Sunday May 22, was a watershed moment in evangelicalism. Much like the Roman Catholic church had come face to face with a reckoning over their clergy sexual abuse crisis in over the first two decades of the century as multiple investigations within national churches showed rampant abuse and even more staggering cover-up of said abuse, this past Sunday the Southern Baptist Conference (SBC) of the USA, the world’s largest Evangelical denomination, released the report of a third-party investigation by Guideposts into similar accusations going back decades. The report was unsurprisingly scathing, and the takeaway has been that Evangelicals are every bit as guilty of these practices as our Roman Catholic cousins. We are no better, and a quick survey of the responses to this report by leading SBC voices demonstrates that we might actually be worse, as many have circled the wagons and attacked the findings rather than repenting and dealing with their sin in the most serious ways possible.
For most outside observers, there is no difference between the SBC and any other Evangelical denomination. They are, for many people, emblematic of the movement as a whole, and while we might be tempted to rush to the microphone and say #notallevangelicals, the reality is that the accusation is closer to the truth than we might want to admit. Speaking only from my vantage point as a local church pastor, it’s obvious that we have also made mistakes. We have endorsed people who were abusers, we have not taken allegations seriously enough at times, and we have too often minimized or outright silenced victims of clergy sexual abuse when their accusations threatened to disrupt what we considered to be fruitful and successful ministries.
No longer.
On April 15, 2022, the Alliance Canada (our denominational family) brought into force updated and expanded policies related to clergy sexual misconduct and abuse. These new policies recognize the well-established truth that any sexual relationship between a member of the clergy and someone under their spiritual care is abusive—no matter whether or not it is perceived by one or both parties as consensual. Much like a doctor cannot have a consensual sexual relationship with their patient, or a counsellor with their client, a pastor cannot have a consensual sexual relationship with a member of their congregation. The power imbalance between the two parties is too great for the parishioner to ever give consent. And while there are some behaviours that have always been acknowledged as abuse (whether they were believed and addressed appropriately notwithstanding), this updated definition recognizes the fact that many relationships and “indiscretions” that we had in the past chalked up to consensual adultery—or even blamed the victim for leading the leader into sin, have also been instances of clergy sexual abuse.
Because of this recognition we are enacting a process in this new policy which would see allegations of any clergy sexual misconduct handled as the abusive behaviour that it is. Effective immediately there is a new portal available on our national and district websites that enables victims to confidentially report what happened and to have that information passed onto a National Advisor who is appointed by the President and who operates in their role at arms-length from the denomination to ensure that every step of the process for investigation and application of discipline is followed. Confidentiality is a key part of this reporting process, and the names of any complainants will only be revealed when it is necessary for the investigation to proceed or when legal obligations require it. The National Advisor will only report to the Board of Directors their activity and will not (unless necessary for the process to move forward) report any identifying information about the complainant to the Board or administration.
What we want to communicate to people is that we take these matters seriously and that if you have been the victim of sexual misconduct or a witness to sexual misconduct we want to know so that we can deal with it appropriately and thoroughly. We have no desire to add to the trauma that victims deal with by turning a deaf ear to their complaints. If you have something to say you will be heard.
At the local church level, beyond being subject to the contents of the afore mentioned policy and procedures, we are educating ourselves on the nature of clergy sexual misconduct and adopting a zero-tolerance policy for any such behaviour. We commit to naming abuse where it happens and to not soften or minimize indiscretions by describing it in language of consensual indiscretions or by characterizing the abuser as the victim. If an allegation is ever brought forward against a leader currently serving in the church the leader will immediately be suspended from their role in leadership pending a thorough investigation of the allegations, and where applicable the investigation will be carried out by a neutral third-party to preserve objectivity and impartiality. While the principle of innocent until proven guilty still applies to the accused leaders (including your pastors) knowingly enter into a process where the allegation is investigated from the perspective of listening to and believing the testimony of victims.
As your pastor I willingly submit myself to the gravity and thoroughness of this policy and process. I believe that anything less than this is an abdication of my responsibility as an under-shepherd of Christ’s flock. More than that, as a board we have been working through a fantastic book on these very issues this year and are having regular conversations about how we can become a church that is both safe and good. If you’re interested in reading along with us, you can grab yourself a copy of A Church Called TOV by McKnight and Barringer, I’ll post a link to the book on Amazon here.
In closing, I want you to know that your experience matters. And while I hope and pray that this process does not unearth historical incidents of sexual misconduct that need addressing, we are ready and willing to tackle them if it does. We have not been perfect in the past, and we will not be perfect until Christ returns, but we can be better. This is an important step in that direction.
The Alliance Canada is committed to creating and ensuring safe environments for worship, witness, and work free from sexual misconduct and will not tolerate sexual misconduct in any form including sexual harassment, sexual abuse, and child abuse by its licensed workers, (non-licensed) employees, contract workers, or volunteers in service to or with The Alliance Canada, its churches, congregations, districts, institutions, agencies, organizations, or other bodies that operate under its name. To make a complaint regarding sexual misconduct where a real or perceived differential in power or authority is involved, please go to: https://www.cmacan.org/report-sexual-misconduct/