The concept of equal partnership as a part of an egalitarian world-view challenges both genders to modify long held patriarchal power structures within our ecclesiastical fold. Male offices bearers under this view are required to "pull-back" or limit their grip on traditional male-held hierarchies within church polity structures. Women also have a role in seeking office and stating their case for egalitarian practices to take root within congregations. Both genders are required to be supportive of the other as they both seek God's will in serving through holding office-bearing roles up to and including Minister of Word and Sacrament.
As the husband of an ordained Minister of Word and Sacrament with 15 years experience in this role, it has been my delight to support and uphold the office my wife maintains as a lead pastor in a CRC congregation. My wife is an effective pastor as evidenced by all who have benefited from her leadership and preaching. God is honored and his people grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord as we all seek to minimize the prejudicial assumptions limiting the effectives of those who happen to be born to minorities or subject to ecclesiastically inspired gender prejudice.
Yes, you are semantically correct. Thank-you for bringing clarity. Authority to exercise power of course is granted by the people as we have just witnessed yesterday in the mid-terms. Correct, patriarchal authority structures is more proper, the point being, through empirical observation is that most church denominational structures are patriarchal as are the majority of business and institutional structures. Thankfully, women are gaining ground.
The key, in this church structure authority discussion is, who are the qualified givers and receivers of authority? Who are the stake-holders responsible to delegate or appoint authority? Does this authority to grant power reside equally with both genders? Traditionally, authority to grant power has been the domain of males. More recently, females have been "allowed" to hold church offices. In other words, there is wrestling going on. Who allows who to do what? Is this authority to exercise power based on gender, race, socioeconomic standing? Naturally we are to look to the scriptures for guidance and not tradition to put into place proper authority structures.
The CRC is in the very early stages of educating it's membership on our dedicated, organizational power structures i.e., (Classes, Counsels, Pastors, Elders and Deacons) regarding the various abuses of power that exist in our denomination. The 180,000 (plus or minus) people who willingly subject themselves to the CRC's power structures (office bearers), do so trusting that they will be a part of a safe, and relationally accountable body.
Up until recently, there was minimal or no understanding of the power differential between the appointed powers managing the activities of the membership. The power structures themselves usually have an inherent desire to protect their upper-echelon membership and holy reputation from blame for a number of factors, not the least of which is avoiding a "disastrous" fall from grace or a "de-frocking".
The normal course of action for an office bearer crossing the boundaries into sexual harassment or abuse were labeled as those guilty of having had an "affair" with a parishioner. "Affair" was the language used in Church Article 83 prior to Synods' amendments to the same in 2016, to describe sexual misconduct. Shameful, possibly worthy of some discipline yes! However, it was just an affair, It takes two to tango you know! A short suspension will suffice and possibly after a year or two, this pastor may seek a new call. This is how the "Old Boys Club" played out back in the day. The perpetrators of office-bearer sexual harassment and abuse were simply supported back to a place of leadership following minor discipline, only to repeat the same ingrained patterns of behavior in new contexts of power.
Thankfully, those days are over and we are collectively trying to make the church a safer place for all. We must continue on the path towards relational integrity and the proper use of power that the Synodical amendments clearly dictate. Our denomination will be fully ridiculed for having not properly reformed to place of promoting, through education, relational respect and equality with a clear understanding of the proper use of delegated power in power-differentiated relationships. Until we get to that place as a body of Christ, victims will continue to take the blame, lose their faith in God and the church and become suicidal substance abusers. Do we love all of our people or not? Do we love them enough to not ever sexualize relationships of fiduciary trust, knowing that if we do, our actions have the potential to destroy that person?
Any church denomination is fertile ground for abusers of the power they receive at ordination. The research by the Baylor School of Sociology cites the average rate of abuse is all church denominations is approximately two percent, meaning that two office bearers out of 100 are actively engaged in emotional and sexually abusive behavior. If you do the math, we have 1200 churches with an average of 6-10 office bearers per church being about 85% male. At any given time, statistically, our denomination hosts approximately 190 practitioners of sexual abuse or harassment. Here's the math: 1200 churches X 8 office bearers/church= 9600 people (more or less) in positions of power. 9600 X .02 (2%) =190 sexual abusers of power. There are, at any given time, a minimum of 24 ordained Ministers of the Word who are guilty of clergy sexual abuse, representing 100's of victims. De we need education and increased awareness of this phenomenon? I think so. Our children and grandchildren need this level of diligence for their protection.
Thank-you Safe Church for trying to educate, against a strong tide of remaining, yet thankfully diminishing misunderstanding surrounding this horrific practice found among us.
Thanks for re-stating the fact that these were gifted men, I agree. Do you agree that 2% of these "gifted" men were actively abusing their office? I am not sure what you mean by "educate away". Please clarify.
You're exactly right, in 1995 there was no safe church ministry...so the 2% of abusers got away with a lot as I outlined. Please elaborate if you're able, on what role safe church does play, so we have a common understanding of its mission in 2018. I would like to hear your thoughts! In your opinion what does a "safe" church look and feel like for women?
Hi Everyone,The statistics I cited come from Baylor University are accurate for all North American Denominations (+ or - 3%). Baylor is a highly respected institution that produces state of the art research in religious sociology. Baylor's research into clergy sexual abuse and statistics describing the degree of the problem have been used to assist law enforcement agencies and judiciaries in several states change their laws to criminalize acts that clergy do that sexualize relationships meant to be professional.
Roger, your opinions are simply not valid. The reason most women report acts of abuse is because they fear retribution or recrimination. Only 1in 7 incidents are ever reported or if someone wants to come forward they are told by an elder to "let it go, you will harm his reputation". The victims are ignored and the powerful are protected. I will never forget, after speaking on the floor of our Classis during the overture debate process to revise church article 83, what happened to me in the washroom at break. I was speaking quite strongly in defense of victims saying, "how long will so many of our people continue to sit in silent suffering while we allow perpetrators of sexual abuse to go with a slap on the wrist. It has to stop!" Our session ended with a break and I went to the washroom. There were two older men in the washroom. They both, one at a time, told me of their daughter's and a grand-daughter' sexual abuse at the hands of an elder and pastor. The daughter is now a depressive alcoholic. The other victims has depressive disorder complicated by substance abuse. These men came to me on behalf of the silenced who have no voice. Roger, your lack of empathy for the writer of the story of which these comments are a follow-up reveal that you do not understand the issue. You opinion is irrelevant because it is not true. The case was obviously mishandled, justice was not done. There are no teeth in church courts...A guilty man is saved, the victim is squashed.
I'm happy to report that all the men under the leadership of my wife (Ordained Minister of the Word and Sacrament) feel safe, as she adheres to her marriage vows and would never consider abusing a man under her pastoral care. She is one of the 98/100 pastors who are Not abusers.
God preserve and protect those who are under the power of the 2% of leadership in the CRC and all denominations who abuse their power. Thank-you Lord for the 98% of our leaders who adhere to their ordination vows and who do not break them. We love them so... Help us to identify and root out those among us who need to be deposed for their abusive behavior. Preserve the lives of victims, heal them from depression, suicidal ideation and fear. Many have left both the faith and church. Restore them once again to your community. Strengthen them Lord and help them to be courageous survivors, fearlessly telling their stories. Provide all the support and pastoral care they need. Amen.
Correct, the actual statistics are higher. The 2% a"across the board in all professional spheres represent the percentage of cases where actual conviction with disciplinary action was carried out.
Wes's stroy is heartbreaking. The church is too safe for perpetrators and unsafe for many vulnerable people. The importance of Safe Church in turning this evil around is vital to the health of the church. Safe Church practice must be practiced in every CRC, sadly as Synod laments, only half of Classes and churches support safe church practices. Why the resistance,? The typical answer being, "Not in my Church, it doesn't happen here".
"Until all CRC's", Synod lamented, "adopt safe church policies", vulnerable people could be subject to abuse of power. Synod is aware. Are you? Where is the Holy Spirit in this? The Spirit leads toward seeking justice for the weak, just as Jesus modeled for us in the call to be his image bearers.
The + or - 3% is the statistical variation of 100 individuals in a sample.
I am a man Roger and my wife is my pastor at Good News CRC in London Ontario. She has been ordained as a Minister of Word and Sacrament for 11 years. Please look at the avatar on my post. That's me with the beard, my daughter and grand-daughter.
And again, church article 83 disqualifies your "opinion". Please take the time to read it. Synod has ruled against your opinion on this matter.
Thank-you for the link to the "Pyramid of Abuse". It is a fine summary of organizational systems theory, surrounding the foundations of abuse of power in its forms. Church systems have similar organizational structures, varying of course by denomination and therefore open to the development of abusive practices. I'm sorry you have to know many of the stories. Its hard to ingest and remain unchanged. I do not believe most pastors talk about this. When pastors get together, the talk surrounds theology, preaching, troubles or success with council. I do believe that most pastors understand "emotional affair". The pastors I know are men and women of good character. I personally do not know, the 1 in 50 pastors that are serious abusers. I did know one, but thankfully, deposed.
I remember studying in my pastoral theology class that women sometimes will set a "trap" for a pastor and ensnare him. We were taught to be wary of this type of woman as she could "ruin your ministry." (We now understand that the pastor ruined his ministry, not the woman). We were taught to report such a person immediately to wife and council. In other words, keep your professional boundaries.
A pastor whose marriage is not functioning well may be vulnerable to transference and thus the temptation to overlook proper boundaries, This continues to be known by some as "incitement" and thus victim blame and shame are the result, the sacrificial lamb to save the more "Important" ah-hem... "shepherd".
For those interested, here is the link to some of the research papers produced by Baylor.
The document by Dr. Garland, "Wolves in Shepherd's Clothing" (see the link for bibliography) is of particular interest and outlines the progression of the "Grooming Process" of victims used by predatory clergy. This paper among the other academic papers listed was referenced extensively during the article 83 process of revision for Synod 2016. I'm sure you will find it "eye-opening". It is a great educational tool for safe church and was used in our presentations to Classis.
Posted in: Power: How Will We Use It?
Thanks for raising awareness and a better understanding of power and its use, abuse.
I would like to add to your resource list Andy Crouch's wonderful work on power,
"Playing God-Redeeming the Gift of Power". If you want to know more, search Good Reads or Patheos for reviews of this excellent work.
Posted in: Partnership View of Power
Excellent article!
The concept of equal partnership as a part of an egalitarian world-view challenges both genders to modify long held patriarchal power structures within our ecclesiastical fold. Male offices bearers under this view are required to "pull-back" or limit their grip on traditional male-held hierarchies within church polity structures. Women also have a role in seeking office and stating their case for egalitarian practices to take root within congregations. Both genders are required to be supportive of the other as they both seek God's will in serving through holding office-bearing roles up to and including Minister of Word and Sacrament.
As the husband of an ordained Minister of Word and Sacrament with 15 years experience in this role, it has been my delight to support and uphold the office my wife maintains as a lead pastor in a CRC congregation. My wife is an effective pastor as evidenced by all who have benefited from her leadership and preaching. God is honored and his people grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord as we all seek to minimize the prejudicial assumptions limiting the effectives of those who happen to be born to minorities or subject to ecclesiastically inspired gender prejudice.
-Kelly Sibthorpe
Posted in: Partnership View of Power
Doug,
Yes, you are semantically correct. Thank-you for bringing clarity. Authority to exercise power of course is granted by the people as we have just witnessed yesterday in the mid-terms. Correct, patriarchal authority structures is more proper, the point being, through empirical observation is that most church denominational structures are patriarchal as are the majority of business and institutional structures. Thankfully, women are gaining ground.
The key, in this church structure authority discussion is, who are the qualified givers and receivers of authority? Who are the stake-holders responsible to delegate or appoint authority? Does this authority to grant power reside equally with both genders? Traditionally, authority to grant power has been the domain of males. More recently, females have been "allowed" to hold church offices. In other words, there is wrestling going on. Who allows who to do what? Is this authority to exercise power based on gender, race, socioeconomic standing? Naturally we are to look to the scriptures for guidance and not tradition to put into place proper authority structures.
Posted in: S.O.S. Sexual Assault at a Retreat by Clergy
Roger,
The CRC is in the very early stages of educating it's membership on our dedicated, organizational power structures i.e., (Classes, Counsels, Pastors, Elders and Deacons) regarding the various abuses of power that exist in our denomination. The 180,000 (plus or minus) people who willingly subject themselves to the CRC's power structures (office bearers), do so trusting that they will be a part of a safe, and relationally accountable body.
Up until recently, there was minimal or no understanding of the power differential between the appointed powers managing the activities of the membership. The power structures themselves usually have an inherent desire to protect their upper-echelon membership and holy reputation from blame for a number of factors, not the least of which is avoiding a "disastrous" fall from grace or a "de-frocking".
The normal course of action for an office bearer crossing the boundaries into sexual harassment or abuse were labeled as those guilty of having had an "affair" with a parishioner. "Affair" was the language used in Church Article 83 prior to Synods' amendments to the same in 2016, to describe sexual misconduct. Shameful, possibly worthy of some discipline yes! However, it was just an affair, It takes two to tango you know! A short suspension will suffice and possibly after a year or two, this pastor may seek a new call. This is how the "Old Boys Club" played out back in the day. The perpetrators of office-bearer sexual harassment and abuse were simply supported back to a place of leadership following minor discipline, only to repeat the same ingrained patterns of behavior in new contexts of power.
Thankfully, those days are over and we are collectively trying to make the church a safer place for all. We must continue on the path towards relational integrity and the proper use of power that the Synodical amendments clearly dictate. Our denomination will be fully ridiculed for having not properly reformed to place of promoting, through education, relational respect and equality with a clear understanding of the proper use of delegated power in power-differentiated relationships. Until we get to that place as a body of Christ, victims will continue to take the blame, lose their faith in God and the church and become suicidal substance abusers. Do we love all of our people or not? Do we love them enough to not ever sexualize relationships of fiduciary trust, knowing that if we do, our actions have the potential to destroy that person?
Any church denomination is fertile ground for abusers of the power they receive at ordination. The research by the Baylor School of Sociology cites the average rate of abuse is all church denominations is approximately two percent, meaning that two office bearers out of 100 are actively engaged in emotional and sexually abusive behavior. If you do the math, we have 1200 churches with an average of 6-10 office bearers per church being about 85% male. At any given time, statistically, our denomination hosts approximately 190 practitioners of sexual abuse or harassment. Here's the math: 1200 churches X 8 office bearers/church= 9600 people (more or less) in positions of power. 9600 X .02 (2%) =190 sexual abusers of power. There are, at any given time, a minimum of 24 ordained Ministers of the Word who are guilty of clergy sexual abuse, representing 100's of victims. De we need education and increased awareness of this phenomenon? I think so. Our children and grandchildren need this level of diligence for their protection.
Thank-you Safe Church for trying to educate, against a strong tide of remaining, yet thankfully diminishing misunderstanding surrounding this horrific practice found among us.
Posted in: S.O.S. Sexual Assault at a Retreat by Clergy
Dear Roger,
Thanks for re-stating the fact that these were gifted men, I agree. Do you agree that 2% of these "gifted" men were actively abusing their office? I am not sure what you mean by "educate away". Please clarify.
You're exactly right, in 1995 there was no safe church ministry...so the 2% of abusers got away with a lot as I outlined. Please elaborate if you're able, on what role safe church does play, so we have a common understanding of its mission in 2018. I would like to hear your thoughts! In your opinion what does a "safe" church look and feel like for women?
-peace,
Kelly
Posted in: S.O.S. Sexual Assault at a Retreat by Clergy
Hi Everyone,The statistics I cited come from Baylor University are accurate for all North American Denominations (+ or - 3%). Baylor is a highly respected institution that produces state of the art research in religious sociology. Baylor's research into clergy sexual abuse and statistics describing the degree of the problem have been used to assist law enforcement agencies and judiciaries in several states change their laws to criminalize acts that clergy do that sexualize relationships meant to be professional.
Roger, your opinions are simply not valid. The reason most women report acts of abuse is because they fear retribution or recrimination. Only 1in 7 incidents are ever reported or if someone wants to come forward they are told by an elder to "let it go, you will harm his reputation". The victims are ignored and the powerful are protected. I will never forget, after speaking on the floor of our Classis during the overture debate process to revise church article 83, what happened to me in the washroom at break. I was speaking quite strongly in defense of victims saying, "how long will so many of our people continue to sit in silent suffering while we allow perpetrators of sexual abuse to go with a slap on the wrist. It has to stop!" Our session ended with a break and I went to the washroom. There were two older men in the washroom. They both, one at a time, told me of their daughter's and a grand-daughter' sexual abuse at the hands of an elder and pastor. The daughter is now a depressive alcoholic. The other victims has depressive disorder complicated by substance abuse. These men came to me on behalf of the silenced who have no voice. Roger, your lack of empathy for the writer of the story of which these comments are a follow-up reveal that you do not understand the issue. You opinion is irrelevant because it is not true. The case was obviously mishandled, justice was not done. There are no teeth in church courts...A guilty man is saved, the victim is squashed.
I'm happy to report that all the men under the leadership of my wife (Ordained Minister of the Word and Sacrament) feel safe, as she adheres to her marriage vows and would never consider abusing a man under her pastoral care. She is one of the 98/100 pastors who are Not abusers.
God preserve and protect those who are under the power of the 2% of leadership in the CRC and all denominations who abuse their power. Thank-you Lord for the 98% of our leaders who adhere to their ordination vows and who do not break them. We love them so... Help us to identify and root out those among us who need to be deposed for their abusive behavior. Preserve the lives of victims, heal them from depression, suicidal ideation and fear. Many have left both the faith and church. Restore them once again to your community. Strengthen them Lord and help them to be courageous survivors, fearlessly telling their stories. Provide all the support and pastoral care they need. Amen.
Posted in: S.O.S. Sexual Assault at a Retreat by Clergy
Bev,
Correct, the actual statistics are higher. The 2% a"across the board in all professional spheres represent the percentage of cases where actual conviction with disciplinary action was carried out.
Wes's stroy is heartbreaking. The church is too safe for perpetrators and unsafe for many vulnerable people. The importance of Safe Church in turning this evil around is vital to the health of the church. Safe Church practice must be practiced in every CRC, sadly as Synod laments, only half of Classes and churches support safe church practices. Why the resistance,? The typical answer being, "Not in my Church, it doesn't happen here".
Posted in: S.O.S. Sexual Assault at a Retreat by Clergy
Roger,
The + or - 3% is the statistical variation of 100 individuals in a sample.
I am a man Roger and my wife is my pastor at Good News CRC in London Ontario. She has been ordained as a Minister of Word and Sacrament for 11 years.
And again, church article 83 disqualifies your "opinion". Please take the time to read it. Synod has ruled against your opinion on this matter.
Kelly
Posted in: S.O.S. Sexual Assault at a Retreat by Clergy
"Until all CRC's", Synod lamented, "adopt safe church policies", vulnerable people could be subject to abuse of power. Synod is aware. Are you? Where is the Holy Spirit in this? The Spirit leads toward seeking justice for the weak, just as Jesus modeled for us in the call to be his image bearers.
Posted in: S.O.S. Sexual Assault at a Retreat by Clergy
Roger,
The + or - 3% is the statistical variation of 100 individuals in a sample.
I am a man Roger and my wife is my pastor at Good News CRC in London Ontario. She has been ordained as a Minister of Word and Sacrament for 11 years. Please look at the avatar on my post. That's me with the beard, my daughter and grand-daughter.
And again, church article 83 disqualifies your "opinion". Please take the time to read it. Synod has ruled against your opinion on this matter.
Kelly
Posted in: S.O.S. Sexual Assault at a Retreat by Clergy
Bev,
Thank-you for the link to the "Pyramid of Abuse". It is a fine summary of organizational systems theory, surrounding the foundations of abuse of power in its forms. Church systems have similar organizational structures, varying of course by denomination and therefore open to the development of abusive practices. I'm sorry you have to know many of the stories. Its hard to ingest and remain unchanged. I do not believe most pastors talk about this. When pastors get together, the talk surrounds theology, preaching, troubles or success with council. I do believe that most pastors understand "emotional affair". The pastors I know are men and women of good character. I personally do not know, the 1 in 50 pastors that are serious abusers. I did know one, but thankfully, deposed.
I remember studying in my pastoral theology class that women sometimes will set a "trap" for a pastor and ensnare him. We were taught to be wary of this type of woman as she could "ruin your ministry." (We now understand that the pastor ruined his ministry, not the woman). We were taught to report such a person immediately to wife and council. In other words, keep your professional boundaries.
A pastor whose marriage is not functioning well may be vulnerable to transference and thus the temptation to overlook proper boundaries, This continues to be known by some as "incitement" and thus victim blame and shame are the result, the sacrificial lamb to save the more "Important" ah-hem... "shepherd".
Posted in: S.O.S. Sexual Assault at a Retreat by Clergy
For those interested, here is the link to some of the research papers produced by Baylor.
The document by Dr. Garland, "Wolves in Shepherd's Clothing" (see the link for bibliography) is of particular interest and outlines the progression of the "Grooming Process" of victims used by predatory clergy. This paper among the other academic papers listed was referenced extensively during the article 83 process of revision for Synod 2016. I'm sure you will find it "eye-opening". It is a great educational tool for safe church and was used in our presentations to Classis.
https://www.baylor.edu/clergysexualmisconduct/index.php?id=68148
peace,
Kelly