In every case,
it took someone going public
before action was taken! 

It is not that others were not told about what was happening!

It’s because internal controls are broken because of relationships and misdirected loyalty!

It was that no one took action until someone stood up, spoke loudly, and finally went public!

√ James MacDonald Fired from Harvest

√ Ravi Zacharias Hid Hundreds of Pictures of Women, Abuse During Massages, and a Rape Allegation.

√ Former Christianity Today editor Mark Galli accused of sexual harassment.

√ Brian Houston: Hillsong founder resigns — again — following misconduct allegations.

√ Jess Bogard: Hillsong shutters Dallas church after reports of pastors’ lavish lifestyle

√ John MacArthur publicly shamed and excommunicated a mother for refusing to reconcile with her abusive husband.

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Toxic church gaslighting protocol:

1. That never happened

2. OK, it happened, but it wasn’t that bad.

3. OK, it happened, and it was that bad, but you need to get over it.

4. Ok, we really don’t care if you get over it-we just want you to stop talking about it.

Lauren Chastain:

Concerning the Hillsong Documentary, now being broadcasted:

“Just keep in mind that for every victim that speaks up on that Hillsong documentary, there are countless more who didn’t have the capacity to speak up emotionally, mentally, or legally. Nearly every victim I know says, “I’m sorry, I can’t talk about that publicly; it’s too hard.”

Concerning Guidepost Report Regarding Christianity Today’s Mark Galli:

“Another aspect of reporting that seemingly is not sufficiently taken into account at CT is how the power dynamic between employees can influence the decision of whether or not to report harassment allegations. Some may feel intimidated or fear the consequences of reporting alleged misconduct by someone higher up in the organization – even if that more senior employee is not in the employee’s supervisory chain, and even if the employee has the option of reporting to HR. In an interview, one woman expressed a sense of futility about reporting allegations against higher-ups, stating that if someone at CT is important enough, they can get away with things; a female former employee made a similar observation. Another woman stated that Former Employee 1’s words seemed to matter more than a woman’s words in any “she said/he said” situation.

With respect to the investigation of harassment allegations, CT’s processes do not include defined written investigative procedures with specific steps or any requirements about documenting investigative findings.”

√ “When I said these exact words to the chairman of the board from our church 2 yrs ago, I was almost laughed out of the room.”

√ “And then you are accused of not going about things the right way.”

√ “The people in church who clutch their pearls over 4 letter words but have unending grace for predator pastors.”

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Other Interesting Quotes:

“Here’s one experiment – start honestly questioning procedural matters (not even doctrinal ones) and don’t settle with shallow answers. You’ll be labeled a “troublemaker” and “divisive” in no time. You’ll be told “then why don’t you just leave?” soon enough.”

“It became very clear as I left certain church circles that there was an entire narrative that had been crafted about me and the reason I had left – all of which were false.”

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If we have learned anything, it is that board members, deacons, fellow pastors, leaders, pastors, elders, administrators, et al. are not capable of holding wrongdoers accountable internally.  Relationships, the drive to defend the institution over those who have been used, misused, and abused, and putting loyalty over integrity has repeated hindered internal controls.