Christian Stewardship Post-#MeToo

When things change in America, they change quickly. And in 2016 Americans generally responded to Donald Trump’s vulgar comment about grabbing women by declaring “enough is enough.” No longer would Americans tolerate leaders using their position and privilege to solicit or abuse women. Of course, Christians had been saying this for years dating back to Clinton’s sexual scandals, which were brushed off at the time. But in 2016, those attitudes arguably became mainstream.

Up to that point, sexual misconduct among leaders was often tolerated as a necessary evil, or “just the way things are.” And it wasn’t just political leaders, as we see stories that reflect culture. Sex comedies such as American Pie made light of secretly filming a teenager’s sexual encounter, and Game of Thrones relied on rape and incest not just to shock, but also titillate its audience.

Some may argue that that “those are just stories” and “Clinton was a one-off case,” but if one examines the #MeToo movement, there’s been a marked difference in how misconduct is covered and how stories are told since 2016. For example, allegations of sexual misconduct against Harvey Weinstein emerged publicly as early as 2015. And the MeToo movement can be identified in public discourse as early as 2006. But it wasn’t until 2017 that new allegations against Weinstein gained steam and #MeToo exploded into popular vernacular.

Of course, correlation does not prove causation. But, regardless of causation, there is a strong argument that the world has changed. And laws have shifted because of that change. Many states passed or strengthened laws mandating that workplaces provide anti-sexual harassment training to their employees and leaders. And members of the workforce began to feel empowered to push back on perceived and actual sexual misconduct.

So, what does this mean for Christians who’ve been advocating for abstinence, family values, and protecting women for years? Surely Christian men can be thankful that they are not like other men: unjust, extortionist, adulterers.

Unfortunately, decades of normalizing misconduct in places of power and in stories has drawn misconduct into the church like water through a sponge. In November 2017, #ChurchToo began trending. By 2018, #SilenceIsNotSpiritual called to change the ways sexual misconduct is addressed in the church. And in 2018, Pastor Andy Savage admitted that he sexually assaulted a 17-year-old girl, in 1998, when he was a youth pastor. This is also not a one-off. Church Law and Tax did a survey in 2020 that reported that one of every six employees/volunteers in the ministry workplace has been sexually harassed. Women and younger people were more at risk. At younger ages, sexual harassment is legally sexual abuse, a problem that the Southern Baptist Convention attempted to confront in 2022 when it hired Guidepost Solutions to investigate years of abuse within the organization. Month by month, new sexual abuse and exploitation scandals from churches appear in the press.

Since the Church exists because of Christ’s redemptive work to redeem sin, it should come as no surprise that we find sinners in the Church. And where you find sin and the vulnerable, you will find abuse and misconduct. Like lions to a watering hole, the Church attracts would-be offenders. This reality needs to inform how Christians respond to sexual misconduct allegations and training mandates. The truth is that state-mandated training need not be “a secular government forcing its will on a religious minority.” Instead, it should represent the Church engaging with a fallen world and confronting sin—including among its leaders.

Returning to the question: what does mandated training mean for Christians? Like the parable with the talents, Christians have been given a great treasure: the truth. God has instructed his people on what it means to protect women and to protect the innocent. Rather than doing the bare minimum to complete a legal checkbox, Christians should set the standard and go beyond what is mandated into what is just. This means, regardless of state mandates, Christians should protect the innocent , including victims of sexual harassment. Good protection includes good training.

What if we don’t bother? Not just God, but also the law, will have its say. You should probably go in greater fear of God. But the law can be formidable too. Where training is mandated, failing to train can be catastrophic. For example, non-compliance with training mandates in New York City can result in penalties of up to $250,000. And that’s just for failing to train. If there’s actual misconduct, things can get a lot worse. One organization in Memphis failed to train its employees, and it’s sales team formed a “kissing club” that women were forced to participate in to earn sales leads. During the ensuing lawsuit, it came out that not only did the company not train their employees, but at the time the HR manager didn’t even know what sexual harassment was. Pleading ignorance didn’t protect the company, and their failure cost them $3 million dollars in compensatory and punitive damages. Arbitration agreements can’t protect anyone, since as of 2022, they can no longer be invoked in Sexual Harassment or Sexual Assault claims. 

Covering up, deflecting, or ignoring problems will not work as a defense and greatly amplifies harm. We regularly see ministry leaders accused publicly of sexual abuse or sexual harassment. If Christian leaders allow their organizations to become playgrounds for sexual misconduct, can they still be said to be serving God? At what point is “a church” no longer “the Church?” At what point is a “Christian company” just “a company with a cross tacked on”?

Fortunately, misconduct is not inevitable. Churches and businesses do not have to become scenes of harm. In fact, Christians have the upper hand here. We need not implement “secular” solutions to “deflect allegations.” Instead, we stand against sin, and have a Biblical model of treating each other as Christ does—as made in the image of God. Our vocation to serve and protect “the least of these” and to confront sin gives us a head start to not only meet state mandates, but exceed them. Sexual harassment training and abuse prevention training are near to the heart of God because they protect His people.

States with mandatory anti-sexual harassment training:

California, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine, Nebraska, New York, Rhode Island, US Virgin Islands, Washington

States that require anti-sexual harassment training (only for state employees):

Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Nevada, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington

States that recommend anti-sexual harassment training:

Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming

_________________________________________
Featured Image by Rebecca Sidebotham.