When an elder board or Christian organization is faced with accusations that their pastor or leader is abusive, we need to realize they may already have the following assumptions: (1) this is an isolated incident (what dead bodies?); (2) this pastor seems like an honest, good person whom we know and love (there are no monsters); (3) everyone’s an awful sinner and blame must exist on all sides (everyone’s a monster); and (4) accountability isn’t needed because conflicts can be solved if the two parties just meet together (just meet with the monster).
