This week: 1 James Dobson encouraged Christians to fast & pray for the protection a serial sex abuser (Trump). 2 When a mega-church pastor's criminal sexual assault was exposed, he received a standing ovation from his congregation. 3 One of Roy Moore's victims' house burned down.
All of these stories point to why I'm sadly pessimistic about a #metoo-style cultural shift in evangelical Christianity (and, to an extent, the broader Church). I'm pessimistic because of the deadly combination of patriarchy & (as discussed recently) evangelical exceptionalism...
As I've stated before, evangelical exceptionalism understands "the world" or "the culture" to be filled with darkness & sin, teeming with people who are "lost," and evangelicalism & evangelicals to be the sole bearers of light, the counter-cultural path to salvation...
...White evangelicals perceive "the world" to struggle with racism & sexual immorality, but not themselves. Because of this, it's rare to see serious efforts made at examining the ways racism & toxic masculinity/patriarchy are embedded in evangelical culture...
...You see this so clearly in the fact that Andy Savage's church rejects LGBT people, yet gives their abusive pastor a standing ovation! (This points to the reality that anti-LGBT sentiment is usually more about prejudice than a commitment to "sexual purity.")...
The fact is, evangelical culture (and, generally speaking, the Church culture at large) remains mired in patriarchy. So someone who is perceived as a "man of God" doing "God's work" will almost always be protected over women & children. It happens all. the. time.
When Savage's victim came forward, who did she face? Who was in charge of her church? Men. All men. When churches sideline women from leadership, a culture of patriarchy is inevitable and toxic, abusive masculinity flourishes.
But you won't see many churches challenging patriarchy or abuse or toxic masculinity in Christian culture. Instead, you hear sermon after sermon railing against immodesty, cohabitation, sex before marriage, LGBT people - all those real or perceived "sins of the culture"...
In order to turn #metoo into #churchtoo, the Church in America, and specifically evangelicals, are going to have to muster some humility and take a serious look at how patriarchy, sexism, and toxic masculinity have infected their culture...
It's great to see women like @BethMooreLPM & @KayWarren1 speaking out. But as long as church leadership & evangelical culture are dominated by men (who believe God wants it that way!) I fear the voices of women & victims will not be heard and nothing will change.
TLDR version: In the name of Jesus, smash the damn patriarchy. / End thread.
So I feel like this thread was too pessimistic and Oprah says we should be hopeful. So some hopeful thoughts: While the Church in America is perhaps not positioned to lead the charge against sexual harassment & toxic masculinity...
...there are some significant generational differences within the Church, including evangelicalism, that suggest attitudes are changing on gender & sexuality. I'm hopeful this means more introspective conversations about consent, inclusion, & patriarchy in the near future.
Also, our present cultural moment, as tough as it's been, seems to have emboldened some voices of dissent among evangelical women. If evangelicals yield to their wisdom, there's hope.
