The Bob Jones DisG.R.A.C.E. Report: Hope for Change if God Cooperates
G.R.A.C.E. stands for “godly response to abuse in the Christian environment.” GRACE is a mediatory organization funded by the institutional church that investigates sexual abuse within Christian environments such as churches, missionary societies, and universities.
Their investigative report process in all cases so far has been slower than mud sliding to the top of Mount Everest. In the case of Bob Jones University, the report will finally be released tomorrow as the Christian community awaits with bated breath. Gag.
I am not going to spend much time on this post because I prefer to let the dead bury their own dead in regard to all of this institutional church drama. GRACE, and their approach, is predicated on Protestant Gnosticism and will not help anyone or do anything towards solving this problem. Boz Tchividjian, the director of GRACE, believes a false gospel and is a blind man leading the blind.
Let me keep this post simple and short because I have written other articles that delve deeply into what the mystical Boz believes, and I will do so by focusing on the closing words of Steve Pettit who read a statement today in regard to the GRACE report. Pettit is the President of BJU. At the end of what he stated must happen as a result of the GRACE report which apparently informed BJU of what was going on in their own university, he said that what must happen will happen by, watch it, here it comes…”the grace of God.”
Right. You see, there is only one thing worse than rape: people bringing about change in their own efforts. The “godly response” must be grounded in what Jesus did, not anything we do. And note that this change comes about by the “grace” of God. Let me rephrase that to clear things up for you: “This will happen by the justification of God,” or “This will happen by the salvation of God,” or “This will happen by the gospel of God.”
They all believe the same thing: we are sanctified by the same gospel that saved us. And you know, this is really “hard work” because of our tendency to do things ourselves, or in our own efforts like you know, Penn State. Sure, they slam-dunked the problem, but God didn’t get any glory. We can’t have that! And as Pettit also stated, the “process” (there is still a process?) is going to take a really, really long time. Hopeful yet?
Apparently, God deliberately takes a long time to deal with these situations so that we will know it has nothing to do with anything we do, but what Jesus has done. That’s the “godly response.”
Now back to the Boz. Why is the mere reporting of all of this such a big deal? Pharisees like us are inclined to say, “A report, so what?” Well, how were you saved? “By faith and repentance.” There you go. The report is designed to elicit deep repentance which results in the manifestation of change brought about by God’s grace, not anything we do. That brings me to the final words of Boz in regard to his statement on the report:
As this historical process comes to an end [no kidding], we continue to pray that the words of this report will fuel hope and healing in the lives of many as well as bring about transformational changes in the life of Bob Jones University. To that end, we look forward to having a front row seat at watching God work.
Right. We only need the GRACE reports to show us how wicked we are, and how much we need God’s grace, then we sit back and watch “God work.” And you know, when it comes to rape God is in no big hurry to stop it lest we believe we did something in the process. If it takes a really, really long time, it must surely be of God.
And these guys are getting paid for this stuff with your hard earned tithe money. You may want to give that some thought.
paul
Paul's Passing Thoughts 
From the first paragraph of the introduction of the GRACE report:
“This bold required the institution to focus on its past as it publicly committed to examining how it may have caused deep hurt in the lives of students who had suffered from the ravages of sexual assault…This bold step required the institution to seek truth humbly as it embarks upon a journey of understanding how to demonstrate love and compassion to those who have been hurt.”
Caused deep hurt? Demonstrate love and compassion? Notice the terms in which everything is couched? No, let’s call it what it really is: the insitution was complicit in the perpetrating of CRIMES! The best way to show love and compassion is for there to be justice!
I’ve only gotten to page 6 and already I’m disgusted.
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“According to the counseling principles espoused by BJU’s counselors, the occurrence of sexual abuse or sexual assault brings ‘a trial’ upon a victim, to which the victim may choose to respond righteously or sinfully. A righteous response to a trial is one that is most like Christ.”
~ G.R.A.C.E. Report, page 63
This is clearly a result of the reformed doctrine of suffering for the believer.
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It’s all predicated on Luther’s Theology of the Cross.
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I’m sorry to keep posting so many of these, but so many of G.R.A.C.E.’s conclusions in the report are so profound!
” ‘The heart of the problem is a problem of the heart.’ This adage aptly captures a central tenet of discipleship among BJU counselors: many struggles in people’s everyday Christian walk are rooted in sinful attitudes of the heart that can be remedied by repentance and adjustments in thinking. The application of this discipleship tenet to sexual abuse counseling is fraught with risk for the abuse victim. Misapplication can result in victims being grossly ill-served. Abuse victims will be underserved to the degree the impact of sexual abuse is misconstrued to be an issue of sinful heart attitudes that requires detection and repentance, rather than recognized as evidence of possible psychological trauma requiring skilled assessment. In such a case, the counseling needs of the abuse victim will likely be underestimated. Biblical knowledge rather than trauma expertise will be the primary criteria for counselor selection. Abuse victims will be ill-served to the degree that the misapplication of the “heart problem” tenet adds to their guilt, shame, and self-blame. This is likely if common psychological responses to sexual victimization such as sorrow, grief, and fear are mislabeled as deliberate sinful choices, rather than as pre-wired symptoms of soul injury. Viewing the psychological aftermath of abuse as primarily a spiritual problem also places the burden on victims to solve their problems through their own spiritual effort. Recalcitrant symptoms become the victim’s fault and responsibility.
“Despite the recognition that medical problems can affect behavior and emotions, there seems to be little appreciation among BJU counselors of the substantial scientific evidence that Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and other trauma-related anxiety and affect conditions are likely to have neurobiological causes. As a result, BJU counselors may not be referring abuse victims for appropriate medical evaluation.”
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A BJU adage? That’s 99.9999% of ALL evangelical counseling.
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Forgot to cite the reference for the above. That was on pages 76 and 77 of the report.
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“When the dominant note on abuse is forgiveness and not lament, victims continue to suffer under the abuse’s heavy weight. Emphasizing an easy forgiveness instead of lament communicates that the main problem is the victim, not the abuser and the abuse. This exacerbates the shame that victims already feel in the wake of the abuse.”
~ Page 106, from the G.R.A.C.E. report
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Ya Andy, you are doing my homework for me. On the one hand, I would have never dreamed that I would agree with the Boz, but on the other hand, GRACE is dissing the magnum opus of biblical counseling for the past 20 years! This will be addressed in the second segment of FR tonight.
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From page 108 in the GRACE report:
“Abusers are experts at manipulating people. They can abuse because they deceive and manipulate people to achieve their end. When confronted, abusers will often admit to a lesser offense, minimize what happened, deflect attention from themselves, make a false show of sorrow, or otherwise say what needs to be said to avoid or lessen responsibility.
“In the Christian environment, this often means using Christian ideas and theology to manipulate others to avoid responsibility. Leaders in the Christian environment must diligently uphold a fully biblical standard of repentance for the sake of protecting victims and holding perpetrators accountable for their atrocious actions.”
This perfectly reflects Steve Pettit’s attitude in his “official” response to the release of the report. I don’t believe we can ever expect any real honest changes or results to come of all of this.
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Listen folks: simply pick out key words from the Boz’s criticisms and what he blames abuse on and then Google them. Be ready for surprise. He is dissing the who’s who of biblical counseling and blaming their counseling logic on victim blaming. Of course, this ministry has been stating that for 5 years now based on what we know Luther et al believed about the gospel. Andy is right, nothing will change because…well for example, the 2015 Shepherds Summit theme is Luther and Calvin as spiritual heroes and stalwarts of truth. Yet, the Reformed did not pull Theology of the Heart biblical counseling from thin air–it is predicated on Luther’s Theology of the Cross.
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Pearl,
I havent gotten that far in the report yet, but this entire section on the misuse of Matthew 18 is excellent!
From pages 114-117 of the GRACE report:
“Several BJU counselors affirmed that Matthew 18 applies in some form to cases of sexual abuse… Several reported instances of sexual abuse (including the 2009 recorded chapel sermon previously discussed) indicate that some BJU officials encouraged victims of sexual trauma to confront their abusers personally. This application universalizes the passage beyond the originally intended horizon. Jesus never intended Mathew 18 as an approach for more serious crimes like murder, kidnapping, or sexual abuse. To do so is a dangerous misinterpretation and misapplication of the Bible. Like all Scripture, Matthew 18 has to be interpreted within its context and applied with wisdom.
“The Bible teaches how to handle sin in many passages, and God intends all of these passages to work together to help his people address a variety of sins and situations. There are at least two other important factors about sexual abuse that Matthew 18 does not address, but which other biblical passages do address. First, abuse is a particularly horrific degree of sin that involves a power differential between the perpetrator and the victim. Second, abuse is a crime, not just a personal offense.
“The Bible addresses an appropriate response to horrific sins that are also crimes in passages other than Matthew 18. Matthew 18 is a general guideline for dealing with personal offenses in the church: ‘If your brother sins against you.’ Jesus wants His followers to handle personal offenses in this way so that they actually resolve matters and they do not affect the fellowship within the church. These types of offenses would mainly affect the relationship between the two people. If one brother listens to the other, then the matter does not need to go any further.
“The sin of sexual abuse is on a scale that simply cannot be adequately addressed by these steps, and Jesus never intended His statement to be misused and misapplied to sexual abuse. Someone who abuses others sexually is a threat to the entire community. Jesus gives His followers other passages so they will know how to deal with these more serious sins. In the immediate context, Jesus lays a foundation of the seriousness of sins against children. Those who cause a child to stumble will have to answer for it with something worse than millstones.
“Abuse is different from other sins in that it exploits a difference in power. The abuser is stronger than the victim and takes advantage. The abuser has demonstrated that he is and remains a danger to others and is willing to prey upon the weak. God equips Christians to intervene when this is the case. A comparable analogy comes from Matthew 7:15 where Jesus warns His church to guard against ravenous wolves who could destroy the flock. God does not respond to wolves by sending the weak and abused right back into their hands. Instead, the Bible teaches to guard against them and expel them. When the strong prey upon the weak, the Bible commands: ‘Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.’
“The last thing God would have His people do is send the weak right back into the hand of the wicked. Dr. Berg says Matthew 18 would not apply to a child or to university students, but truly Matthew 18 does not even apply to adults who have been abused. An adult—man or woman—
who has been raped is still the victim of a power differential, and it is heartless to send victims
to face the abusers who terrorized them. This is certainly not what Jesus commands in Matthew 18.
“Scripture calls God’s people, time and time again, to use their power for the sake of the weak. Bringing equilibrium to the power differential is the only way to achieve the safety victims need and that God commands His people to provide. Those with power must step in and protect the victim and other potential victims from the abuser who is a danger to those who are weak in the entire community.
“Misapplying the steps of Matthew 18 to cases of abuse is just what an abuser would want. Following Matthew 18 in cases of abuse ignores the power differential and the Bible’s call to intervene on behalf of the vulnerable. Abusers are master manipulators. Having a victim confront the abuser plays right into the perpetrator’s hands. Applying Matthew 18 to sexual abuse allows abuse’s reality to stay hidden and unexposed. Perpetrators can then remain in a position to abuse and avoid any consequences for their offenses. God never intended for Matthew 18 to undermine the clear moral imperative to protect the vulnerable.”
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Um, see those who are on GRACE’s board and their complicity with SGM, and their use of Matthew 18 in that scandal. The hypocrisy here is completely over the top.
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Nevertheless, I agree with the Boz’s obvious assessment on Matthew 18. Question: what does GRACE recommend according to a right course of action?
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Well, GRACE has finally begun using the “J” word in their rhetoric. Probably because they have been called out on being adverse to using the word. Download the file, and then save as PDF on your PC. This will enable you to do word searches in the document. If your program lacks that feature, do Ctrl + F. “fully biblical standard of repentance” is the downward trajectory of the infamous cross chart.
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“J” is for “Justice”
Hmmm…I wonder what that “certain manuscript” could possibly be?
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Ya, what does the GRACE report say that is? We know the norm: “Forgive as you have been forgiven,” but what does GRACE say specifically about the victim’s response?
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