I'm linking to this blogpost because I found it very helpful in understanding the problems at Bethlehem. Back when we were doing our open letter and subsequent posts, a few people mentioned the idea of narcissism. I never quite understood this (and to be fair, I didn't take the time to read the books or videos they referenced - there were so many other issues to process!).
I could see how narcissism might apply to say Mark Driscoll at Mars Hill, where you have a dominant polarizing figure. But I couldn't see how narcissism applied at Bethlehem, where there wasn't one clear polarizing figure. So I didn't understand how this concept was helpful.
But this article describes narcissistic systems. And the descriptions fit Bethlehem so well. I found myself nodding along to the whole thing. I post it here in case it is helpful to anyone else.
Hi, Hannah. I'm so glad this was helpful to you. It was a eureka moment for me. I had a hard time seeing why some people who I knew to be good and godly go along with such disastrous decisions and this all made so much more sense. When the system itself has to be infallible, it throws even the best of us into a vicious cycle of self doubt and then overcorrection. thanks for sharing. I'm so sorry for your experience at Bethlehem. Thank you for speaking out.
ReplyDeleteThank you! It's been a long, hard slog, so I appreciate the encouragement. I'm glad you found the article helpful.
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