What Happened to Accountability and Repentance?

By Gayle Raif
Longview Nwqa Journal
January 25, 2019

https://www.news-journal.com/opinion/raif-what-happened-to-accountability-and-repentance/article_7610cb06-20ec-11e9-b4fa-ef4e9325efc7.html

I find it really disheartening, but unfortunately not surprising, to read about sexual abuse perpetrated by Christian leaders. The most prominent news is about the Roman Catholic Church.

Pope Francis has addressed the rampant sexual abuse among Catholic clergy, citing a Pennsylvania grand jury report that showed more than 300 predator priests in that state had raped and molested more than 1,000 victims during a 70-year period. It also happened in Washington, D.C., where an abusive cardinal resigned, and in other places in the U.S. and every country where there is a Catholic church.

Protestants are not off the hook, because it’s also happening with them. Unfortunately, many of our Christian leadership — pastors, other ministers, even church office workers — forget to whom and for whom they are responsible. It seems they have come to believe that if they can hide their private thoughts, desires and actions but function publicly in a “spiritual” way, then all is right with God and their leadership.

Alas, that attitude permeates our society, but also excuses actions of adults, even pastors and religious leaders. The most prominent pastor to be accused of sexual abuse of women is Bill Hybels, now former pastor of Willow Creek Community Church just south of Chicago. He, as well as all the church staff and other ministers, have resigned.

It is happening in other churches, even in Longview. A recent series in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram alerted us to rape and indecency of pastors in the Fundamental Baptist Church, as well as another pastor who is now in prison for having sexual relations with a teenager.

We can read about these instances and “tsk, tsk” all we want, never dreaming this is happening right under our noses. Many pastors go to spiritual conferences. They are away from home and anyone who can hold them accountable, so they feel free to do what they want without anyone knowing it. I read of a pastor and his assistant who were checking out of a hotel after a large conference for pastors they had instigated. At the checkout desk, the manager wanted to know if he could ask a question about the men who had been there. “Why is it that more than half of you paid for the channel that shows pornographic movies?” Some, if not many, are regularly viewing pornographic internet sites.

World magazine (Sept. 15) has done an investigative report on this abuse, concentrating on evangelicals. It says the abuse by clergy of fundamental and evangelical churches is widespread and that many of them cover up the problems. The investigation found opportunities for abuse and cover-ups in three kinds of situations.

(1) Some congregations have dominating pastors with unchecked authority.

(2) Evangelical culture has a conference and lecture circuit with celebrities and quasi-celebrities who come to cities for weekend workshops and one-night lectures that provide opportunities to sin and go.

(3) Megachurch leaders face the ordinary temptations but also extraordinary pressure to cover up problems that would summon a pack of critical reporters.

There are problems beyond these three areas. Past surveys have estimated that more than 15 percent of pastors have violated sexual ethical boundaries. The three largest insurers of churches revealed they have about 260 reports of sexual abuse annually. Insurers are involved because churches have taken out umbrella policies covering abuse charges, and therefore must report violations.

What about more recent figures? The article cited above gives examples of abuse cases as recent at 2013. Marvin Olasky, one of the three reporters, asked, “So why this special report now? We do not know how large the problem is in the Protestant world, nor how rates of abuse compare with those of Catholicism, but such comparisons in one sense are beside the point: Sin is crouching at all our doors, and is no respecter of denominational distinctions.”

Unfortunately, national figures who could be examples of Christlike behavior are contributing to the problem. It makes me sick and angry that evangelicals such as Franklin Graham and Jerry Falwell Jr. can excuse such behavior of prominent secular leaders by saying that the most prominent person — Donald Trump — has become a Christian. No wonder our young people think it’s all right to freely have sex.

Whatever happened to accountability and repentance? What has happened to purposely being accountable to someone who will pray with us to avoid the sexual stimulation overload from the internet, movies and TV? We can lay the blame for temptation on our society, but there is no law against making a willful choice to do what is right.

We Christians can pray, of course. But most of the time I get the feeling Satan is winning the war. If leaders — whether secular or spiritual — cannot control themselves why should we believe an unchurched person will have better values if they have no idea what they are?