Is Your Church A Safe Place

 In an era where safety is high on the radar for any secular business, measures are now put in place to make sure that all employees are able to come into work in a safe and protective environment. According to Dr Paul McCarthy, a professor at Griffith University, approximately 2.5 million people have experienced some kind of workplace bullying in their lifetime in Australia alone. In fact, in 2022, a new Respect at Work Bill was passed in the Federal government, putting the responsibility on the employee to put protective measures in place and any failure to do so could result in infringement notices and costly court cases.

These measures, for some in our culture seem ridiculous and unproductive; however, these measures have gone a long way to curbing the effects of bullying in the workplace.

But as businesses prepare their staff for such measures, what are our churches doing? Is there any protective mechanisms in place to prevent workplace bullying? Sadly, I can say not enough is being done.

As a pastor, I had to manage my way through one challenge after another. My situation was slightly different to a business as I was not CEO, nor was there huge amounts of staff working with me. But what we did have required navigation and implementing of measures to make sure people felt protected. I know personally speaking, I could have done more to bring protections in the church while in ministry. 

As I write this blog, it comes from a deep sense of hurt and pain received from workplace bullying practices I received while I was working at the church I attend. It was a prolonged anguish that left me completely unsafe and unprotected. Now keep in mind, I do not believe that those who inflicted the pain set out intentionally to cause me pain and hurt, but clearly the signs where there those things needed to be addressed and sadly, they weren't.

Then there is the issue of rehabilitation. What are churches doing to rehabilitate those clearly hurt by the actions of those causing the bullying. Sadly, for those who have experienced bullying in church environments, not much has been done to help in the healing process and for their restoration. As a whole, churches are quick to dismiss anyone who is suffering because it is easier for those people to drift away than it is to actually face the problem and address it. This is why many people become disgruntled with any church that has treated them unfairly and poorly.

The danger with a blog like this is that it may appear that I am venting because of the pain I have suffered. And maybe there is an element of that. But the truth is, workplace bullying in the church is the elephant in the room no one wants to talk about. The more churches ignore this topic, the more harm they will cause on people going forward.

My heart in this blog is to raise awareness. All churches should be taking this seriously. Right throughout Scripture we are commanded to 'Love one another.' Jesus even goes further and says, Love one another as I have loved you. (John 13:34-35)". For us to fulfill this command, we must take seriously the allegations of bullying and I'll go one step further and suggest it is a requirement of every church to investigate any practices that lead to workplace bullying and provide adequate training to those guilty of misconduct.

I wish I had more training in this area while I was in ministry. 

So, what can we do to address the issue of bullying in any church workplace?

1. Open your eyes and ears.

Most people do not recognize when bullying is taking place mainly because those being bullied and manipulated into silence. They are to carry the burden of being victimized but must not say anything to anyone. Sometimes the rational for this kind of manipulative behavior, is it is better that one suffers than it is to affect the whole church. So, victims are left as the sacrifice for the sake of church unity. 

One of the things we can do is open our eyes and ears to the noises of church life. Victims are easy to spot because they drift of silently without anyone even paying attention. I have lost count of the times I have heard people say that "No one cared that I was suffering. No one even checked up on me." This to me is sad and yet itis the reality in many churches who do not take this subject seriously. 

Do not ignore the hurting. That kind of behavior is not God honoring and it devalues individuals for the sake of the overall ministry. That mindset is very dangerous and irresponsible. Churches will do well to pay attention and ask questions.

2. Train and equip leaders to curb unsafe practices.

In my own experience, the life of the pastor is one almost full church immunity. What I mean by this is this; it is easy for pastors to hide behind the loyalty of their congregations. Such loyalty is great one hand, as it brings peace and comfort in the working environment. But it can also be very dangerous on the other hand. Such immunity can mean lack of accountability. A pastor with unsafe working practices is allowed to continue that behavior unhindered and generally at the cost of many in their congregations. 

Churches who ignore such destructive behavior are facilitating it. No person should be given any liberty to mistreat and abuse those around them. I remember watching a YouTube video from the US where a pastor was highly judgmental and accusatory towards someone in the church. It was a horrible video to watch, and I could imagine the poor person being victimized was left unprotected. I recognize this is an extreme example, but victimization comes with unsafe working practices. Clearly this pastor was given liberty to behave in such a way that was very destructive. 

Churches will do themselves a great favor when they hold their leaders to account for any unsafe practices. It is a learning tool for them as it shows them, they do not have the liberty to behave in such a way and it will make them much better leaders moving forward.

3. Support the victims.

The worst and most ungodly thing any church can do, is ignore unsafe practices. I can say from my own experience of being bullied, I have found that I am alone on the journey to recovery. Alot of my things have not been resolved and hopefully in time that will happen. But the rehabilitation process for me has been a very lonely one. 

Please churches!! Do not ignore the hurting. Do not reject them nor do not keep silent or stay away from finding out what is going on. If there are victims in your church, and there are more than you think, it is all our responsibility to make sure that they are being heard. The worst thing you can do to any victim is silence them. Give them a voice without judgement and without neglect. This of course is all our responsibility. 

In closing, I recognize that no church sets out to victimize anyone. We are all human and are prone to making mistakes. But if mistakes are not addressed and especially if those mistakes lead to hurt and pain to innocent victims, then there is no other nicer way to say it but that we as churches facilitate to abuse. If there is abuse in your workplace, you would do whatever you could to address it. Why should the church be any different? 

My prayer is that we as the church take these things seriously and address any misconduct for the sake of those who have been left suffering for no fault of their own. We owe it to all to make our churches a safe environment for all.