The Tragic Cost of Unaccountability

Update #1: Just as a point of clarification, I had been intending to write this post for several weeks, long before the recent unpleasantness. There is no subtext here to read, unless it is your own. This post is timely because the depravity of man is true.

Moving on from the recent unpleasantness, I thought I would direct readers to a very interesting article I came across a few weeks ago that highlights how things go terribly bad when religious leaders (or anyone for that matter) operate autonomously and are unaccountable. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution article, Sex Charges Cast Pall Over Bishop Paulk (01/29/06), describes the ongoing sex scandal related to the very popular Charismatic "bishop" Earl Paulk, founder of the "Kingdom Now" theology and the 12,000 member Chapel Hill Harvester Church in Atlanta.

What makes this story so interesting is that this is not Paulk's first sex scandal; nor his second; not even his third; this is the fourth sex scandal of his career. In each case, Paulk has been able to rally his troops, lay siege to his accusers, and hide behind an elaborately constructed cloak of authority and legitimacy.

This story also opens up for us the playbook for unaccountability and church abuse. The key that makes the whole operation work are the True Believers. Without them, the entire enterprise would quickly fail. And in the end, they are the ones who suffer the most and pay the tragic price for unaccountability.

I became acquainted with Paulk and his teachings many years ago when I developed a relationship with a couple who were in Paulk's closest circle of friends and supporters. They even began a church plant under the auspices of Paulk's church. I had known them for about a year when Paulk's second sex scandal was made public in 1992. It involved his longtime ghostwriter and biographer, as well as five other women--all very active in the higher echelons of the church. After a very brief period of wrestling with doubt, my friends concluded that Paulk's accusers were lying, even though they knew them all personally. At that point, they had crossed an epistemic Rubicon: no set of facts, no personal testimonies, and no high-profile defections of ministry officials could ever persuade them to wane in their devotion to Paulk. To them, the real Christian ministry (and there was plenty of genuine ministry that was occuring) that they saw and experienced exempted Paulk from any degree of scrutiny.

About half-way through the AJC article (page 7 of 11 in my printed copy), comes this amazing admission from one of Paulk's mistresses:

"Although she had been having sex with Paulk herself, she said, she believed his denials of accusations by Weeks in 1992 and Battle in 2001. She thought she was saving the world. Why would he need another woman?"

The woman quoted had been having an adulterous affair with Paulk for almost a decade and a half. But she was so invested in the lie that she could never see the truth blazing in neon signs in every direction. She was a True Believer.

Another True Believer was the grandmother of the young woman that was the source of the third sex scandal in 2001. The had been molested by Paulk from the time she was 7 until she was 17. She only made her claims public several years later. This is what the article says (page 5 of 11 on my printed copy):

"Battle's grandmother, Lynn Mays, an influential pastor on staff, defended Paulk and blamed Satan for her granddaughter's lawsuit."

No one was willing to see the evidence right in front of their face. Remember, this was the third sex scandal to be made public (there were many others unspoken, I'm sure). But the truth just couldn't be believed. Paulk's supporters were too invested in the lie.

The account of another woman in the article now admitting to having an affair with Paulk best illustrates the cost of unaccountability. This is how the article describes her:

"She had been born under his leadership. Her parents had urged him to start a new church back in 1960 after he left Hemphill Church of God amid rumors of adultery. They assumed he was being falsely accused."

A generation later, their daughter was caught in a 15-year affair with Paulk. She and the "bishop" would get together every Saturday while Paulk's wife would get her hair done. The woman even helped Paulk's wife write a book, Stand By Your Man. Paulk had married her and her husband. A few years later, Paulk was pimping her out to his brother and raising the possiblity of her having sex with one of the other women named in the article.

During this time, any accusation would be met with fierce denials and attacks on character. As you will see in the article, the same is true for Paulk's fourth sex scandal. Plenty of people are still around to defend him and savage the defectors.

But I wonder about the parents of this last woman. What exactly do they think? After being duped once, wouldn't it be harder to admit that you've been duped twice? What impact has this had on this family? The sad truth is that the real cost of Paulk's unaccountability wasn't paid by them; it was paid by their daughter--in full.

The Reformed world, with all of its emphasis on ecclesiology, is not immune from these problems, especially out on the ragged outer edges of Reformedom. As David Chilton explained years ago in his speech, Ecclesiastical Megalomania, (NOTE: linking to the Trinity Review in no way implies my endorsement for any or all of John Robbins statements and actions) with reference to the tyrannts of Tyler, Texas, those who are unaccountable surround themselves with systems and processes of pretended accountability. But they are there to legitimate autonomy, not to prevent it. And there's the rub. Chilton's story explains in chilling detail how he even participated in gross abuses all sanctioned by the systems of pretended "accountability" that covered for the group's real autonomy--actions he later confessed and apologized for.

Another article that should be required reading is by Greg Tritle: Groupthink, A Sinister Snare for Elders and Congregations Alike. (NOTE: linking to this Chalcedon Report article in no way implies my endorsement for any or all of Rushdoony's teachings.) It describes how organizations and churches like Paulk's get trapped into insular spheres of unreality. In light of the recent unpleasantness, these readings are all very timely.

One final comment: While this material I've linked to and posted on relates to organizational autonomy, it applies just as much to the individual. All of these situations mentioned in the AJC article and the other articles I've linked to were the result of nothing more than individuals making personal decisions to morally compromise. There were no grand conspiracies involved. You don't need to be in a cult to be as trapped as anyone in these situations. You can be in a very sound Reformed church and still be living a godless autonomous life. That's a message and a warning I'm personally challenged by and committing myself to for self-examination. Furthermore, we need more people, not less, willing to shout, "Stop this madness!" when the madness arises. And we need to be willing to hear it.