American evangelicals have often looked to UK leaders such as John Stott for inspiration. But while there have been many wonderful examples of faith in the British evangelical church, that same constituency is having to reckon with the chronic abuse perpetrated by a handful of leaders and enabled by a much broader network. In particular, this week saw the publication of a review of the physical, psychological, and sexual abuse committed by a prominent London-based pastor named Jonathan Fletcher. He was enabled to continue his behavior over decades, and he even continued in ministry after his right to minister had been formally removed. It is important that such reports are engaged with, lamented, and reflected on from a number of different perspectives.
But there seems to be a lot of confusion about how to understand these scandals from the most important perspective of all: the spiritual. If we don’t see what’s happening spiritually, then all the other perspectives are lacking, because the spiritual aspect pervades and profoundly influences all the others.
How should we understand the spiritual dynamics? Are the abuse scandals just “the Devil having a field day” (a phrase I’ve heard a number of times), or is something more going on? How should we understand abusers? Are they sinners whom we should pray for, longing for their repentance and forgiveness? Is it right to say things like “There but for the grace of God there go I”? Read More
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