Going back to the Dr. Brown allegations, he gives up the game in his statement. He took his wife to confront a sheep half his age under the pretense of following biblical protocols of Matthew 18. Except this is not truly what Jesus was teaching above because Dr. Brown enjoyed a position of authority over the woman and further shaming her with the presence of his wife probably did not help matters much. This was not just a brother and sister hashing out behavior. This was an admitted father figure, who the girl called "dad," setting the terms of engagement. I am sure he apologized. I am sure he was sincere. Just like I am sure Robert Morris' wife was sincere when she called her husband's child victim to tell her that she forgave her. That does not make it right. It does not make it fair. It does not make it biblical. Dr. Brown was right out of Brownsville back then and starting to really make a career and name for himself. This was the time that started catapulting him into the current stature and career he enjoys today. His brand was built similarly to Bickle and Zacharias - heavy holiness. There is nothing wrong with that but how damaging would it have been if it was publicly adjudicated why he liked to kiss an 18-year-old sheep on the lips and smacking her on the butt? Instead, by leveraging Matthew 18 he got to control the terms. I am not even suggesting this was malicious on Brown's part. He was raised to believe that using Matthew 18 regardless of context was wholly biblical and I am sure he felt some shame or sense of wrong doing if someone so close had felt this uncomfortable. He got to fall on his sword, beg for forgiveness, a Christian virtue mind you, and then proceed on with his life as if this was all biblically resolved.
Except it appears to have not been resolved for the young girl. I cannot speak for her but maybe being forced to confront Brown, with his wife, as a young woman did not offer her any peace or resolution. Perhaps she felt spiritually manipulated. Remember what she is now alleging is essentially spiritual abuse and grooming. According to her accusations, Brown used his position as a spiritual father and mentor to push the limits of acceptable behavior between a married man and a young woman. If true, the only reason it did not progress beyond the butt slapping and lip kissing is because she started feeling uncomfortable and stopped it. Assuming this is all true, and Dr. Brown refutes some of the more salacious aspects, he should not be given credit for his Matthew 18 overtures.
That is because this paradigm Jesus provided us is not a generic catch all for all disagreements. It most certainly was not designed to be the model for when Christian leaders abuse their sheep. The leaders who know they stand so much to lose by public exposure run to the refuge of Mattew 18 so they can control the flow of information. So, they can appear contrite and penitent. Sure, they may be completely sincere about being sorry but they know how much sorrier they would be if everyone else knew. If people knew about Mike Bickle from the beginning the church and world could have been spared 40 years of horrific false teaching, the bridal paradigm, the Joel's End-Times Army heresy, the Jesus is your lover fake worship music from Misty Edwards and Rick Pino, the demonic 24-7 prayer model, the cult that was IHOPKC that led to the death of Bethany Deaton and so much more. If the parents of Cindy Clemishire had gone to the police instead of Matthew 18 then the church and world would have been spared the blasphemous "God will curse all your money if you do not tithe to me" teachings. Forty years of lies and misery could have been avoided. This is not to blame the parents because this is how they had been taught. I am sure they thought this was what God would have wanted but the benefit of hindsight reveals that is simply untrue. As for Brown, if this story is true, imagine how much NAR gatekeeping could have been avoided. How much NAR defense and dominionism could have been avoided. No syndicated radio show pretending to be a voice of moral clarity, guilting the church into voting for Donald Trump. They say sunlight is the best disinfectant for a reason. Please do not get this twisted. Accusations are just accusations. We should not want all accusations to be shouted from the rooftops because when you are accused you appear on page one of the newspaper but when you are cleared it is buried on page twenty. All people will remember is the accusation. That is why Deuteronomy demands witnesses. That all being said, the alternative extreme of pretending Matthew 18 means that no one else ever finds out is equally improper. The church has to allow for the process of having an accusation be heard. Especially against someone who is so revered or exalted. Ravi Zacharias toured the world abusing sex workers and masseuses because there was no one willing to stand up to him when they saw things were happening that they knew should not be. Bickle was so revered that Brown himself defended him vociferously right before the allegations against him came to light. Sam Storms declared that Bickle was the humblest, Christ-exalting man he had ever known. Except he wasn't.
Look, maybe the whole thing about Dr. Brown is somehow being blown out of proportion. It just is not seeming that way because the two parties agree on most things except motive. There were people back then who did challenge Brown that his behaviors with the girl were inappropriate and that caused Brown to be defensive, insisting that he only held her hand or kissed her because she was like a daughter to him. That defense does not age well for the holiness guy from Brownsville Revival. It certainly goes out the window if the butt slapping accusation is true. One of the witnesses also said something interesting and damning. They said that Brown did NOT behave this way with his actual daughter. Brown is entitled to the same presumption of innocence that we would want but like I always say, where there is this much smoke, something sure seems to be on fire. My sincere hope is the truth is revealed and that people stop allowing scoundrels the first refuge of hiding within Matthew 18.
Reverend Anthony Wade - December 5, 2024
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