In story after story of abuse, the same tragic series of events play out. The abusive pastor engages in destructive behavior for years until someone finally has the courage to speak up. But even then, most churches do nothing. (And as we shall see in the next chapter, some churches attack the one speaking up.) Even if the church does something, it’s often a half-hearted, inadequate response. When the rare church finally removes a pastor for abuse, that just leads to the next questions: Why did it take you so long to act? Why did you tolerate this behavior for twenty-five years?
