#ChurchToo

The email subject line read “Do you remember?”

After years of biting her tongue and trying hard to erase her memory of that night 20 years ago, Jules Woodson emailed her assailant and released a blog post detailing her sexual assault when she was 17. Perhaps the most stomach-churning detail is the man was her youth pastor.

Andy Savage is now the teaching pastor at Highpoint Church, a megachurch located in Memphis, TN. After the blog post began circulating the Internet, Savage addressed his church congregation early in January. Savage didn’t even have the integrity to tell the congregation what actually took place that night in 1998. He said he sinned, but said he never kept it a secret from church leaders, and believed the incident had been dealt with in Texas, where he was the youth minister at the time.

Savage went on to publicly apologize: “Jules, I am deeply sorry for my actions 20 years ago,” Savage said. “I remain committed to cooperate with you toward forgiveness and healing.”  But the pastor also admitted he didn’t realize there “was unfinished business with Jules.” Unfinished business?

On that night 20 years ago, teenagers were at the church after school. All the other teens drove home, but Jules was the only left without a ride. Savage offered to drive her home, but instead he purposefully turned down the wrong street to a dirt road, stopped the car, turned the lights off, and told Jules to perform oral sex on him. He was 22 at the time.

By this act, Savage broke the Texas Penal Code Title 5, Chapter 22, Sec. 22.011. The law explicitly states, “a sexual assault […] is without the consent of the other person if: […] 10) the actor is a clergyman who causes the other person to submit or participate by exploiting the other person’s emotional dependency on the clergyman in the clergyman’s professional character as spiritual advisor…”

After the incident, Jules went to church leaders who, essentially, threw the situation under the rug to cover up what Savage had done. A church is a place meant for safety and security. Every person who ignored her was an instrument in destroying her trust and, potentially, her faith.

Our society has shone a spotlight on the abuse of women by men in power in the last few months. Several stories have revealed men in prominent positions coercing women into unwanted sexual encounters, and our society has responded by saying, “no more.”

At this year’s Golden Globes, women and men stood together on the red carpet dressed in black in support of the #TimesUp and #MeToo movements. Hollywood is making a bold statement that the gross mistreatment of women in its industry, or any industry, will not be tolerated.

But where is the Church?

After Savage apologized to his congregation, he was met with a standing ovation. Savage took advantage of a young girl who trusted him and he was applauded.

It’s no secret the Church has a sticky history when it comes to situations involving abuse and judgment. I’ve heard of several individuals crushed by church leadership when they escaped an abusive marriage or went through divorce. The worst stories are those involving exploitation and sexual abuse that occurred in church walls, by church leadership or were covered up by the Church.

The Church has the responsibility of setting the moral example for the rest of the world, and when it comes to this particular issue, we have failed greatly. We have allowed pop culture and the film industry to take hold of the reins and advocate for women while we sit on the sidelines keeping our lips sealed.

We cannot afford to be silent on this issue while other women and men are taken advantage of, because it’s not just an abuse issue. The women and men who undergo abuse, mistreatment and judgment from within the Church are forever impacted by what happened to them. These situations have the potential to permanently turn them from the Church and destroy their relationship with God.

#TimesUp for Hollywood and it’s way overdue for the Church.

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