I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t mad about this business in the Scene about the way the Southern Baptist Church is handling molestations of members by church officials. I’ve been discussing the larger issue over at Tiny Cat Pants but it was only after R(eading)T(he)F(word of your choice)A(rticle) that I got my knickers in a knot over the article itself.
I’m a Mennonite who is a member of a Southern Baptist Church because there is only one Mennonite fellowship in town that only meets on Sunday nights. I wanted a Sunday morning home and found myself at First Baptist Church Nashville. I’m not the most “plugged in” (i hate that phrase) person there, so I have no idea about all the behind-the-scenes gossippy type stuff. I prefer it that way. I do imagine that at some point there may have been a youth leader or a music minister or a guy who ran the soundboard or something who did something abusive to another person. I only imagine this because it’s a big church that’s been around for more than a hundred years and the odds of that happening are pretty large.
Humans have crises, and there are few as vile as a person in full-time church work who abuses the sanctity of trust their position affords them.
However, every church of which I have been a member has subscribed to the Matthew 18 principle of dealing with these things. Based on Christ’s teaching in Matthew 18:15-17 we have a proscribed method for dealing with any sin or conflict within The Body.
Step I: The wounded person confronts the wounder and attempts to make peace. In cases of molestation or other ongoing abuse this step is often foregone because it is believed that the accused’s pattern of behaviour doesn’t indicate a willingness for the behaviour to end.
Step II: The wounded person takes up the matter with a small council of trusted people. This is usually a combination of trusted friends and the deacons or elders of the church. The deacons/elders work out a plan for confrontation, punishment and reconciliation. If the activity is openly illegal–like molestation or embezzlement–part of the reconciliation plan is to involve the legal authorities.
Step III: If the reconciliation plan doesn’t succeed, the matter is to be brought before the church. Frankly, I’ve only ever once been in a church where the reconciliation plan failed and Step III was necessary.
Step IV: If nothing else works you are to “treat the offender as a tax collector or publican”. This means that you end fellowship with them but still show them the love of Christ in the way you would any non-Christian fellow man.
Do you notice anything about those steps? Anything at all?
At no point does the Biblical solution for this issue involve the local alternative weekly.
The plan involves legal consequences, counselling for both the offender and the molested, and escalation if all else fails. So I’m very sorry if the writer of the Scene piece feels left out by the SBC, but folks, I have to say right now.
Churches are not public entities. They are private entities entitled to privacy.
I know this sounds like I just love covering up for kiddie rapers, shorteyes, sleazy pastors and blackguards who profane the name of Christ.
Not at all. I just need to make perfectly clear that although a church is a large presence in a community it is NOT the same as the government. Remember that whole Seperation clause thing? Yeah.
I’m not sure that I consider the Scene an “alternative” paper in the original meaning of the world. Their desired audience does seem to have a sense of entitlement, though, so naturally every story ought to be all about them.
The Scene’s piece was an anti-Baptist article specifically meant to cater to their audience of religious bigots. The main thing that the writer never seemed to understand, in spite of the fact that she mentioned it, is that every Baptist congregation is autonomous. There is no Baptist “church”, but just a bunch of independent churches that meet every year for the purpose of missions. The Scene never got that. They mentioned it, but they never really “got it”.
Their desired audience does seem to have a sense of entitlement, though, so naturally every story ought to be all about them.
Ha!!! That is awesome, nm.
[...] Kat Coble and AuntB and Elizabeth at “Pith in the Wind” (and others I’m sure–please let me know in the comments) are posting about the recent Nashville Scene report that the Southern Baptist Convention (”SBC”) is punting rather than deal with the issue of sexual abusers within the SBC. [...]
And welcome to how Catholics have been feeling the past several years.
Ditto on thecatholic thing.
And, man, I haven’t heard the term short-eyes in quite some time.
You ever done time, Coble?