Christspeak, Rx

Setting aside the fact a Congressman attempted to have sex with a 16 year old page(s)…

That is the first problem with this whole mess of tying Foley’s behavior to his Republican friends. I understand that Foley resigned and is no longer politically relevant. The fact is that Foley is the alleged predator and he must be held accountable.

Anyone who has been in leadership, be it in a church, school, or business will eventually face similar circumstances that Mr. Foley’s staff and fellow congressmen find themselves in today. I have experienced several as an elder in a large church and as a business owner.

Years ago, several black employees complained a foreman who worked for our best client was making stupid, racist remarks to them, albeit in a good nature way. He’d see my crew chief and call him “Black Beauty,” and he had similar names for the other crew members. They were embarrassed and offended. I could have told them the guy was a moron, but he- as a customer- is responsible for their paycheck, so buck up.

Instead, I called his boss and told him what happened. He didn’t see the big deal, so I reasoned with him. He’d worked with this foreman enough to know he ran his mouth too much, so tell him not to talk with my crew at all. I also confronted the foreman. I didn’t care if he did not mean anything by it, if he wanted my work he needed to deal with me directly.

As an elder, I know there is a camaraderie or bond that is formed between the pastoral staff and other elders. Years after my tenure, the head pastor, a longtime friend of mine as well, began a long-term affair with married woman. When the affair was discovered, he knew to publicly repent, but he and the woman made several attempts to abandon their families (they each had more than a few kids).

In the aftermath, many of us recalled numerous warnings we’d ignored from people we should have paid attention to, including the pastor’s wife. Other affairs were revealed among leaders. A disturbing pattern of abused church members, and even a few abused spouses would come before church leaders seeking help, only to be ignored. The truth was we were all friends who put our relationships with others before our duty as elders.

When our pastor confessed his affair, I was immediately convicted of my negligence as a leader, even though it had been many years in the past. From that point on, I became vigilant for the protection of church members. It cost my wife and me life-long relationships and eventually my eldership was permanently rescinded. (Thank God!).

Back to Foley and Congress

I imagine Foley had many friends on both sides of the aisle. When the emails were revealed, he was probably warned- and given his relationship and reputation, Foley lied about his intentions. They were all extremely busy men who didn’t want to be distracted.

I would hope they, (Congress), will put in place a system where pages and any staff can report misconduct… a system that does not involve Congress. This way, when offenses occur, they will be reported to proper authorities, rather than our nation’s leaders.