Things that Matter

Regrettably, yet another church has found itself enmeshed in scandal through the gross moral failure of its pastor. Not surprisingly, many questions are being asked: Exactly what happened? How far did this go? How long has it been continuing? Are there others? Who else knew? For how long have they known?

While some interest grows out of voyeuristic curiosity as to the sordid details, there are legitimate questions about the scope of the problem. You cannot be sure that you have addressed the entire problem if you do not know what and how big it is. Consequently, in addition to various state and federal investigations into possible crimes, the church has initiated its own investigation.

When circumstances impel an investigation, then to accomplish its purpose, one must do the investigation right. Where issues of testimony and reputation are involved, it must also look right. Persons must be able to look at the investigation and take it seriously for them to have any confidence in its outcome. While your best course is to avoid the need for such an investigation, if you find yourself in that difficult position and want your investigation to be taken seriously, there are some things you need to avoid.

First, do not imply that a primary concern is about your liability. Believers will be concerned about the effect on God's name. As Nathan told David, "by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme" (2 Sam. 12:14). Believers and unbelievers alike recognize the human cost to victims of such sinful, abusive behavior. The violation of the innocence of children is unconscionable. It is an evil that we dare not underestimate—remember Jesus talking about millstones (Matt. 18:16, for example). They will be scarred for the rest of their lives, and this will in turn affect their future families. Such behavior also assaults families now: husbands, wives, parents, children, siblings. Further, it disrupts church families, individuals whose faith is assaulted by this evil.

In announcing and running your investigation, do not create any grounds for thinking that you are not focused on the gravity of the sin and of these consequences. Do not create any grounds for observers perceiving that your key concerns are who else might fall (from power) or how much might this cost. Do not make it look like the effect on you is more significant in your thinking.

And by all means, do not refer to the investigation as an exercise in risk management!

Not that there is anything wrong with risk management. Risk managers grapple with the possibility, the "risk," of the occurrence of certain events and the potential for resulting loss: natural disasters (like tsunamis damaging power plants); accidents, even negligent ones; and professional errors resulting in malpractice claims. My first significant encounter with risk management was with free continuing legal education funded by professional malpractice insurance carriers who concluded that the cost of an ounce of prevention (teaching lawyers to avoid behavior that often leads to malpractice claims) was much less than the cost of a pound of cure (defending malpractice claims after the lawyers has been sued).

But the term does not fit well here. The investigations here are not really dealing with the same sort of events. They involve willful misconduct. Moreover, in instances like these, there is no longer a mere "risk" of such an occurrence. Any preventative measures have proved insufficient. The "risk" has become reality. The conduct has occurred. The issue is real. Now.

Further, referring to this as "risk management" is simply out of place. It is not a typical pastor's word. How many church leaders talk in those terms? Thus, it sounds artificial. It leads one to wonder whose arrival is fostering this terminology and what other effects the involvement might have.

Finally, referring to this as risk management suggests that the focus is on the consequences and, more specifically, on the consequences for you. That should be at the bottom of your priority list.

In sum, if you want your investigation to be taken seriously, you must avoid this pitfall. There are several other pitfalls to avoid. I will turn to those next.