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There are wolves within, and there are sheep without.― St. Augustine of Hippo, City of God

In September, Christianity Today wrote Deep in the Heart of Megachurch Country, Dallas Mourns a Summer of Pastor Scandals. Media groups and social media commentors are noticing what appears to be a slew of resignations and firings of wayward pastors in the area. One might be tempted to think something is “really wrong” or different in churches in the Heart of Texas as opposed to my area of North Carolina known as the Triangle.

“It’s strangely localized and time-bound. I don’t know how to account for that,” said Rob Collingsworth at Criswell College in Dallas, who is plugged into Baptist church circles through his work with the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention. The churches involved in these scandals are either nondenominational or part of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Victims of abuse or part of a demonic attack of the church?

On this blog, some hurting and angry congregants of these churches commented that what is happening is a “spiritual attack.” In evangelical parlance, this means that Satan (or his minions) has targeted these churches because those churches were effectively doing God’s work, and Satan doesn’t like it. I have heard of prayer meetings attempting to “bind Stan” from being able to perform his evil deeds. Yet, we find no evidence that Jesus taught such a doctrine. Here is a good explanation of Matthew 18:18.

It is the prevalence of such beliefs that hurt those who are exposing the abuse that they endured. Were Cindy Cleminshire, Melissa Hobson, and others in cahoots with Satan when they said pastors molested them? Is it any wonder that approximately 85% of the brave and beautiful survivors of such assaults that I have interviewed at TWW leave the church?

The abuser is quickly forgiven and celebrated, and the victims are ignored.

How many members of churches offer cheap grace to the offender while paying lip service to the victim? It was stunning that some female adults at my former SBC church came to the trial of Doug Goodrich and sat on his side in the courtroom. They did not sit on the side where some young teen boys bravely testified to their abuse. Those women asked for leniency for the offender. I have heard many of those teen boys grew up and struggled.

The church is a business, so those on the low rungs of the organization, the pew sitters, are not “in the loop.”

DFW is home to some of the largest evangelical megachurches in the US. I spent ten years in Dallas and was stunned at the number of monumental churches. The CT article made a fascinating observation.

And Dallas megachurches operate like large businesses, said Denison, who now leads the Denison Forum in Dallas. He sees church responses, which often include quick resignations and little explanation, as “fiduciary protection of the institution.”

“Dallas is only here because of banking during the frontier era and now oil,” he said. “It’s a very business-centric sort of context. As a result, everything is run in a business sense.”

That means these churches have resources and a sort of professionalism when it comes to dealing with a crisis. That could be used to cover up wrongdoing to protect the institution, but it also could be an asset, Denison said.

I take my church life quite seriously. If a pastor suddenly disappeared and I was told to “Trust us on the details,” I would demand answers. Demanding answers is what a person who cares about the church would do. However, in megachurchville, members are often considered “giving units,” and pastors are merely podcasts on legs. Members of large churches may never get to know their senior pastor except for a quick handshake on the way out the sanctuary door. This is not a church. It’s a well-run social club that makes tons of money.

So, it’s a mess. What’s going on?

Jesus told us there would be predators in the church.

My former SBC church began to attack me and others who asked some hard questions about the abuser’s prolific history and access to young teen boys. We believed the church had warnings about this former SEBTS seminary student and ignored them because it was just “locker room talk.” Like Sgt. Schultz, the church, said, “I know nothing. I saw nothing.” We became the problem, and most of us left the church.

I know some people will use the church for their benefit. They will hurt decent people in the church by their words and actions. Why are we surprised when this happens? (I know I was when my church attacked me for asking questions about a predator’s unfettered access to many teen boys.) We overlook the harsh words of Jesus, who told us to beware the reprobate in the pulpit/church  in Matthew 7: 15-21 NIIV:

¹⁵ “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. ¹⁶ By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. ¹⁹ Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

²¹ “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²² Many will say to me on that day,‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ ²³ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

I believe there are thousands of pastors and church leaders who are wolves. Jesus told us these predators were cleverly disguised as harmless sheep within the church. Sadly, I predict many more people will be injured by these exploiters who use the people and institutions of the church for their gain.

Take a look at my quote at the top. St Augustine recognized this as the bishop of Hippo Regius in Roman North Africa from 396 to 430.

There are wolves within, and there are sheep without.

During my experience at my former church, I began to understand that I could not and would not “trust” the authority of a pastor until I could observe him for an extended time. It took me 2 1/2 years to become comfortable enough to join my Lutheran church. I wanted to be sure that I was looking at a true shepherd. Yes, we all have fallen and must confess our sins regularly. I was not looking for a perfect church or leader, but I was determined not to overlook those whom Jesus called the evildoers. I am still determined to watch out for them.

I still believe in the church, but some will use it for personal benefit. The more I looked, the more I found evidence of those who Jesus spoke about so long ago. I was startled by how many predators were present when I started blogging. I am less so the longer I do this. I think we all need to take a step back and look at the challenging words of our Lord.  Matthew 18:2-6.NIV

Jesus invited a little child to stand among them. 3“Truly I tell you,” He said, “unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5And whoever welcomes a little child like this in My name welcomes Me.

6 But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.

These words should be preached from the pulpit regularly. It’s time we understood what the church is up against, both inside and outside. We need to look at the whole counsel of Scripture. It’s far too easy to focus on the “nice” verses.

So, DFW churches reflect the state of the church in general, be it California, the Triange, the Triad,  Florida, New England, etc. There will be wolves in those places, far more than we could have imagined. It’s time for the church to wake up and take Jesus’s warnings seriously. I predict there are many more surprises in store for the church.