BishopAccountability.org

Pastors Who Hide Behind the Pulpit

By Doug Lay
Is It Enough? (blog)
April 9, 2019

https://bit.ly/2U6kCXB

The pulpit, as a symbol of a theological reformation, stands as a representation of the Bible’s power and uniqueness of that reformation. The pastor, as a symbol of the church’s leadership, stands behind that pulpit to publicly proclaim the Bible’s power and uniqueness of the crucified Christ.

Yet, the pastor can hide behind that pulpit. He can hide behind the pulpit when speaking out about controversial social topics. A recent report finds that “when asked if they felt limited by their congregation to speak out about social issues, 64 percent of pastors said yes, FaithWire reports.”

One particular and relevant social issue today is the sexual exploitation of children by church leaders, the cover-up by those same churches, and then the silence of other churches concerning the cover-ups.

Remember the millstone—Jesus’ harsh and condemning picture of judgment for anyone who would exploit, abuse, or despise the least of these. The pulpit should be the pinnacle of such preaching, but it is easy for the pastor to hide behind the pulpit when preaching about sexual and physical abuse victims and how the church should address abuse.

How do pastors hide behind the pulpit?

First, the pastor sets the focus of the preaching, choosing not only what to preach, but also what not to preach. Topics involving sexual abuse of minors, marital physical abuse, infidelity, rape, and church cover-ups can simply be ignored. The pastor controls the narrative.

The pastor is free from any public critique at the time of the sermon. Because he is engaged in one-way communication, any opposing voice is silent. The pastor escapes any public critique.

The pastor, if he does receive a private critique (letter, email, phone call), he is most likely to ask for a private conversation. The pastor controls the possible fallout from the criticism.

The pastor, if he does receive public criticism from others, is likely to play the “gossip” card to silence the opposing voices, ironically from behind the pulpit. The pastor again controls the narrative.

Finally, the pastor, when told about an abuse situation, can ignore the first part of Matthew 18 (the dangers of exploiting children, the weak, and the oppressed and the shepherd leaving the 99 to find the one lost sheep—the exploited child, the abused spouse, the sexually assaulted person) to focus on the middle of Matthew 18, meeting privately first. The pastor can meet privately with the predator first and then move on without any consequences, arguing he has fulfilled the biblical mandate. Again, the pastor controls the narrative.

Pastors hide behind the pulpit when they fear loosing their paychecks, their offices, and their programs if they publicly preach about difficult topics of abuse. If pastors “offend” church members, they may leave the church, directly affecting the budget of the facilities, the salaries, and the ministries of the church.

Instead, pastors need to stop hiding behind their manmade pulpits and go out to the wilderness to be a voice for the helpless and oppressed abuse victims while confronting the religious elites who love the institution over the victims.

Pastors need to preach like John the Baptist, not the Pharisees.




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