If concerned church leaders want to protect their congregations against the kind of sexual misconduct uncovered recently at Immanuel Baptist Church in Little Rock, Ark., they must make sexual ethics a priority, United Methodist leaders who helped create their denomination’s resources on the issue insisted.
“In every congregation, you’ll find people who say they can’t believe their pastor would do such a thing, and you’ll find people who say they’re relieved that the complaint is being addressed,” said Becky Posey Williams, senior director of sexual ethics for the General Commission on Status and Role of Women that oversees education on sexual misconduct for the United Methodist Church.
Michigan Bishop David A. Bard, who worked with Williams on a churchwide sexual ethics resource, said, “As a church, we are committed to fairness and equality and doing no harm — in fact, ‘do no harm’ is one of our historic rules.”
The United Methodist Church’s official focus on sexual ethics began in 1992, when the General Conference, the denomination’s top legislative assembly, adopted its first resolution denouncing sexual misconduct.
Since then, the UMC has developed and implemented detailed resources on prevention and investigation of sexual misconduct complaints, Williams said. All United Methodist annual (regional) conferences are required to have sexual misconduct policies and to conduct sexual ethics training at least once every four years.
The UMC holds sexual misconduct as a “chargeable offense” under church law, Williams said.
The definition of “sexual misconduct” covers a range of behaviors, from gender discrimination and harassment through sexual assault of children and adult sexual abuse, including sexual relationships between pastors and church members, whether male or female. This means people who have been sexually abused in church can file a formal complaint leading to an investigation. (The resource can be found on the agency’s websites, which are located here and here.)
“Sexual misconduct by a clergyperson is a betrayal of sacred trust, not least because a pastor is in a position of power.”
“Sexual misconduct by a clergyperson is a betrayal of sacred trust, not least because a pastor is in a position of power,” Williams stressed.
Williams’ agency developed a curriculum, “Do No More Harm,” to guide United Methodist leaders through the process to investigate a sexual misconduct complaint and to provide information for complainants who often are not familiar with the UMC’s complaint process. (That resource can be found on the agency’s websites, which are located here and here.)
“We can’t do anything until people are willing to name (sexual misconduct) as a problem or a potential problem,” Williams said. “We’ve got to get our head out of the sand and believe this problem can happen and probably already has happened in many churches.”
Failing to respond in ways that focus on accountability and healing for all complaints of sexual misconduct leaves “a black cloud” hanging over a church, Williams said. Often congregations become divided between groups that deny misconduct occurred and groups that long for misconduct to be investigated and resolved, she said.
Bard, the Michigan bishop, said he experienced “a profound moment” some years ago at a conference when a female participant asked the group to name their favorite words about faith, such as “love” and “joy.”
“She wrote the words on a whiteboard, and when the group finished responding, erased all the words,” Bard recalled. “She said that’s what sexual misconduct does to a church — it erases faith language.”
Williams said her agency “takes prevention seriously.”
“During training, I often ask participants for their attitudes around gender, power and sexual assault,” she said. “I believe those attitudes and beliefs contribute in a large way to the problem of sexual misconduct. If a person believes one gender is superior to another, they’re going to bring that to their interactions in the church.”
“When sexual misconduct occurs in a congregation, the primary victim is not the only person harmed. Family members, friends and colleagues are also harmed by harassment or abuse in local church settings. The entire congregation can be wounded.”
Beyond individual education for prevention, the UMC urges congregations to develop their own local church sexual misconduct policies. The UMC sexual ethics website introduces three samples of local church policy with an explanation:
“Churches must be proactive in addressing sexual misconduct (including sexual/gender harassment and sexual abuse). When sexual misconduct occurs in a congregation, the primary victim is not the only person harmed. Family members, friends and colleagues are also harmed by harassment or abuse in local church settings. The entire congregation can be wounded: Members may enter into conflict with one another and with the wider church; the congregation may become involved in a painful lawsuit; and people’s faith may be shaken.”
The samples cite five reasons for a church to develop its own sexual misconduct policy:
- Safety, preserving the church as a sanctuary for all persons
- Preventing harm
- Reducing liability by having a policy, a practice that has been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court
- Church law, which in the UMC’s case means following General Conference mandates
- Education, providing an opportunity for clergy, staff and laity to learn about sexual misconduct, consider strategies for prevention and respond effectively when a complaint is lodged
In an introductory video for “Do No More Harm,” Ohio Bishop Tracy Smith Malone, president of the General Commission on the Status and Role of Women, said the guidelines are designed to steer complainants and their supporters through the UMC’s detailed investigation process. The resource includes timelines for processing complaints and “critical decision points” in investigations.
Among resources listed on the United Methodist sexual ethics page are links to how to file a complaint within the UMC, statutes of limitations on sexual abuse and misconduct claims in the UMC, and a link to requirements for clergy to report sexual misconduct allegations. The latter includes a link to another website, Child Welfare Information Gateway, which also links to a State Statutes Search page.
A search on the state statutes page reveals an Arkansas law, Ann. Code § 12-18-402, posted in April 2019, requires clergy to report suspected child sexual abuse. A May 2023 citation also prohibits “mandatory reporters” from preventing their employees from reporting suspected abuse. News reports don’t say whether the alleged sexual abuse at Immanuel Baptist Church in Little Rock was reported to local law enforcement and child welfare agencies as state law requires.
“I encounter most resistance to background checks for those working with children and youths,” Bard said. “While I understand the reluctance, background checks are part of saying, ‘I’m willing to do what’s needed to create a safe environment for our church to do God’s work together.’
“We must raise awareness that no organization is immune to the possibility of harm.”
In addition to “Do No More Harm,” the General Commission on the Status and Role of Women and its consultants have developed another resource, “The Way of Integrity,” a four-part, self-reflection curriculum grounded in Scripture for use in any ministry setting, such as youth ministry, Sunday school and as a sermon series. Through this resource, “we’re inviting everyone to be in dialogue about our values and attitudes about integrity and how we relate to each other,” Williams said.
Williams stressed the development of resources for prevention of sexual misconduct and guidance on how to respond to formal complaints of alleged sexual misconduct are mandates for the General Commission on the Status and Role of Women. The UMC’s complaint process found in the 2016 Book of Discipline states the response will focus on holding people accountable and provide healing for all affected.
“Prevention of sexual misconduct can’t ‘just happen’; it has to be prioritized,” Williams said. She leads seminars on the topic for United Methodist churches and regional conferences. Some states require sexual misconduct prevention training happen each year, she said.
“I understand that most people do not want to do this work, and yet we must,” Williams said. “Each person has a responsibility to help hold one another accountable so that we are in faith communities that prioritize protection and integrity in our relationships with one another.” The question is, ‘Are we each willing to do this?’”
Years ago, while he was a district superintendent, Bard had to administer an investigation of a sexual misconduct complaint against a pastor. Through his years of ministry, he has come to see a local church policy on sexual ethics and misconduct as “simply a good practice,” he said.
Williams and Bard said ample resources are available for pastors and lay leaders who want to prioritize sexual ethics for their churches. However, they reiterated, the key to prevention remains leaders’ commitment to addressing sexual misconduct as a real issue for their churches.
“We want everyone in our churches to know that they can be safe when they worship or enjoy other activities,” Bard said. “Having a policy on sexual ethics is an act of hospitality.”
Cynthia B. Astle, a veteran religion journalist, has covered the United Methodist Church at all levels more than 35 years. She is the founder and editor of United Methodist Insight.
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