When the Church Protects Its Name Instead of the Wounded By Danny M. Ku
Still, there is a danger in silence that we must be willing to face. Silence can protect the wrong thing. It can preserve the reputation of a church while a wounded soul is left to suffer alone. It can create the appearance of peace, while fear and pain remain hidden underneath. When that happens, silence is not humility. It is not wisdom. It is not the way of Christ.
I write this because I love the church, and because I believe the church belongs to Jesus Christ. It does not belong to family names, traditions, leadership structures, or the fear of what people may think. I write as someone who has lived among and loved Anabaptist people. I have seen much that is beautiful in these communities: sacrifice, simplicity, service, strong families, humility, and a sincere desire to obey Scripture. These things matter, and they should be honored. Yet love for the church should never make us unwilling to examine the places where we have failed.
Some stories are painful to carry. I once came across a situation where a young person had been deeply harmed within a family relationship. For a long time, the pain was carried quietly. When it finally became too heavy to keep hidden, she cried out for help. She went to people who should have listened, protected, and responded with courage. Instead, fear seemed to take over. There was concern about what people would think. There was concern about family shame. There was concern about the reputation of the church. Somewhere in all of that concern, the wounded person’s cry was not answered the way it should have been. What needed to be brought into the light was quietly pushed aside.
That kind of silence does not reflect the heart of Jesus. Our Lord never treated the vulnerable as a problem to manage. He never protected religious systems at the expense of wounded people. He never taught that the reputation of a community was more important than truth, righteousness, and the protection of those who could not protect themselves. Jesus spoke with fearful seriousness about those who harm the little ones.
“But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.” Matthew 18:6
Those are not soft words. They are the words of the Son of God. They show us that the care of the vulnerable is not a side issue in the Christian life. It is close to the heart of Christ. For that reason, we must be honest when we speak about abuse, silence, and authority in Anabaptist circles. This does not mean every church is guilty. It does not mean every leader has failed. Many have served with humility and love. Still, it would not be truthful to pretend that spiritual authority has never been misused among us.
It has happened when victims were urged to stay quiet for the sake of the church. It has happened when forgiveness was pressed upon the wounded before truth was fully heard or repentance was shown. It has happened when submission was preached to those who were hurting, while accountability was not required from those who caused harm. It has happened when questioning a leader was treated almost the same as questioning God. When fear of scandal becomes stronger than the fear of the Lord, we have lost our way.
Scripture does not call us to hide darkness. It calls us to expose it.
“And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.” Ephesians 5:11
That verse is not rebellion. It is not a modern idea. It is the Word of God. If sin is hidden because we are afraid of what people will think, then we are not truly protecting the church. We are protecting an image. An image is a poor substitute for holiness. The church of Jesus Christ is not made clean by silence. It is made clean by truth, repentance, humility, and obedience to God.
“He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.” Proverbs 28:13
We must understand the difference between mercy and covering sin. Mercy does not deny evil. Mercy does not ask the wounded to pretend they are whole. Mercy does not place the burden of peace on the person who was harmed, while the person who caused harm is protected from consequences. True mercy walks with truth. When mercy is separated from truth, it may look kind on the outside, but it leaves wounds untouched and sin unchallenged.
“Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.” Psalm 85:10
Many of us have been taught the importance of forgiveness. Forgiveness is deeply Christian. None of us could stand before God without it. Yet forgiveness must never be used as a tool to silence someone who is telling the truth about harm. Jesus did not teach a shallow forgiveness that ignores sin so everyone else can feel comfortable. He taught a forgiveness that takes sin seriously and calls for repentance.
“Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him.” Luke 17:3
There is rebuke. There is repentance. There is forgiveness. These things belong together. When a wounded person is pressured to forgive quickly so others can move on, that is not biblical shepherding. When someone is told to “just let it go” while the wrong is never honestly addressed, that is not the way of Christ. Forgiveness is holy, but it must never become a cover for fear or neglect.
We have also been taught the importance of submission. Rightly understood, submission is part of Christian order. Yet submission is never a command to endure abuse. It is never a shield for cruelty. A husband is commanded to love his wife as Christ loved the church. That kind of love is sacrificial, gentle, protective, and self-giving. It does not control through fear. It does not use Scripture to dominate. It does not demand obedience while refusing accountability.
“Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it.” Ephesians 5:25
The Bible also speaks plainly to leaders. Church leadership is not ownership over people’s lives. It is not control. It is not protection from correction. It is a sacred responsibility before God. Those who carry it should do so with trembling, humility, and a willingness to be examined.
“Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly… neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.” 1 Peter 5:2-3
James gives an even stronger warning.
“My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.” James 3:1
That should make every preacher, bishop, minister, deacon, father, and teacher pause. God does not take spiritual authority lightly. If someone uses the name of God to pressure, silence, or control another person, it is not a small thing. If a leader becomes more concerned with keeping a matter quiet than protecting the wounded and doing what is right, he should ask whose reputation he is truly serving.
It is especially serious when the wounded person is young, vulnerable, dependent, or afraid. A young person does not have the same strength, words, or power that adults have. They depend on adults to protect them. When those adults protect a family name, a respected person, or a church reputation instead, the damage reaches far beyond the original wound. It teaches the wounded that their pain matters less than appearances. It teaches them that the church is not a safe place for truth. It teaches them that speaking up may cost them more than staying silent. That is a heavy burden to place on a hurting soul, and it is not the heart of Jesus.
The heart of Jesus is seen in the way He moved toward the broken, the overlooked, the shamed, and the powerless. He touched those others avoided. He listened to those religious people dismissed. He defended those who were being crushed by harsh judgment. He had no patience for religious hypocrisy that looked clean on the outside, while hiding corruption within.
“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.” Matthew 23:25
We should be careful before we assume verses like this only apply to someone else. If our homes look orderly but fear rules inside them, we must be honest. If our churches look peaceful but wounded people are afraid to speak, we must be honest. If our leaders are respected publicly but cannot be questioned privately, we must be honest. If we say we believe the Bible, but ignore what it says about justice, mercy, truth, and the oppressed, then we must humble ourselves before God.
“He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” Micah 6:8
That is not complicated, though it may be costly. Do justly. Love mercy. Walk humbly with God. Justice without mercy can become harsh, but mercy without justice becomes weak. Peace without righteousness is only silence. When truth, mercy, justice, and humility come together under the lordship of Christ, the church becomes what it was meant to be: a place where sin is taken seriously, repentance is possible, the wounded are cared for, and the vulnerable are protected.
To the person who has been wounded by abuse, mistreatment, spiritual pressure, or the misuse of authority, I want to say this plainly. You are not the problem because you are hurting. You are not rebellious because you want truth. You are not bitter because you remember what happened. You are not dishonoring God by asking for help. The Lord sees what others may have ignored. He heard what others refused to hear. He knows the tears you cried when no one came to your defense.
“The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.” Psalm 34:18
That verse is for the brokenhearted. It is for those who have carried grief quietly. It is for those who wondered whether God saw them when people did not. He did. He does. Healing often begins when one trusted, godly person is willing to listen without rushing, judging, correcting, or pressuring. Sometimes it begins when the truth is spoken after years of being buried. Sometimes it begins when a wounded person finally understands that what happened was not their fault, and that God’s heart toward them is not harsh or ashamed.
To church leaders, I write with respect and seriousness. When someone comes to you with a story of abuse or deep harm, please do not first think about how it will affect the church’s name. Do not first think about how to keep it quiet. Do not first think about whether the accused person comes from a respected family. First remember that you are standing before God. First remember that the wounded person in front of you is not an interruption to your ministry. They are part of your ministry.
“He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.” Proverbs 18:13
Listen carefully. Move slowly. Do not dismiss. Do not pressure. Do not use Scripture to quiet someone whom God may be calling you to hear. When wrong has been done, deal with it honestly. The church must not become a hiding place for sin. It must become a place where sin is brought into the light, where the innocent are protected, where the guilty are called to repentance, and where leaders are humble enough to admit when they have failed.
This is not about destroying the church. It is about calling the church back to the heart of Jesus. A church is not weakened by truth. It is weakened by hidden sin. A church is not dishonored by repentance. It is dishonored when it refuses correction. The name of Jesus is not protected by darkness. His name is honored when His people walk in the light.
“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another.” 1 John 1:7
I still believe the church can be a place of healing. I still believe Anabaptist communities can reflect the beauty of Christ through humility, obedience, simplicity, brotherhood, and love. I still believe there are leaders who want to do what is right, even when it is hard. But we cannot become what Christ calls us to be if we are unwilling to face what has been hidden. We cannot preach holiness and ignore harm. We cannot preach forgiveness and avoid repentance. We cannot preach community and abandon the wounded. We cannot preach Christ, while acting in a way that is unlike Him.
My prayer is that we would have the courage to tell the truth, the humility to repent where we have failed, the compassion to listen to those who have been wounded, and the strength to protect the vulnerable rather than reputations. May we understand that real peace is never built on silence, fear, or denial. May the church of Jesus Christ become what He intended it to be: a people of light, a refuge for the wounded, a place of truth and mercy, and a living witness to the heart of our Savior.
With love and hope,
Danny M. Ku
Become the Change Ministry
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