise local church that has any understanding about gospel ministry will gladly embrace steps to that end.\u201d<\/p>\n

After all, he says, protecting the vulnerable from abuse and seeking justice for those wronged is a gospel issue.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe credibility of our witness\u2014and even more importantly, the souls of people\u2014are at stake,\u201d says Greear. \u201cBy caring for the vulnerable who God has entrusted to us, we can\u2014and must\u2014put the trustworthiness of the gospel on display.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Joy Allmond<\/h2>\n

@joyallmond<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Joy is the executive communications manager at Lifeway.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n