If we were executing the kind of Christian leadership that we should be, we would not need as much oversight from external courts or secular media and social media. Yet here we are, very much in need of these things. Not just one denomination or ministry, but most of them.If any of you has a dispute with another, do you dare to take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the Lord’s people? Or do you not know that the Lord’s people will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life! Therefore, if you have disputes about such matters, do you ask for a ruling from those whose way of life is scorned in the church? I say this to shame you. Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between believers? But instead, one brother takes another to court—and this in front of unbelievers!
In the ministry I am involved with, we are required to sign a statement saying we will report any indication of physical abuse, sexual abuse, or psychological abuse to a team that has been set up to handle these kinds of situations. Every member of the ministry is required to take training that is very eye-opening. For instance, they tell us about anonymized instances of problems that have actually occurred, including stories of successful interventions. They tell us about times that people failed to intervene when they should have. They tell us about how both lives and ministries have been destroyed because they did not. In this ministry, our response also involves following the law, which generally requires reporting such incidents to the local authorities.
This is not easy. It doesn't happen naturally. Let's face it, most of us would not know how to deal with this kind of situation, and most ministries and churches are learning as they go. Often, the same people who are abusive are also doing really good things in other areas and are liked and trusted by others. Often, people are worried that reporting abuse will stain their work and their ministry. It's important to report, but it's also very hard, and when we report, there has to be a good way to do that in confidence that it will be handled well. For many churches and ministries, having a team that is trained to deal with this issue is probably a really good idea. Less damage is done to victims and to ministries when these problems are caught and dealt with early.
From what I have learned, many instances of abuse involve underage perpetrators who learned about sex from porn and are trying to act out what they have learned. These are also important, with real victims, and they can also destroy ministries even though the perpetrators are "only children".
Until recently, very few ministries had useful plans for dealing with this. But every church and every ministry must be "wise enough to judge a dispute between believers". And that requires having a plan, teaching that plan to people in the ministry, and making sure everyone understands how serious this is. For most churches and ministries, having someone "wise enough to judge" requires a team committed to acquiring both knowledge and wisdom, learning from other churches and ministries, committed to protecting victims and finding healing for them.