The church needs to state that it wants to avoid a culture of fear where people are afraid to speak and instead values a culture where all voices are heard, respected, and valued—even, and perhaps especially, if they are critical of the church leadership. Churches need to be careful that an accountability system is not misused in a way that encourages criticism of the pastor. The goal is not to stir up complaints and grievances. After all, there’s never a shortage of those. Rather, the goal is to create a safe space for concerns to be raised so there isn’t undue retaliation and targeting of
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