Anyone who calls out a Christian leader on abuse is by definition untrustworthy. We are happy to report that there are no trustworthy accounts of abuse against our favorite Christian leader.
Thanks KKDM for stating this again, so well. At the moment, a church I know well, having "successfully" dealt with abuse, at great cost, is showing vestiges of changing the narrative, along the lines of the Karpman triangle: the victim of domestic violence calls the police for protection against their persecutor, but then starts to realign with the persecutor against the rescuers. Crazy. I read about this in Daniel Puls' Let Us Prey, as this church was dealing with the situation, that this is rather common, that some church members will begin to take the side of the abusive pastor/leader, dismantling the hard work and uphill climb of those who paid a high price to get the wolf out of the sheep fold. I'm grateful for anyone who sees what's going on and helps the rest of us see it.
Thank you for this excellent article. Heartbreaking that this same scenario is playing out in churches and Christian counseling offices across the country. The patriarchal hierarchy in Christendom needs to change. There is no hierarchy in the Body of Christ- just every part performing it’s function according to the lead of the Head. May we flee the man-made structures that undermine the beautiful design of God for the Body of Christ.
I came to J&JW and your commentaries in my continued search to discover how we elected Donald Trump and how the country continues to be divided by the leaders, politicians and sad to say, grifters who seem to be throttling democracy.
While your writings covers just a portion of this condition they are most helpful as a window into a religious nomenclature that obviously could have major positive influence on changing the cultural conversation but seems to be locked in a never-ending cycle of covering up toxic male behavior and to an ‘outsider’, grifting and offering false narratives to preserve their positions of power.
I am hopeful that at some point your commentaries will offer views on an alternative path forward.
Evangelicals have sought for years to create an impression of perfection - they're better than all the rest of us so-called Christians, because they're closer to gawd ... they have the answer for everything, because it's all in the Bible ... if only women would listen, submit, shut up, and stay pregnant. The truth: as a friend once put it, they have to put their pants on one leg at a time, just like the rest of us. They have issues, faults, failings, and terrible behavior, just like the rest of us. But their audience was attracted by all the promises and portraits of something better than "reality" - and for that illusion, would gladly walk in lies all day long. The leaders know this, but the only way to maintain the flow of dollars, and adherents, is to keep pumping up the lies ... "we can't let reality disturb the illusion we're trying to spin." Thanks Kristin!
Thank you Kristin for another excellent piece. It saddens me that abuse survivors and advocates must go outside of Christian spaces for support, validation, and relief. To me that is the antithesis of Christian love. It definitely seems to be the opposite of what some of these same conservative Christian leaders proclaim as “Christian Justice”. If I weren’t a Christian already, I certainly wouldn’t become one based on what I perceive as a very twisted view of Christian witness by these white male power brokers and hypocrites. Please keep speaking the truth.
Thanks KKDM for stating this again, so well. At the moment, a church I know well, having "successfully" dealt with abuse, at great cost, is showing vestiges of changing the narrative, along the lines of the Karpman triangle: the victim of domestic violence calls the police for protection against their persecutor, but then starts to realign with the persecutor against the rescuers. Crazy. I read about this in Daniel Puls' Let Us Prey, as this church was dealing with the situation, that this is rather common, that some church members will begin to take the side of the abusive pastor/leader, dismantling the hard work and uphill climb of those who paid a high price to get the wolf out of the sheep fold. I'm grateful for anyone who sees what's going on and helps the rest of us see it.
Thank you for this excellent article. Heartbreaking that this same scenario is playing out in churches and Christian counseling offices across the country. The patriarchal hierarchy in Christendom needs to change. There is no hierarchy in the Body of Christ- just every part performing it’s function according to the lead of the Head. May we flee the man-made structures that undermine the beautiful design of God for the Body of Christ.
Another excellent commentary. Thank you.
I came to J&JW and your commentaries in my continued search to discover how we elected Donald Trump and how the country continues to be divided by the leaders, politicians and sad to say, grifters who seem to be throttling democracy.
While your writings covers just a portion of this condition they are most helpful as a window into a religious nomenclature that obviously could have major positive influence on changing the cultural conversation but seems to be locked in a never-ending cycle of covering up toxic male behavior and to an ‘outsider’, grifting and offering false narratives to preserve their positions of power.
I am hopeful that at some point your commentaries will offer views on an alternative path forward.
Evangelicals have sought for years to create an impression of perfection - they're better than all the rest of us so-called Christians, because they're closer to gawd ... they have the answer for everything, because it's all in the Bible ... if only women would listen, submit, shut up, and stay pregnant. The truth: as a friend once put it, they have to put their pants on one leg at a time, just like the rest of us. They have issues, faults, failings, and terrible behavior, just like the rest of us. But their audience was attracted by all the promises and portraits of something better than "reality" - and for that illusion, would gladly walk in lies all day long. The leaders know this, but the only way to maintain the flow of dollars, and adherents, is to keep pumping up the lies ... "we can't let reality disturb the illusion we're trying to spin." Thanks Kristin!
Thank you Kristin for another excellent piece. It saddens me that abuse survivors and advocates must go outside of Christian spaces for support, validation, and relief. To me that is the antithesis of Christian love. It definitely seems to be the opposite of what some of these same conservative Christian leaders proclaim as “Christian Justice”. If I weren’t a Christian already, I certainly wouldn’t become one based on what I perceive as a very twisted view of Christian witness by these white male power brokers and hypocrites. Please keep speaking the truth.