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Church Pledges There Will Be No Cover up in Mega Pastor’s Sex Scandal with Teen Girl
A clashing of values, sex scandals, sin, a mega church leader and at least one teenage girl – all the classic makings of a proper scandal. Unless that scandal isn’t covered up… It’s the cover up, not the crime.
This is the story of how the First Baptist Church of Hammond got it right by refusing to cover up the scandal.
After starting their own investigation into Pastor Jack Schaap last Saturday, the Church came to several conclusions. They were going to fire the Pastor for violating the bylaws via adultery, and they would turn over their information to and cooperate with authorities. “We are going to do what is right no matter what the cost or consequences to First Baptist Church,” a church chairman told reporters Wednesday evening.
Penn State and the Catholic Church might want to listen up.
The Board of Deacons at First Baptist Church of Hammond fired Chicago-area mega-church senior pastor Jack Schaap on Tuesday for the sin of adultery after spying a picture of the pastor making out with a teenage member of the congregation on his phone. It got worse. Last night, he admitted having sex with the 16 or 17-year old girl according to various reports.
At first the church didn’t seem upset about her age, which they noted is the legal age of consent, but rather the “sin” of adultery, as adultery is grounds for dismissal in their bylaws. However, the FBI doesn’t quite agree, and they are investigating whether or not the pastor took his sex games across state lines. Also, Lake County Sheriff John Buncich says the department launched a criminal investigation into both the church and their affiliated college.
A former congregant has alleged that there is also another teenage girl that the pastor was “counseling.”
Okay, so originally her age was not an issue to the church and that’s troubling, because legal or not, there is an inherent imbalance of power that a pastor has over a young girl. It’s an abuse of that power to start off counseling the girl and end up having sex with her. Adding to the idea that the pastor gets off on the imbalance of power is the fact that the teenage girl is younger than his own daughters.
But here is where this 40,000 members worldwide church deserves commendation. They have vowed to uncover all wrong-doing, no matter how it damages the church.
Terry Duff, chairman of the church’s Board of Deacon, said the church is committed to the truth, “No wrong-doing will be covered up. The minute we found out about this, we responded.”
Duff told reporters Wednesday night, “We are going to do what is right, no matter what the cost or consequences are to the First Baptist Church.” And the church backed that commitment up with action, by reporting to authorities what they had uncovered.
No matter how the church is judged based on this pastor’s actions (and their sordid history with another pastor who was accused of molesting a young girl in the ’90′s), the Deacons have pledged that their value lay with the truth and their refusal to cover anything up.
Ironically, it is this sort of commitment to truth and to consistent values that can foster a community of integral principle. Yes, the church is taking some hits right now, and yes, from the outside this pastor appears to tell a familiar tale of predatory church leader, but when the folks in charge don’t look the other way, when they apply their values and the community’s values equally to all, when no one is above the law/rules no matter how beloved or powerful, important principles of adherence to truth and protection of the vulnerable are fostered, thus creating an institution that can be respected rather than reviled.
You might remember Schaap from his internationally broadcasted sermons or perhaps from his books, “Marriage: The Divine Intimacy” and “Dating with a Purpose: Common Sense Dating Principles for Couples, Parents, and Youth Workers.”
Schaap is obviously at the very least a hypocrite and an abuser of his power, but the First Baptist Church deserves recognition for not standing by their man. Some things are more important than our idealization of leaders — like our values.
I don’t have to agree with all of the church’s values to respect consistency when I see it. I only wish that a real conversation about abuse of power would ensue, so that legality wouldn’t take precedence over protecting our young people. This church is doing the right thing, and in doing so they are offering a path to other institutions that have lost their way. At a time when many Christians are feeling betrayed by their church leaders, it’s worth celebrating when right wins out over might, just as one imagines Jesus would have wanted.
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12 Responses to Church Pledges There Will Be No Cover up in Mega Pastor’s Sex Scandal with Teen Girl
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RIC HEIVILIN
Aug. 2nd, 2012 at 5:51 pm
it’s always the so called religious ones, ever notice that.
Goss
Aug. 2nd, 2012 at 7:14 pm
In the long run, I can see this being a very positive thing for this church.
Ignia
Aug. 2nd, 2012 at 7:58 pm
I’m glad to see this happening. About time that a church followed the teachings they claim to follow instead of focusing on narrow self-interest. They certainly have earned this agnostic’s respect.
On another note, if the girl is above legal age of consent, then there cannot be a problem with the age of the girl. I agree with the church there.
However, the issue here would be client-therapist relationship ethic problems.
I have no idea what licensing and certification process religious counsellors go through, but sleeping with your client is enough to face some serious ethics issues before a state or national board, regardless of the client’s age.
Shiva (Moderator)
Aug. 2nd, 2012 at 7:21 pm
I have to give it to the preacher, the books he wrote were straight from the heart
There are many ways to make money in this world, one of them is duping people with religion
A Walkaway
Aug. 2nd, 2012 at 8:06 pm
This is stunning to me.
As many times as I’ve encountered women who’d been raped (and/or molested) by their clergy… usually pastors, and that of the more fundamentalist denominations… that the church actually did something about it is a shock. The usual story is the GIRL being punished, especially if she opened her mouth and sought help.
Maybe it’s because there was unquestionable evidence and that came out without her.
In any case, this is what SHOULD happen. Someone in a Baptist church actually valued the teachings of Jesus and listened to a WOMAN, rather than the usual (denigrating them to second class status). Kudos to them, and I’m impressed (not that I would ever have anything to do with that church).
Oh… and I caught the usual hypocrisy… his sermons as compared to his actions. That’s only a part of what is expected. I just wish the other churches would hear and realize that (see themselves in the mirror).
Sarah Jones
Aug. 2nd, 2012 at 8:17 pm
I was stunned in a good way as well – that’s really why I wrote the story. They were getting hammered in other places, and yet it seemed to me that they deserve credit for not turning their back on a wrong. With so much bad news, I like to include stories that speak to hope for humanity in general.
A Walkaway
Aug. 2nd, 2012 at 10:57 pm
This says that there is still hope for them too. Slim, but hope for real change is clearly there.
If they’re willing to take the hard path, practice self-discipline, and use some heavy self-examination, (along with that generally misunderstood and oft misused word Repent), maybe they’ll become real Christians.
Barbara Fifield
Aug. 2nd, 2012 at 9:18 pm
Bravo! That do take guts. I am not a church member but I live at a Baptist affiliated retirement home in Spokane and do so admire those who are truly Christian and act like it! Thanks!
majii
Aug. 3rd, 2012 at 1:17 am
Thanks for writing about this, Ms. Sarah Jones.
It is rare to hear anything about a church that is willing to support doing the right thing these days. The leaders at the First Baptist Church of Hammond actually live their values. This is the way it should be in all churches. Those who are condemning these church leaders for firing Jack Schapp are on the wrong side of this issue. If he had a sexual relationship with this young girl while being married, he committed adultery and violated the church’s bylaws. I can imagine that the detractors would feel differently if this child were one of theirs. It seems that too many who call themselves Christians revere religious leaders more than they do the teachings of Jesus, and think that they can do no harm. They will go to any lengths to cover up their wrongdoings. If they were really dedicated to following the teachings of Jesus, they would give the boot to people like David Barton, Mike Huckabee, Bryan Fischer, and the other religious shysters sooner, rather than later.
Echelon
Aug. 3rd, 2012 at 7:08 am
Good report Sarah. Thanks for tipping the scales for Christians who get such a bad rap these days.
But I do hope that the church members are willing to expose the pastor not only because they are Christians, but also because it is just the right thing to do concerning the law. You have to report child abuse if you are aware of it.
But it does make you wonder, how many more and for how long?
A Walkaway
Aug. 3rd, 2012 at 11:09 am
I can give you a couple of clues.
If you ever hear a young woman say that her church called her a “Jezebel”, you can safely assume that she’d been raped by her preacher/pastor and tried to get help from someone within the church (ALWAYS a mistake). It’s one of the ways they punish young girls who dare to speak up or resist the subjugation. I’ve talked with too many adult women who after leaving the church, needed help to deal with the horrific damage the more fundamentalist churches do to their followers. (Usually girls who got put through that end up leaving Christianity for the rest of their life, and you can’t blame them.)
Of all of the walkaway women I’ve met, I’d say about a quarter to a third had experienced rape or molestation.
I’m also used to seeing in the local news, that a pastor or minister (of fundamentalist and occasionally mainstream churches) having been arrested for kiddie porn, or molestation, or rape. It happens frequently enough that it’s not a big shock to me. Knowing the prevalence of covering it up (again, in the more fundamentalist churches), I suspect it is common and widespread. So much so that I assume if someone is a fundamentalist preacher, that person is or leans towards being a pedophile or abuser.
BTW… I am a Christian, and I would quickly say that most of what passes as “Christianity” today deserves the “bad rap” it’s gotten. I would advise against going down the “Christians are persecuted in America!” path, however, because that is a lie. They’re the persecutors! I’ve seen it too many times… experienced it personally and severely (others know what we’ve been put through). We go to a UU church, and a lot of the people are people who had been badly burned by “Christianity”. Our entire church is persecuted and harassed, and falsely labeled a “cult” by the very churches that fit the definition (coercive).
Like I’ve said before, my wife and I spend a fair amount of time helping people who have been badly hurt by the “Good Christians” (often just listening to them without criticism, which you won’t find in most churches). It’s a huge problem that pretty much flies under the radar.
Dan Lewis
Aug. 3rd, 2012 at 2:00 pm
How nice, to hear of a group desiring to find and reveal to all the Truth.
If only they would continue on that path and recognize the fallacy of the religion they are psychological victims of. Oh well; step by step. ;)