School for Scandal - Cedarville University

illinoisguy

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Megachurch fires staff member for sexual misconduct (voyeurism) but not to worry, he is immediately hired as staff at Cedarville University as part of their "restoration" program.


 
Megachurch fires staff member for sexual misconduct (voyeurism) but not to worry, he is immediately hired as staff at Cedarville University as part of their "restoration" program.


Those Wascally Fundamentalists at it again...
 
More: https://www.daytondailynews.com/new...re-were-other-victims/bxlBVMWqLLohh5OnXNbFKN/

Their explanation sounds a tad fishy to me.
 
Cedarville University has reported a record high enrollment for the 2020-2021 school year - 4,550 students, an increase of 170 students from last year's 4,380 students. It appears that enrollment at Cedarville is doing well, in spite of the Coronavirus pandemic and last year's unpleasant publicity about the hiring of a staff member with known sexual misconduct problems.

The Fall 2020 issue of Cedarville Magazine contains an excerpt from a Cedarville chapel presentation on September 9, 2020 entitled "Four Responses to the Problem of Abuse" by Chris Moles, also available on Youtube. He states that "We haven't held abusers accountable. We've looked the other way. . . . In abusive situations, the target is always dehumanized. Future pastors, if you come across any case of abuse or neglect, don't fall victim to colluding with the abuser that the victim somehow deserved it. The number one cause of rape is rapists, and the number one cause of abuse is abusers. People are responsible for their actions." This teaching appears to be a welcome and commendable departure from the traditional response to women who have been sexually abused - "They must have been asking for it, they were seductive, they weren't dressed right," blah, blah, blah.
 
But only Fundamentalists have this kind of trouble, right?
At least that is what some would have us to believe.
But only Fundamentalists have this kind of trouble, right?
At least that is what some would have us to believe.
Obviously Fundamentalists don't have exclusive rights to immoral behavior...or covering it up.
Admittedly, they did do more than their share, but it seems to me that the piling on of them has slowed to a crawl. Partly because many in the younger generation have learned lessons and cleaned up their collective act.
And, the movement has greatly been diminished in size, influence and even in the interest of it’s critics.
 
But only Fundamentalists have this kind of trouble, right?
At least that is what some would have us to believe.
I understand you. So many want to believe all of the IFB is bad because they know of 20 or so people who were in the IFB that are bad. Yet, EVERY denomination and sect have had this problem. It is a sin problem and a societal problem, not an IFB problem.

I believe a big part of the problem is that people in general did not know how to address the issue, how to come forward about the issue or how to correct the issue. The exposure has brought not just shock and disgust, but also the need to study and learn how to correct the issue and even work towards preventing the issue.
 
I understand you. So many want to believe all of the IFB is bad because they know of 20 or so people who were in the IFB that are bad. Yet, EVERY denomination and sect have had this problem. It is a sin problem and a societal problem, not an IFB problem.

I believe a big part of the problem is that people in general did not know how to address the issue, how to come forward about the issue or how to correct the issue. The exposure has brought not just shock and disgust, but also the need to study and learn how to correct the issue and even work towards preventing the issue.
Certainly many denominations have had issues. There are certain things that have in the past made IFB churches more susceptible.
IFBs have no oversight beyond the pastor. If rumors start to circulate in most denominations there is a district superintendent that can come investigate. This allows someone who is not as close to the leaders/teachers to investigate.
Beyond the additional oversight most denominations outside of IFB and Catholic don't look at their leadership as infallible and beyond reproach. I think that in recent years a lot of IFBs have made improvements but the structure of them still makes abuse easier to get away with than other types of churches.
 
Certainly many denominations have had issues. There are certain things that have in the past made IFB churches more susceptible.
IFBs have no oversight beyond the pastor. If rumors start to circulate in most denominations there is a district superintendent that can come investigate. This allows someone who is not as close to the leaders/teachers to investigate.
Beyond the additional oversight most denominations outside of IFB and Catholic don't look at their leadership as infallible and beyond reproach. I think that in recent years a lot of IFBs have made improvements but the structure of them still makes abuse easier to get away with than other types of churches.
Catholic is the denomination with the MOST "outside oversight" and yet they used that power to shovel abuser priests from place to place. SBC has no oversight outside the church. Of course, they still have their issues also, it is just that folks on this forum don't know as many of those people.
 
Catholic is the denomination with the MOST "outside oversight" and yet they used that power to shovel abuser priests from place to place. SBC has no oversight outside the church. Of course, they still have their issues also, it is just that folks on this forum don't know as many of those people.
Catholic Church isn't as good of a comparison. They have other circumstances making them unique. For instance priests who cannot marry. Also an organization structure that is almost military in style and has a history of being secretive. Both the IFB and Catholic share in the belief that the MOG is beyond reproach-and often times filters down to anyone on staff. I understand the difficulty of it. Someone who has worked for you and been a friend for 20 years has an accusation against them. You don't know (or don't want to know) if it's true or not and know that once you make the phone call your longtime friend could be going to prison.
Years ago I worked for a small CPA firm and every year we did an internal audit for a medical practice. The partner in charge told me the most important facet of our audit is that the employees see that someone is scrutinizing the records. The fact that they see us there every year would go a long way in keeping the employees honest. If the pastor/asst pastors know there is someone who is tuned into rumblings and rumors in the church and can make inquiries it would do a lot to keep them from thinking they can get away with certain things. In theory if you had a truly independent deacon board or some sort of council you may be able to achieve the same thing as long as they are not taking their orders from the pastor.
 
Catholic Church isn't as good of a comparison. They have other circumstances making them unique. For instance priests who cannot marry. Also an organization structure that is almost military in style and has a history of being secretive. Both the IFB and Catholic share in the belief that the MOG is beyond reproach-and often times filters down to anyone on staff. I understand the difficulty of it. Someone who has worked for you and been a friend for 20 years has an accusation against them. You don't know (or don't want to know) if it's true or not and know that once you make the phone call your longtime friend could be going to prison.
Years ago I worked for a small CPA firm and every year we did an internal audit for a medical practice. The partner in charge told me the most important facet of our audit is that the employees see that someone is scrutinizing the records. The fact that they see us there every year would go a long way in keeping the employees honest. If the pastor/asst pastors know there is someone who is tuned into rumblings and rumors in the church and can make inquiries it would do a lot to keep them from thinking they can get away with certain things. In theory if you had a truly independent deacon board or some sort of council you may be able to achieve the same thing as long as they are not taking their orders from the pastor.
You make a good point. I like the idea of a church having an external financial audit every year and indeed have been a part of IFB churches that did this. I worked at one IFB church where a pastor had been sent to prison some time past for relations with a minor. They had implemented good standards of security including a background check on all volunteers and had an external team do a training every year on how to spot an abuser, what to do if you suspect an abuser, how to respond to accusations and policies to prevent an abuser to have access. The SBC church I am a part of now utilizes an online service to do something similar, but it isn't quite as effective because you don't have people showing up and talking to everyone at once. Instead, volunteers just watch the video on their own time, take the quiz and can be a volunteer after their background check and one year of membership.
 
My wife and I know many excellent people who have gone to Cedarville. No institution is going to be perfect. Anyone can find flaws/faults if they look hard enough. Its so much easier to tear down than to build up.
 
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