According to Sourcewatch.org,"Whistleblowers are usually ordinary people, often longstanding employees and experts in their field, who take huge professional and personal risks to blow the whistle on corporate and governmental wrongdoing. They are often a lesser-known but vitally important part of government and industry regulatory and advisory systems. They are generally harassed, vilified, and fired or forced to resign." It is sad that this happens in the corporate world but the church is not above such behavior either. What plagues the secular world comes into the church, not because church people are hypocrites, but because church people are works in progress, sinners in need of grace, steeped in the culture of the world around them. People in the church are accustomed to secular, worldly thinking and reasoning from the pastor on down. We were all born and raised in a broken culture and are likely to manifest the brokeness of the culture because we are not yet perfected.
When someone "blows the whistle" and brings to light or sheds some truth on an area of darkness within the congregation that person may not be received with open arms. The truth may refer to the actions of a church bully, a very powerful individual that the pastor does not which to confront. Instead the response may be to blame the victim(s) or diminish the actions of the bullies behavior. The information may be that funds are being misappropriated or that there are leadership indescretions of a personal sort. There could be a situation where someone is not taking their responsibillity and is seriously lax in their committed service. There could be sexual harrasement or spousal abuse. The pastor or council may have a peace at any price stance and the "whistle blower" or "tattletale" is seen too often as disturbing the peace, sowing seeds of discord, having an axe to grind. Often the reporter of the offense is attacked with blame the victim attitudes and statements such as, " you are not being submissive to authority, if you were, this wouldn't be a problem", " you just want your own way", "you are too emotional"," you are mentally ill," "women are to be subject to men" and so on. This is called spiritual abuse. It is the idea that we are all created equally but some are more equal than others. It has a name, Complementariansim. Click on the picture for an excellent article on that issue as it relates to men and women in particular.
Pontious Pilate washed his hands of Jesus's case and said he could find no fault in the man when he sent him off to be crucified to appease the Sadduces and Pharisees. Truth was crucified on the cross. Truth is crucified in our churches when we fail to listen to the whistleblowers and consider wether they speak the words of a prophet, exhortation or make believe. I know quite a few who have. Unlike the little little boy in the Emperors new clothes, they have seen that the Emperor was naked, called it out and were silenced. Some of these people attend the church and do not get involved. "It will do no good if I say anything," they tell me, nothing will ever change and no one listens to me anyway." Others have left the church because they are tired of beating their heads against the wall. I know of women who were in abusive relationships because their pastors told them the wife was to be subject to the husband. I don't remember Jesus saying to "beat the sheep". I know of a man who was discounted by a pastor because he admitted his part of sin in a relationship and trouble with mental illness. The other party in the relationship was never called to accountability. Sadly instead of reconcilliation, these stories end with broken hearts, and relationships. Jesus talked about how poorly the prophets of old were treated. We can read the accounts ourselves if we open the books in the Old Testament.Jesus was himself revivled for speaking truth. It is time church that we listen to the modern prophets. We may not like the tone of their voices or their choice of words, but we need to listen, or like, Pilate confused we will ask rhetorically, "What is truth?" when it is standing right in front of us, or like a former president, "It all depends on what the definition of is, is." I guess it all depends on whose Ox is getting Gored. As it was in the beginning is now, but Never shall be...
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