When the Church Protects Power Instead of People
If truth sets us free, why do so many leaders fight to keep it buried?
When Power Becomes the Priority
There’s a deep ache that comes when you realize the community you once trusted is built on lies. It’s not just the betrayal itself—it’s the suffocating silence that follows. The refusal to face the truth. The frantic scramble to protect power instead of people.
Imagine.
Imagine if, when powerful church leaders committed heinous crimes, other leaders stood up and took a stand for righteousness, truth, and integrity.
How powerful would that be?
Imagine if they called out abusers instead of hiding them. Imagine if they protected victims instead of silencing them. Imagine if they fought fiercely to keep their congregations safe—how much trust and confidence would that inspire?
Instead...
Cowardly men have put “God” into a box—a box they constructed. A man-made institution, built for power, wealth, and control. They are terrified to stand for truth.
Afraid to risk their place, their money, their influence. Afraid to let God out of their carefully constructed power structure.
And so, they fight to preserve the box—rather than standing for truth and integrity.
What does that say about what they truly worship?
This is Article 2 in a 6-part series. If you would like to read the other articles, you can read it them here:
1 - When The Truth Breaks Your Heart
3 - When Form Becomes an Idol: How The 2x2 Institution Became Corrupt
4 - When Leaders Become Wolves: The Reality of Grooming and Ministry Abuse
5 - The Weight of Darkness: How Silence Became a System That Protected Predators
6 - Reconstructing My Faith: Standing Firm While Exposing Evil
The Truth They Won't Say Out Loud
They fear the truth because truth does not harm God—it only harms corrupt institutions.
They are terrified that speaking the truth will crack the illusion they've crafted—that if the truth comes out, people will leave. They'll lose their power, their position, their place among men. They’ve convinced themselves that preserving their standing is preserving the gospel itself.
But integrity is powerful. It draws people in. Men and women of integrity are not perfect—but they own their failures. They take accountability. They seek to make things right.
And yet, many of these religious leaders refuse.
Why?
Because maybe “coward” is too generous.
Maybe they’re not just afraid—maybe they’re actually evil.
Maybe they aren’t just weak men caving under pressure—maybe they’re power-hungry manipulators who have learned how to weaponize faith to protect their own skin.
If they truly worshipped God, they would have a burning desire to cry out against injustice. They would refuse to be silent in the face of evil—especially the heinous evil of abuse and the defilement of children.
You cannot worship God while protecting abusers. You cannot claim faith while choosing fear over obedience.
When the Scale of Evil Is Unimaginable
The more the truth emerges, the more horrifying the scale of abuse becomes.
An estimated 20% of male workers (ministers) in North America have been accused of sexual abuse—a staggering number that dwarfs even the Catholic clergy abuse scandal, which is estimated at around 4%.
Let that sink in for a moment.
Five times higher than the Catholic Church.
And the difference between the two scandals? The Catholic Church abuse data emerged over decades of lawsuits and relentless media coverage, while the 2x2 scandal has come to light in just 2 years, driven by survivors speaking out and independent investigations.
And this doesn’t even account for abuse that has happened in third-world countries, where impoverished and vulnerable members may not have competent police and judiciary to fight their case.
It’s not just that the numbers are staggering. It’s that the leadership knew. They knew about predators in their midst and chose to protect the power structure rather than expose the evil within it.
The instinct wasn’t to protect the victims. It was to protect the institution.
When a private investigator forced the truth into the light, the leaders acted not with righteous repentance but with damage control—trying to mitigate the fallout rather than confront the evil head-on.
Still, they refuse to acknowledge the scale of the sin. Still, they fear the exposure more than they fear the righteous wrath of God.
When Silence Becomes a Stench
They’ve deluded themselves into thinking that silence is noble, that preserving “God’s work” justifies turning a blind eye to horror. But silence reeks of complicity. Silence stains the hands of those who refuse to confront evil.
Why is it that no overseer has stood up with tears streaming down his face and said, “We failed”? Why has no leader thrown himself down in repentance, pleading with God to forgive their cowardice?
Because it’s not just cowardice. It’s pride and entitlement. They believe they are the guardians of God’s church, and they think that without them, the faith itself will collapse.
They fear that admitting the truth will bring down the whole house of cards. But the house of cards deserves to fall. God doesn’t need their protection. He needs their repentance.
Leaving a Church Is Not Leaving God
If a church’s leaders refuse to repent, if they refuse to love the victim, if they refuse to honor Christ’s commands...
Then leaving is not abandoning faith—it is obeying Scripture.
God is breaking down the walls of corruption and control. While these institutions hire lawyers and have to be dragged by the courts into restitution, God is moving among the humble, the broken, the brave.
Where are the leaders willing to make it right?
Who is bowing down to wash the victims’ feet?
Who is donning sackcloth and ashes in sorrowful repentance?
Who will courageously stand against evil, even at great personal cost?
That is faith.
That is love.
When You Lose Your Soul to Save Your Life
“He who saves his life shall lose it.” (Matthew 16:25)
But that’s exactly what these so-called leaders are doing. They are losing their souls to save their lives. They fear the truth because it would mean losing their status, their comfort, their control.
They fear exposure, not because it would hurt the gospel, but because it would shatter their carefully built empire. They’ve traded the boldness of righteous leadership for the safety of institutional power.
But they forget—God is not in their box. He never was.
What’s Next?
In the next article, part 3 of 6, we’ll confront the uncomfortable reality of how faith itself became distorted—how the ministry was elevated to a place it was never meant to hold. We’ll dive into how the form of worship became an idol, blinding sincere believers to the rot within.
It’s time to expose how a pursuit of purity led to a cult of power—how preserving reputation became more important than living righteously. The next chapter will ask hard questions about how we reclaim faith without letting institutions become idols.
Absolutely true Jonathan.... every word...
Thank you! Well said 👍🏻