Cover-ups and complicity show contempt for God’s Kingdom

I’ve followed Diane Langberg long enough to understand that there’s a narcissistic machine that often underlies the narcissistic Christian leader. If there’s not, there’s no hope for such an entitled, exploitative, unempathetic leader to survive.

But narcissistic leaders do thrive where groupthink reigns; where all the leaders under a key leader are merely puppets of his will. Cover-ups and complicity are inherent to the culture.

Acts of obedience are the direct interest of all who call Christ their King, but these can quickly be skewed when subtle forms of abuse are apparent. And the subtler they are, the more malevolent and harder to root out they become.

So, let’s unpack this bolt of fire from the keyboard of the person I consider to be the most pivotal and poignant Christian voice within the world of advocacy for abuse and trauma today:

“When we as a body of Christ cover-up or are complicit with the evils of abuse we have joined ourselves to the Prince of Darkness, NOT the God of all Light.”— Diane Langberg, PhD.

As diligent Christians we are easily hoodwinked into “obeying” God in our diligent followship of, in this case, a narcissistic leader. We may not even know, because if we did, we would need to deal with our consciences.

The more compliant the body of Christ is, the more impressive the key leader is, the bigger the potential issue.

Let’s face it, it’s easier—far, far easier—to make a stand that won’t get you in hot water, fired, or threaten your church membership, or your ministry and family security.

If we make a stand against a narcissistic system we stand to be scapegoated; the sins of the institution are sent on the back of the goat Azazel, into the wilderness, so the institution can breathe easier knowing their “sins” are “atoned” for (see Leviticus 16:8). We read the term “scapegoat” the way that it’s used in the wrong way, but the original scapegoat was evil—that sin did NEED to be sent away. The problem is, and this happens all the time, narcissistic institutions send an innocent person, couple or family out, all the while protecting the very ones who, before God, ought to be swiftly brought to account.

Leaders who ask (read, “require”) their people to kowtow to a policy that sees people excommunicated, silenced, isolated and excluded, especially where there’s no recourse for disagreement, are a major concern. Yet, a lot of this goes on in secrecy, and only those in the purple circle know anything about it, and it’s their nature to protect their power.

It’s so sad that it’s usually very well-meaning Christians who are duped the most. And that’s most of us.

“I mean, how on earth is OUR pastor like that? That man could not abuse anyone! He’s nothing but a beautiful man, so humble, and his sermons… we are so lucky to have SUCH a gifted pastor… well, we ARE a special church, after all.”

(There’s the narcissistic echo of a droning dark machine in these few sentences.)

Well, appearances are deceptive. Remember, for everyone, it’s easier to go with the flow. Consciously or subconsciously we know we’re going the more comfortable route, and we abide conveniently within the biases without discerning the depth of the falsehood.

Why? Because to rock the boat means taking a personal fall. And who would do that? There is too much to lose. Can you see how much of a threat it is to speak your mind? It will get you worse than absolutely nowhere.

Except, this.

It’s building for the Prince of Darkness.

As we turn away from the possibility that we might be missing at least a portion of the truth, we show contempt for God’s Kingdom.

What we desperately need in our churches and Christian communities is space for vociferous disagreement, time and grace to settle divisive issues, where openness and transparency characterise the culture, where leaders constantly reject the temptation to misuse their power, and where the institution is set up to guard against abuses of power.