RZ

12.02.21

It shook me, to the point that even as I received the email from RZIM, I still did not really register or believe it. This is a teacher and apologist, whose words I trusted and saw that he truly loved and knew the Lord’s heart. I quoted him and took notes of the insight he brought. I was sure it’s a misunderstanding.

It wasn’t until I listened to youtube pastors Mike Winger, Speaklife’s Glen Scrivner and a few others, who reading out the report which concluded Ravi was guilty of sexual harassment to a ridiculously manipulative degree, that it actually hit me. These pastors were obsously outraged and broken hearted over the damage he’s caused to all these vulnerable women, how he abused their trust and fooled everyone around him. It honestly didn’t click for me until I listened to Winger’s live reaction as he was reading the investigation findings. The compassion he showed reminded me that God will always leave a remnant (big theme in Isaiah). That among all the ministers claiming God’s name, but living in impertinent sin, there are always faithful believers who fight for good and justice.

Scrivner’s reading of the report then drew some striking parallels between the OT (2 Samuel 13) story of Amnon and Tamar and how abuse can only happen when a perpetrator is unchallenged and even helped by those around him. And the need for willing transparency. I appreciated his obvious outrage because again it showed how ugly the topic really was.

Another helpful post I read was by another teacher I trust and know, on the ThinkTheology blog. He wrote this:

“According to Paul’s instructions in Ephesians 4-6 abuse should be impossible – if we are living a Spirit-filled life.. Christians are awake (5:14) so are to live like it, watching their step (5:15). We are to be continually filled with the Spirit (5:18) and the result of that is that we will submit to one another – we will, as Paul instructs at the beginning of this section (4:1-2) be humble, gentle and patient.” 

“To go through with abuse is to deliberately turn away from Jesus’s example, deny the new spirit and new life that one has in Christ…As well as explaining why abuse should be impossible in the church this explains why abuse in the church is so abhorrent: it is abhorrent precisely because it should be impossible! “

These people helped me to balance and chew over the reality, the pain of the situation and their conviction that as with Moses’ example in Deuteronomy, public leaders have to be publicaly and severely reprimanded over their mistakes (especially when it’s such a blatant failure to submit to God’s standards). As representers of God and his people, so Ravi’s guilt has to be public and not hidden under the carpet or shushed as his victims were when they tried to come forward. The victims need to be supported and heard. I thought RZ’s character to be completely incompatible with such deliberate and self-convinced sin, but I didn’t know the man. I thought him faultless. Which is a silly thing to think of anyone really, and another wake-up call. And as youtube videos have pointed out to me, that is why we should never, ever place our hope and trust absolutely in anyone but Jesus Christ. He’s the only one on whom our faith rests, and rests securely.



Here are the links to the resources I mentioned:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcWeZS3cnNo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuOoXZ6RSPg
https://thinktheology.co.uk/blog/article/making_abuse_impossible