Dear Pastor Anonymous

My response to three pastors who threatened abuse victims with church discipline.

The following is my response to an email from three pastors in which I and several other abuse survivors were threatened with church discipline because the survivors were featured in this Times Union article about their ordeals, and because I shared the article with you here on my Substack.

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Dear Pastor Anonymous, Pastor Anonymous, and Pastor Anonymous,

My previous post on Substack, which offended you, has been deleted. At the time of its deletion I was exhausted. I had just come home from vacation, was recovering from a midnight flight, and I imagined that deleting the post might spare my pastor the headache of having to deal with church disciplinary charges.

However, upon re-reading your email several times, I sincerely regret my decision.

I should not have deleted my post. It was completely true and written with the intention of exposing corruption and abuse in the church of Jesus Christ. I stand by every word I wrote, and I do not think I can express to you how little I care whether you press church disciplinary charges against me. In fact, if you do, I will simply publish them. You will not silence me in the dark. I will expose you in the light.

In your email to my pastor, you asked whether “Jennifer is still under the jurisdiction of the [church] session.” You also stated that you “have questions about whether more charges are a profitable direction to go and do not know if there is any individual that would stand ready to bring charges against any of the women involved in this mess. This is a ‘heads up’ for you.”

You then claimed that, “A hit piece was published in the Albany Times Union that is destructive to the reputation of [Church] OPC and its pastor. This apparently followed advice from Jennifer Greenberg in her sub stack page [sic] … How culpable one should be for giving bad advice is a matter that could be debated. What is important to know is that her advice was predicated on false information.”

Firstly, do not threaten my pastor. If you have a problem with me, speak directly to me. I am fairly high profile online and extremely accessible, so it’s not as if you have to contact my pastor to reach me. 

While I am technically a member of the OPC, and while I will gladly submit to [my pastor’s] godly and wise counsel, I answer to God and God alone. When it comes to defending children and abuse victims, I will not bend for any man. As a Reformed Christian, you should appreciate this. I do hope though, for [my pastor’s] sake, that you will not make a pointless fuss over this. He has far more important things to do than involve himself in what feels more like a depressing episode of Jerry Springer than godly church discipline.

Secondly, if the Times Union article was indeed a “hit piece,” as you claim, or erroneous in any way, contact the paper and provide them with evidence so they can publish a retraction. They’re a reputable publication and their reporter conducted a thorough investigation into these matters. By his own account, he reviewed hundreds of pages (many of which I have also reviewed) including legal documents, church documents, emails, and even a handwritten note from one woman’s ex-husband describing how he sexually abused his own child.

As a reputable newspaper, The Times Union almost certainly had lawyers review the article and evidence prior to publication to avoid any potential libel claims. Subsequently, referring to the evidence of these women as “false information” is absolutely wild. If you have evidence that they have lied, or that they’re evil geniuses who forged all these documents, bring it forward.

A few questions for you:

1. Did any of the OPC elders privy to these situations report child abuse to law enforcement immediately upon suspecting it?
   

2. Did the church take measures to keep suspected child abusers away from children?
   

3. Were any of the abusers in question put under church discipline in a timely manner (immediately upon report)?
   

4. Was the woman who “feared for her life” physically protected and provided with resources so that she and her children could escape and be safe?
   

5. Was the abuser of the woman who you excommunicated also excommunicated? Was he excommunicated before or after she was? Does she know whether or not he was excommunicated?
   

6. Was the abuser of the autistic young man who you erased also erased? Was the father erased before or after his child was erased? Does the child know whether his father was erased?
   

7. Did any OPC elders alert law enforcement that women and children under their care were in physical danger at any time?
   

8. Did any OPC elders connect these women with victim resources (this would include state resources such as shelters, housing, WIC, and victim funds; therapy or counseling with a licensed practitioner experienced in trauma, abuse recovery, PTSD, and C-PTSD; medical care; legal counsel including divorce attorneys experienced in abuse and child custody cases; or assistance filing police reports)?
   

9. Did any OPC elders warn other parents in the congregation that child abuse had occurred and that they should protect their children from the offenders?

If any of the above occurred, please let me know. I would be absolutely thrilled to hear how you did your due diligence as Christian pastors and decent men. Regardless, do not spread accusations that these women are liars, or that their accounts are untrue, or that their concerns about how church leadership handled their situations are invalid, particularly given the stacks of evidence and credible testimony they have presented. To do so, especially when you have almost certainly seen the same evidence I have, is to commit libel and violate the 9th Commandment.

As a crime victim advocate and child abuse survivor who grew up in the OPC and PCA, I have been involved in multiple church disciplinary trials against abuse victims. My own previous church tried to excommunicate me for naming convicted child predators and exposing the fact that pastors and elders had violated Texas State Law by failing to report child abuse. My mom was excommunicated for refusing to let my dad move back in after the police kicked him out for domestic violence. So, in your email, when you ponder putting abuse survivors under church discipline, and ask my pastor to forward your thinly veiled threats to me, you tell me everything I need to know about your character and intelligence.

Here’s why putting abuse victims under church discipline is evil and stupid:

1. You take on the posture of their abuser.

Whether we’re talking about domestic violence or sexual abuse, almost all victims have been subjected to psychological and spiritual abuse. The abuser will have repeatedly shamed, blamed, accused, and demeaned them. As Paige Patterson put it, the goal is to “break her down.” They want their victims to feel embarrassed, guilty, afraid, intimidated, worthless, and hopeless. This way, they’ll submit to abuse, grovel for approval, and fear the repercussions of telling anyone what’s happening.

Even if you think a victim has exaggerated the severity of abuse, or expressed their trauma in a way you find objectionable, putting them under church discipline perpetuates abuse and exacerbates trauma. You are not ministering to them or being pastoral in any way. You are twisting broken limbs. You are pressing the heel of your boot into bruises. You are making the church complicit in crushing souls.

2. You weaponize the church.

You are all OPC pastors and elders. Presumably, I do not need to quote to you the plethora of Bible verses admonishing you to help the downtrodden, protect the weak and vulnerable, and provide for widows and orphans. I do not need to quote to you the numerous verses about pursuing justice, upholding truth, defying evil, and exposing corruption. I do not need to cite to you the verse where Jesus talks about millstones and those who make his children stumble.

When you refuse to defend the abused, protect children, or report violent or sexual crimes to the authorities, you fail as church leaders. You violate God’s law and thumb your nose at Jesus Christ. When you use the power and influence of the church to punish and degrade victims, you are like a shepherd who uses his rod to beat the sheep instead of the wolves. You do not bind up their wounds, you bludgeon them further. You do not scatter the predators, you further weaken their prey. You have not merely made a child of Jesus stumble, you have made them stumble again, and again, and again.

3. You suppress the truth.

As stated above, abusers excel at suppressing truth. They shame their victims into imagining that they’re at fault or deserving of abuse. They humiliate their victims into believing that no one will care or believe them if they seek help. Because of this, when you threaten to put victims under church discipline (or actually go through with it) you repeat this pattern and become complicit in psychological and spiritual abuse. You have suppressed truth and enabled evil. You have further oppressed the oppressed, thereby vindicating and empowering the oppressor.

4. You trigger ‘fight or flight.’

Because of all the above, when you attempt to bully or threaten survivors into silence, we get louder. Especially survivors in the stage of recovery that these women are at. They are done being silent. They are done being intimidated. They are done being censored by out-of-touch men who refuse to make them feel heard, comforted, or believed.

Meanwhile, you go on the offensive, accusing and pointing fingers, and then act offended when they react defensively. You seek to silence and suppress the testimonies which God himself gave them, and act surprised when they seek out new and more receptive platforms. 

Like typical schoolyard bullies, you threaten and attack, but cry and complain when your victims hit back. It is due to your own profound failures as leaders that these women felt the need to go to the media. It is not their fault nor mine that the secular media seemed more loving, understanding, and trustworthy than you. You made this bed.

5. You become the religious leaders Jesus warned us about.

You have no doubt heard the parable of The Good Samaritan. But what if Jesus had given us a Part 2? Let us imagine how it might have gone:

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Upon recovering in the care of the innkeeper, the Beaten Man ventured out into his community. He warned people about the violent thieves who lurk in the shadows along the highway. He told them how he’d been assaulted, robbed, and left for dead in the dust. 

In response, the Priest and the Levite chastised him, saying, “How dare you gossip about the robbers? How dare you slander the vandals? What were you wearing to make them rob you? What did you do to make them beat you? You are breaking the 9th Commandment by claiming they harmed you. You are damaging their reputations and dishonoring God.”

The Beaten Man replied, “You saw me in the dirt and you walked by without stopping. You saw me bleeding and broken and you refused to help me. You did not chase off the robbers and you did nothing to warn others of the danger on the road.”

The Priest and Levite then emailed the Beaten Man’s pastor, saying, “Is the Beaten Man still under your jurisdiction? This is a ‘heads up’ to you. He is damaging our reputations and the reputation of our temple. He is circulating allegations and giving people advice predicated on false information. This has become a very serious matter, and while we are so sorry to bother you, charges may be brought against anyone involved in this mess.”

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As I mentioned before, I will publish any further false accusations or charges brought against me. This is not a threat. I am simply outlining the consequences of your proposed actions so that you can adjust your strategy accordingly. 

As an act of good faith, to demonstrate to you that I am in earnest, I am publishing this email to you on my Substack. It will not be deleted. For the time being, I will keep your names confidential, giving you the opportunity to repent and change course. 

Do not test my resolve in this matter.

Your sister in Christ,

Jennifer Greenberg