Clergy Sexual Misconduct. John Thoburn Thoburn
not respond in a healthy way to the challenge to its integrity by David’s actions. Consequences were set in motion, from the death of Bathsheba’s firstborn to the tragic trajectory of Absalom’s life and death that would haunt Israel for generations. The sins of the fathers do, in fact, fall to the children, even to the third and fourth generations (Exodus 20:5). But that story doesn’t have to be the typical story. Health, reconciliation, and recovery are possible when the interconnectedness of entities in churches (pastor, family, congregation, and Church conference) are recognized and when each relates to and responds meaningfully and appropriately in the context of life in the Body of Christ. Wholeness is not to be misconstrued as only oneness. It involves the integration through the Holy Spirit of the differentiated gifts, roles, attributes, and contributions of each member of the Church (I Corinthians 12). In physics, quanta come into being in relation to others; light is ray or particle based on whether or not it is being observed. Even potatoes in the field and the moon interact in a dance of gravity and growth (Steinke, 2006, p. 7). In much the same way, ministers, their families, and the congregations they serve may all work together to be healthy. Healthy congregations are:
1.Purposeful. A congregation’s purpose is to increase love for God and neighbors (Niebuhr, 1956, p. 39).
2.Directive. They have a clear vision that gives direction to their actions.
3.Resourceful. They manage conflict and healing through mutual influence.
4.Confident. They have a corporate sense of coherence that gives people a sense of meaning to manage life, putting communal resources to work for the sake of the greater good.
5.Known for their intimacy. They have a willingness to be both known and accountable to others. They know the difference between “me” and “we.”
6.Adaptive to environmental stressors, rather than reactionary.
Every member serves the whole body, either to its health or its destruction (Bonhoeffer, 1954, p.89). Health is not the absence of disease. Pathology is one component of organisms seeking health. Many symptoms of disease are indicators of the body’s healing resources at work, and “some organic processes promote growth through decay, shedding and breakdown” (Steinke, 2006). Those congregations who recognize that sin is ubiquitous will also see that new life arises from death. The primary mitigating factor against clergy sexual misconduct is not the construction of artificial firewalls between the pastor and his Church family. Rather, it is the healthy integrated balance of spiritual formation and spiritual direction where a pastoral family and Church family allow Christ to live out His life through the life of every person in the congregation, individually and corporately. Incarnation flows out of a Church body experiencing the work of atonement day by day. Love is, quite simply, the sacrament for the brother (de Caussade quoting St. John Chrysostom, 1989). Incarnation leads to balance, focus, differentiation, and healing when and where it is needed.
References
Anderson, R. S. (1979). Theological foundations for ministry. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing.
Anderson, R. S. (1990). Christians who counsel. Pasadena, CA: Fuller Seminary Press.
Benyei, C. R. (1998). Understanding clergy misconduct in religious systems: Scapegoating, family secrets, and the abuse of power. New York: Haworth Pastor Press.
Blackmon, R. A. (1984). The hazards of the ministry (Doctoral dissertation). Fuller Theological Seminary. Dissertation Abstracts International, 46(2-B), 634.
Bouhoutsos, J. C., Holroyd, J., Lerman, H., Forer, B. R., & Greenberg, M. (1983). Sexual intimacy between psychotherapists and patients. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 14 (2), 185–196.
Bonhoeffer, D. (1954). Life together. San Francisco: Harper Collins.
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development: Experiments by nature and Design. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Butler, S., & Zelen, S. (1977). Sexual intimacies between psychotherapists and their patients. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, and Practice, 139, 143–144.
Carnes, P. (1991). Don’t call it love: Recovery from sexual addiction. New York: Bantam Books.
Chaves, M., & Garland, D. (2010). The prevalence of clergy sexual advances towards adults in their congregations. Journal of the Scientific Study of Religion, 48 (4), 817–824.
De Caussade, J. P. (1989). The sacrament of the present moment. San Francisco: HarperSan Francisco.
Ferro, J. (2005). Sexual misconduct and the clergy. New York: Facts on File.
Fisher, H. (2004). Why we love: The nature and chemistry of romantic love. New York: Holt Paperbacks.
Francis, P. C., & Baldo, T. D. (1998). Narcissistic measures of Lutheran clergy who self reported committing sexual misconduct. Pastoral Psychology, 47 (2), 81–96.
Friberg, N. C., & Laaser, M. R. (1998). Before the fall: Preventing pastoral sexual abuse. Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press.
Gaede, B. A. (2006). When a congregation is betrayed. Herndon, VA: The Alban Institute.
Garland, D., & Argueta, C. (2010). How clergy sexual misconduct happens: A qualitative study of first-hand accounts. Social Work and Christianity, 37 (1), 1–27.
Garland, D. (2011). Clergy sexual misconduct: Awareness and prevention. http://www.baylor.edu/clergysexualmisconduct/
Garland, D., & Argueta, C. How clergy sexual misconduct happens: A qualitative study of first-hand accounts. Social Work and Christianity, http://www.baylor.edu/clergysexualmisconduct/index.php?id=67406.
Gartrell, N., Herman, J., Olartes, S., Feldstein, M., & Localio, R. (1986). Psychiatrist-patient sexual contact: Results of a national survey of prevalence. American Journal of Psychiatry, 143, 1126–1131.
Hopkins, N.M., & Laaser, M. (Eds.) (1995). Healing the soul of a church. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press.
Irons, R., & Laaser, M., (1994). The abduction of fidelity: Sexual exploitation by clergy—experience with inpatient assessment. Sexual Addiction and Compulsivity, 1(2), 119-129.
Irons, R., & Roberts, T. (1995). The unhealed wounder. In Laaser, M., & Hopkins, N. (Eds), Restoring the soul of a church. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press.
Kardener, S. H., Fuller, M., and Mensh, I. N. (1973). A survey of physicians' attitudes and practices regarding erotic and non-erotic physical contact with patients. American Journal of Psychiatry, 130, 1077–1081.
Kramer, K. P. (2004). Martin Buber's I and thou: Practicing living dialogue. Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press.
Johnston, J. E. (1996). Predictive factors regarding extra-marital relationships in ministers (Doctoral dissertation). Kansas State University.
Lustyk, K. (2010). The pleasure circuit. Addiction, 26 (2), 15.
Miller, M. C. (2010). Cross purposes: Exploring the crossroads of justice and reconciliation. Enumclaw, WA: Pleasant Word.
Muck, T. (1988). How common is pastoral indiscretion? Leadership, 9 (1), 12–13.
Nichols, M. (1987). The Self in the System. New York: Routledge.
Niebuhr, H. R. (1956). The purpose of the church and its ministry: Reflections on the aims of theological education. New York: Harper and Row.
Pope, K., Keith-Spiegel, P., & Tebachnik, B. G. (1986). Sexual attraction to clients. American Psychologist, 4 (12), 147–158.
Siegel, D. J. (2007). The mindful brain. New York: W.W. Norton & Co.
Stanton,