Wolves in Shepherd’s Clothing Again

I spoke too soon. In commenting in September about the abuse accusations within the Roman Catholic Church, I said that there have not been accusations about wide-spread abuse among independent Baptists. I was wrong. In a series of articles in the Dallas Star-Telegram, Sarah Smith delineates a number of accusations. Most in the articles are associated with Dave Hyles and Hyles related ministries and many of the accusations are from 30-40 years ago. Obviously, for the abused, the scars still run deep. In broader fundamentalism, this particular story was not a secret. It broke decades ago. It was widely reported at the time and Dave Hyles was removed from his church in Texas. Every church I know of broke any type of fellowship with him over his sinful behavior.

Let’s be crystal clear. Any type of abuse is sin. It must be condemned. Guilty church leaders should be removed from ministry and also prosecuted when laws are broken. Churches and institutions that circle the wagons and try to hide sin are in sin themselves. In the FBFI, we have been on a campaign to address this issue for years. Our interviews with Rachel Mitchell (and here) in 2012 were intended to provide church leaders an education on how to appropriately handle abuse and abuse accusations.

Dave Shumate, our present chairman, put it this way. “The congregation is more important than the corporation.”

There are a number of ministry conditions that make congregations ripe for pastoral abuse. I want to mention several of them.

• Over-emphasis of pastoral authority.

The Bible says that pastors should be respected (Hebrews 13:17) but they can (and should) also be confronted when the normal standard for accusation is met (1 Timothy 5:9). Religious leaders do sometimes abuse their positions and they are condemned severely by scripture (Ezekiel 34, Matthew 23). The Matthew 18:15-19 process applies to church leaders as much as to anyone in the church. While legal reporting procedures do not always follow the Matthew 18 pattern, the idea that everyone in the congregation including pastoral leadership is subject to confrontation is still a valid biblical concept.

• “Great man” syndrome.

Leaders are servants. They must not become idols. When a church ministry is about a man, that ministry is in deep trouble. It is ripe for abuse. This is not the model of leadership taught in scripture. Jesus taught that the last would be first. Jesus got on his knees and washed the disciples’ feet.

• Lack of abuse prevention policies or the failure to abide by policies in place.

Every church should have child abuse prevention policies that also include reporting procedures that are intended to protect victims and not just ministries.  Churches should also have written counseling policies.  Policies are not effective unless they are widely known in the ministry and everyone abides by them. 

• Ignorance of legal responsibilities.

Many accusations mentioned in the articles were made years ago, when reporting demands were less stringent. Today, church leaders and counselors are mandatory reporters for child abuse. Failure to report could result in legal charges. Pastors and church leaders are not equipped to investigate or determine if charges are valid. We ought to thank God this is not our responsibility. It is a daunting task. It is much better to be in a position to minister to all involved once the truth is revealed.

• Distrust of legal authorities.

There was a time when fundamentalist leaders distrusted many legal authorities, especially social and welfare workers. We have found over the last few decades that while we might disagree with the philosophy of many workers, there are laws in place that protect the religious and parental rights of believers. We must trust these people—especially law enforcement personnel–to do their jobs. When church leaders communicate to their congregations a distrust of investigating bodies, they also silence victims in their congregations.  

• Lack of communication especially in hiring.

The articles above accuse churches of collusion in sending abusers from one ministry to another. While that might have happened among some, it would be quite rare. In most instances, the real problem is that abusers go from one ministry to another and no one bothers to check references, do background checks, or follow up. Churches are doing much better now, but years ago pastoral search committees did not even think of it. If a pastoral candidate graduated from a certain school or had been employed by a well-known ministry, he was just accepted without following up. This is a grave mistake that is the result of laziness or ignorance. All paid staff, and all volunteer staff that work with children in any church should submit to criminal background checks and a follow up on references. Any church that gives a thumbs up reference to a known abuser is acting sinfully.

Handling abuse properly is the key issue. We must have policies in place that prevent abuse. However, when we consider the many people to whom we minister, and the many churches out there, it is inevitable that we will come across abuse situations. The test is what we do about it when we find it.

Lately, families who join our church ask about our policies regarding child protection and reporting abuse before they commit to church membership.They are wise. It is a question that potential families should ask when moving to a new church. If the ministry is non-committal or offended by such a question, it is a warning sign.

The FBFI has a task force working right now on the subject of pastoral abuse that we believe will identify more issues and provide helpful and reasonable recommendations for churches in not only reporting but preventing problems from occurring.

As present day church leaders our hearts are sickened and saddened by the sins of some trusted leaders. We know that this behavior characterized only a few among the many thousands of godly and faithful people. But those few have not only damaged their victims, they have hurt all others who have been faithful, and more seriously sinned grievously against their Lord. We do pray that those women mentioned Sarah Smith’s articles will find true healing in the Christ who loves them perfectly.