No More Benefit of the Doubt

ARISE Conference 2019.

A couple weeks ago, the editorial team of Metanoia shared an open letter to journalist David Farrier whose work over the last month has exposed widespread abuse and narcissism within one of Aoteaora’s largest megachurches, ARISE. It comes at a moment in culture where many global neo-pentecostal, megachurch movements face new scrutiny for their contribution to burnout, abuse, and unaccountable leadership. This piece kicks off a series in which we seek to hear from different perspectives on the various issues raised by these recent events.

~

Right now in Aotearoa, the floodgates of pain have been opened for hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders who have in some way been hurt within the church, particularly in a certain type of church.

Yes. Hundreds … of thousands. 

I wonder if the Christian community is paying attention to how this is not just an attack by “wokeness,” atheism, or secularisation, but an expression of the deep distress felt by people who have “given church a go” and been left disappointed at best, devastated or let’s be truthful—suicidal at worst (thinking of LGBTQIA+ Christians who found churches a place of desolation). This ‘collateral damage’ is never measured and so it has no voice. Until rare times like now. 

Sure, it’s only a chunk of a chunk of people from a specific context that David Farrier is giving voice to, but the excuses for this behaviour and culture should not be a surprise. In the last 50 or so years Western Christendom has cultivated the ground for these churches to thrive and they’ve thrived because we’ve made excuses for them. We’ve given them the “benefit of the doubt.” We’ve given them the benefit of the doubt largely because the success metrics and feedback loops built into the fabric of their ‘services’ are remarkable—if that’s what you measure success by—metrics in relation to the church which I struggle to see much scriptural support for. To use the cliché “you will know them by their fruit”—if the growth of these churches had had permanent impact, then the church in New Zealand would not be in decline like it is.

I’m starting to think that the “benefit of the doubt,” when in the context of powerful systems, is either deference, cowardice, laziness, or a lack of critical thinking. Unless it comes at the end of a process where all avenues of inquiry have been exhausted, I think it’s an irresponsible sentiment.  

There is so much connection between the fervour of megachurchism and conspiracy theorists that it’s hard to see the difference—they mirror each other in social dynamics, power structures, and attitudes to truth. Along with a number of other influences, there’s a simple phrase that the mega-churches and conspiracists seem to capitalise on: “They are wrong! Let me tell you what’s right!” Say this with the right mix of lighting, adrenaline, and charisma, and it’s a winning combination. It’s the stuff that rockstars unashamedly indulge in, that sports stadiums saturate themselves in, politicians delight in. It’s not what is being said, but how it’s being presented. And if you can make me feel it, I’ll believe it!

It’s the “Big Man leader” at its best. It’s also got Renee Girard’s mimetic theory plastered all over it:  Take disparate people, create a common yearning, tribalise them by saying they’re not like all those ‘over there’ and enjoy the fervent unity that follows. Appealing to the belly of the populace, they create an energy that embodies how the ‘energy of the many’ is much greater than the sum of the parts. Permeate that energy with the idea that it’s a divine experience and you’ve got people as putty in your fingers. 

Kenneth Copeland is a most egregious example of this. If you were there or part of his congregation when he gave his infamous “COVID-19 pwoof” prayer you would have invested every ounce of your being into his words—because that would be a sign of your faith, your tribe, and your emotional investment. Every ounce, just like those guys on the stage. Spoiler alert: It didn’t work, but it didn’t seem to matter—and these guys know it. Churches which utilise this sort of methodology, and encourage absolute investment, have an internal ‘news cycle’ as well and they can just wait it out. The ridiculousness of that display gets lost in the eddies of time but the consequences of enticing people that COVID-19 had been vanquished likely ended in long-term illness—and no-one is held to account. Closer to home, church communities such as City Impact or Destiny Church railed about lockdowns and vaccinations. This stuff is not benign, we need to stop acting like it is with the ‘benefit of the doubt’.

I concede that this is the toxic excess of neo-pentecostalism, but I also implore us to hold this to account when it shows itself in our own congregations. Movements such as these are infectious as they build up an expectation, a graven image in the form of God’s select chosen, a group of ‘yes people’ in the leadership because they’re holding on to some greater hope and purpose. Give someone an inkling that they might hear the very voice of God, to be able to let you in on divine instruction as you give them a throne for a moment. There’s no greater power play than “God told me to…” There’s also no greater utterance to suspect someone is delusional. And that’s a very fine line. It’s self-aggrandising piffle being spouted out of insecurity of self and, arguably worse, a narcissistic faith. (How much happier the world would be if instead each utterance began “I wonder if God is saying…”?) 

Now, even as I write this, some will be asking me to give the “benefit of the doubt,” typically followed by: “You don’t know how God is working in those people’s [the congregation] lives.” “Who are you to judge?” “You can’t write off a whole movement because of a couple of bad eggs.”

Let me be clear as day. I do judge and here’s a verse that you may find helpful in working through whether I have a right to do so:

“For what have I to do with judging those outside? Is it not those who are inside that you are to judge?” (1 Corinthians 5:12 NRSV).

I judge because these people are damaging, dehumanising, and distorting the Christian faith. These people claim to be closer to God because of their experiences and will openly stand in judgement of “dead” churches who don’t know the truth or follow the Bible (e.g. that churches that support LGBTQIA+ rights or believe in evolution are not faithful followers of Jesus). Look, I’ve heard it all—because it’s been directed at me personally.

I actually get the neo-fundamentalist or megachurch mindset because I used to have one. I loved the ferocity of it, the adrenaline, the rightness of it, the ego soothing, and stature-building race to doctrinal purity. I felt powerful. I abandoned this mindset because after giving an unrelenting diatribe to a person very close to me and they simply responded, “Stu, you’re such a dick” and walked out of the room. That was an important turning point for me. I realised all my rhetoric was ultimately bankrupt bluster—the infamous clanging cymbal of 1 Corinthians 13:1. 

And I wish there was a way to do the same with some of these very powerful people leading these churches. It’s not close to the kingdom of a crucified Christ to have the lights and showmanship. It’s impossible to keep reading the beatitudes while grinding people to the bone for the sake of the church. It’s anathema to the character of the risen Christ to instil in people fear of salvation if they don’t do what they’re told. No, in the words of one of their own champions, “enough is enough!” Come down from these little towers of Babel and embrace humility, find the kingdom hiding in the constant rhythm and gentle tenor of Christ’s words, not in the ossifying words of feel-good pap and twenty-first century leadership speak. 

My voice is most likely a wee mosquito, buzzing around the edges of this behemoth and I accept I’m a mere annoyance that gets swept away with even an accidental wag of its tail. But, I did stand there and say it, and was scoffed at as unspiritual—an experience shared by hundreds of others. And now it takes the scorn of the media to effect any real change. In Arise’s particular case, the trial by media could have been avoided if they’d just listened. The bitter irony for all of us is, that as people who are supposedly seeking the truth, we are vehemently opposed it being exposed. 

~

Stu McGregor is minister at Cityside Baptist in Mt Eden.