UNITED STATES
Religion News Service – Rhymes with Religion
Boz Tchividjian | Sep 26, 2014
In season two of the popular Netflix series, House of Cards, Vice President, Frank Underwood, strategically and almost single-handedly brings down the presidency of Garrett Walker. The Underwood scheme was deceptively dark and worked well for Frank Underwood; not so well for Garrett Walker.
Unfortunately, the Underwood scheme is not limited to fictional television programs. Just last week, I learned about a family who had a similar experience with a church leader who is alleged to have abused their child. When the Underwood scheme is executed by child abusers who are church leaders, it is far more sinister and destructive than the behavior of a fictional vice-president. Here is what the Underwood scheme looks like:
Targeting: Offenders can very intentional about pursuing their victims. Child offending church leaders will often target a new family that has not yet had the opportunity to develop substantive relationships within the church. These offenders realize that vulnerable families are more likely to be receptive to attempts to initiate a friendship. That is all part of the wicked scheme.
Befriending: Under the guise of developing a new friendship, the child offending leader will work quickly to express a desire for the families to “do life” together. The offender will not hesitate to use his wife and children to help facilitate the friendship. Whether it’s an appeal to help “mentor” the target family or simply because the families are in similar “seasons of life”, the offender encourages the families to spend an inordinate amount of time together. Due to the lack of other friendships within the church and how warmly they have been received by the church leader and his family, target families tend to be very appreciative of this new “friendship”. That is all part of the wicked scheme.
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