If a few years ago you had said that some of the most prominent evangelical ministers in the UK and the USA would be exposed as spiritual and sexual abusers, few would have believed you, at least not about the extent of it. But it has happened, and it has happened in a context full of other pressures.
Church life has been greatly disrupted by the measures taken to contain the pandemic. Christians face marginalisation and increasing hostility toward their ethical convictions. Society itself, at least as perceived through the lens of the media and social media, has been convulsed by a concern with deep-seated systemic sins, and Christians have been divided in their response. Some have embraced the concern as vital for the church’s integrity and witness, others have opposed it as ungodly cultural Marxism. Christians have begun to look at one another like opponents rather than spiritual siblings.
The recent internal abuse scandals therefore come amid many other pressures. It is not an exaggeration to say that this has left many Christians feeling the ground shake under them. For some the abuse scandals are deeply and painfully personal: a trusted spiritual mentor has turned out to be an evil predator, serving his own desire for self-gratifying power rather than the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. Some have been caused to stumble.
