Reckoning with Power and Responsibility
by the Rev. Matt Tebbe
When Paul makes a call for unity in the churches he oversees (i.e. 1 Cor. 11, Rom. 14, etc), he places the onus on those who have privilege & power to stop misusing it so that divisions cease.
Paul doesn’t cause church division by bringing attention to it; in fact, he seems to work from the assumption that to ignore a problem is itself a problem. When Paul talks about division he’s doing it because the existing lack of unity is a threat and denial of the very gospel he preached! (Eph. 2-3; Gal. 1-3).
Paul’s words, moreover, are not directed at the person who reported the lack of unity to him; neither does Paul tell the weak/marginalized person to 'get over it' and ‘not let their grievances become their identity.’ Nowhere does he caution those suffering about developing a ‘victim mentality.’
No: Paul is clear that his overriding concern is with the powerful people involved in the disunity; it is they who have the most responsibility in dealing with existing conflicts and divisions. Depending on context that’s: the wealthy (1 Cor. 11), the strong (Rom. 14), the slave owner (Philemon), the rhetorically gifted (1 Cor. 1-4), himself (1 Cor. 8-9).
Paul sees how power is at work in status, economics, gender, ethnicity, and gifting and calls on the person who holds the most cultural capital to take responsibility for the lack of unity in their context.
Taking our cues from Paul: we misplace our energy when we focus on: 1- both sides of a division, i.e. sex abuse survivors and those responsible for dealing with allegations or 2- that person or story or tool which exposes division, i.e the whistleblower who made public their story of abuse.
In order to deal with divisions in the church abuse situations we must:
Identify who has the power via status, economics, ethnicity, gender, positional authority, etc. and
Call on them (or ‘us’) to repent.
Too many of those of us in power fail to see how power operates in the Scriptures and in our world, and how holding power comes with greater responsibility.
We simply cannot lead faithfully unless we reckon with the work our power and privilege do in church abuse situations.
Matt Tebbe is a Priest in ACNA and co-founder of Gravity Leadership. He co-Rectors a church in Indianapolis, The Table. He’s married with two kids who all take delight in the family Golden Retriever.