I have been so glad to see the #MeToo movement come alive. Across all the years of my work as a Minister of Word and Sacrament, nothing has weighed heavier on me than the incredible numbers of women I have met, who suffered sexual abuse in their lives. I have also had the privilege of seeing so many of these women courageously face the wounds the abuse caused them, in order to make fresh beginnings and go on in life with confidence. However, the pain it caused, and the permanent changes such trauma brings to their lives, should not be tolerated.
In the face of this, the #MeToo movement is gospel. It is good news, because this movement empowers women to be the disruption that will change our society. As a Christian, I see this as "gospel" because it is the good news that the injustices of the status quo can be faced, and new possibilities can be found. Make no mistake, however: The disruption that is required to bring about real change is painful, too. Those empowered by the current state of affairs will find their empowerment put at risk. The adjustment to a new, and better equilibrium will be messy and, for that reason, will be criticized along the way. Even so, facing the injustices in our midst and insisting on change is necessary, and really is good news.
For many men, the needed changes highlighted by the #MeToo movement will be difficult. We grow up in environments that objectify women, and that often encourages the kind of behavior that has to change. When women and others insist that they be heard, and that their accusations be taken seriously, men will be put in uncomfortable situations — occasionally, perhaps, even unfairly — as we begin to make public how much this behavior has been tolerated in our society, and how urgent it is for the change to happen.
As a pastor who has heard so many women tell their painfully hard stories, and who sees the same statistics anyone can find, it is time to welcome a season of disruption for all of us. Women have been told to tolerate their situation for far too long, and the list of the victims of this situation is greater than the general society has known. Now is a good time for disruption. It will be difficult, especially for men and boys. But this disruption is gospel.
— Rev. Curtis Karns
Anchorage
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