In February of 2014, a popular author and blogger posted an article called “Three Things Christians Should Stop Doing on Social Media.” Ordinarily I wouldn’t have been aware of it at all, but it was reposted many times by supporters of Bob Jones University, basically telling me and others to shut up already.

So it became significant to me.

In February of 2014, Bob Jones University had fired the team that was investigating their handling of sexual abuse allegations, Godly Response to Abuse in a Christian Environment (GRACE).

Because I spoke out about the firing in various places on social media, including my own personal Facebook page, I gained quite a following (thirty people, maybe? It felt like a lot in those days).

Some conjectured that when BJU rehired GRACE three weeks later, it was because of the social media firestorm that erupted after news of the firing got out.

The abuses and coverups continue, the exposures continue, and the ramifications and aftermath continue, not just in the BJU world, but all across fundamentalism and evangelicalism.

But from about 2010 to 2014 it seemed that many areas of fundamental/evangelical Christianity were exploding open at once.

Social media, finally giving the little person a platform, was helping to uncover a dark underbelly of abuses in various parts of the church.

In those days I was keeping this “devotional” blog separate from the controversy, so this conversation was published only on my Facebook page. But because there are many of us who continue to expose abuses in various arenas, it seems appropriate to repost this discussion here now.

The article was “3 Things Christians Should Stop Doing on Social Media.” The only one I wanted to address was #1, because that was the one that was levelled at me.

(For the curious, #2 was “Trying to explain theological doctrine in 140 characters or less.” and #3 was “Getting into arguments on Facebook or Twitter.”)

What Christians should stop doing on social media:

“Publicly calling people out on their sins or mistakes.”

But before I quote this blogger’s support of this point, I want to say that I see a big difference between sins and mistakes. A person can make a legitimate mistake—such as failing to report child abuse because he wasn’t a mandated reporter and didn’t understand the critical nature of the offense. (This could conceivably have been me in my younger extremely ignorant days.)

Let’s say that upon being shown his mistake, a person shows evidence of legitimately trying to address it and correct it. Well, then it’s important for us as the Christian community to be patient and gracious with him.

However, when others point out the mistake but after several entreaties the person refuses to make efforts to correct the mistake but instead stonewalls, makes excuses, shifts the blame, or continues to engage in coverups, then it becomes a willful sin.

I continue with the blogger’s words:

It’s not your place to call other people out on their sins or mistakes, especially in public. Christians already have a bad reputation in the land of judgment, and the last thing we need is someone rebuking people via Twitter or Facebook. If you’re doing this, please find the “deactivate” button and click it repeatedly.

Nobody wants to see your drama show up on their news feeds. I mean, I’m sure they’re just waiting to sit back and watch your social boxing match. Maturity plays a big role in using social media. So if you claim to be a Christian, then please keep your drama, arguments, and bickering to yourself. The last thing someone wants to see a Christian do is argue behind the safety of a computer screen. It’s not worth your time, nor does anyone else want to see it.

If you really think it’s that important, call them on the phone, or at least send them a private message. Do us all a favor and stop your social judgment. There is no need to publicly shame someone for something you’re probably doing yourself.

Because people were posting this blog on Facebook and sending it to me, I finally wrote a comment on his blog post. But for some reason he apparently didn’t allow it past moderation.

So I then put it up on my own person Facebook page. Here it is.

Hi John~

 

I’m astonished that you would say it’s not the place of the people of God to call Christian leaders out on their sin. What do we see in the examples of the prophets, of Paul, of Jesus Himself?

 

If Christians don’t call out leaders on their sins, to whom will they be accountable?

 

You urge us to call them on the phone, to write them privately. But that admonition assumes that we haven’t already done that. After we have done those things and have seen no repentance, not even a response, what then? Stand silent in the face of monstrous wrongdoing, of the covering of crimes?

 

Do you assume that those who call out Christian leaders publicly on particular sins are doing the same things themselves? How can you be so judgmental?

 

Regarding arguments on Facebook or Twitter: Just because you personally don’t want to see “drama” in people’s news feeds, do you assume that no one does? I know through personal experience that often there are silent watchers of arguments who are there for more than just a popcorn scenario. They are trying to understand the different perspectives of important issues, and any grace and truth that might be presenting itself will go a long way in convincing them of what they should really believe.

 

I have thanked God for social media. It provides a platform for the little people—my arena is that of advocate for those who have been sexually violated within the context of the church—to collectively raise their voices against the harm that some leaders have perpetrated against them.

 

I trust that judgmental posts like yours won’t be a deterrent to those who know they are doing the right thing in finally bringing these dark sins into the light of God’s truth. And I pray that there will be a huge revival of repentance among the leaders who are seeking to hide such crimes.

 

On my own Facebook page I received some mild pushback to the above comment, referencing harsh language. I replied with the following.

I keep thinking about the tone that Jesus used when he called out the Pharisees publicly–vipers, whited sepulchres, etc. This was much, much harsher language than I have ever used, and I’m sure it made many people uncomfortable, even angry. But He is our example.

 

I don’t mean to be implying that this blogger is in that category, but I would say that someone like Jack Schaap, the 54-year-old pastor who preached long skirts while seducing a teenage girl, would fall in that category. It just might be proper to call out someone like him in terms that strong.

Then I received a word about how exposing the hypocrisy of leaders will hurt people in the church and the inevitable observation that we don’t know men’s hearts as Jesus did. My reply was this:

When followers find out about a leader’s extreme hypocrisy (like the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, for example), that can be devastating to these followers.

 

But a big problem we’re seeing here in this situation is that many people have already seen the hypocrisy. They have already been devastated. But other leaders are acting as if nothing is wrong move along people that’s just the haters nothing to see here.

 

This appears to be–and I say appears because I don’t know men’s hearts as Jesus does–because leaders are trying to build certain kingdoms, and they may think it’s God’s kingdom, by protecting the wrongdoers. They may believe that they’re protecting the ministry by protecting men who need to repent of grievous sins.

 

And in the meantime, as years roll by, more and more are affected by the grievous sins that were never dealt with, and more and more lives are devastated.

 

At what point do we decide that the fallout of covering is worse than the fallout of exposure?

 

But really that was a trick question–that’s not our place to decide. “Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.”

 

If a man in ministry is assaulting women and children, for example, at no time should the leaders ever decide that the “ministry” is so important that his crime needs to be covered. When they do, they are complicit.

 

The women and children–those who were assaulted–as well as many, many others are observing and being devastated by this hypocrisy.

 

Exposing the sin is not the problem. The problem is the sin itself.

 

In the last 3 years since February of 2014—and I didn’t see this coming at all back then—I’ve collaborated on two books exposing sexual abuse and domestic abuse in evangelicalism and fundamentalism, I’ve written another one about spiritual abuse in the same arenas, and I’m currently working on the second in that series.

I want to emphasize the importance of gentleness and graciousness for those who show a desire to change and address their sins (or mistakes!).

But my continued prayer is that I and others will stand in grace and truth on this statement regarding those who are still engaging in acts of darkness:

 

 

 

 

 

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