{"id":529,"date":"2023-08-20T15:39:06","date_gmt":"2023-08-20T15:39:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chapelhillbiblechurch.org\/?p=529"},"modified":"2023-09-12T14:19:11","modified_gmt":"2023-09-12T14:19:11","slug":"christian-commentary-on-the-unbiblical-nature-of-ndas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chapelhillbiblechurch.org\/?p=529","title":{"rendered":"Christian commentary on the unbiblical nature of NDAs"},"content":{"rendered":"[vc_row type=&#8221;in_container&#8221; full_screen_row_position=&#8221;middle&#8221; column_margin=&#8221;default&#8221; column_direction=&#8221;default&#8221; column_direction_tablet=&#8221;default&#8221; column_direction_phone=&#8221;default&#8221; scene_position=&#8221;center&#8221; text_color=&#8221;dark&#8221; text_align=&#8221;left&#8221; row_border_radius=&#8221;none&#8221; row_border_radius_applies=&#8221;bg&#8221; overflow=&#8221;visible&#8221; overlay_strength=&#8221;0.3&#8243; gradient_direction=&#8221;left_to_right&#8221; shape_divider_position=&#8221;bottom&#8221; bg_image_animation=&#8221;none&#8221;][vc_column column_padding=&#8221;no-extra-padding&#8221; column_padding_tablet=&#8221;inherit&#8221; column_padding_phone=&#8221;inherit&#8221; column_padding_position=&#8221;all&#8221; column_element_direction_desktop=&#8221;default&#8221; column_element_spacing=&#8221;default&#8221; desktop_text_alignment=&#8221;default&#8221; tablet_text_alignment=&#8221;default&#8221; phone_text_alignment=&#8221;default&#8221; background_color_opacity=&#8221;1&#8243; background_hover_color_opacity=&#8221;1&#8243; column_backdrop_filter=&#8221;none&#8221; column_shadow=&#8221;none&#8221; column_border_radius=&#8221;none&#8221; column_link_target=&#8221;_self&#8221; column_position=&#8221;default&#8221; gradient_direction=&#8221;left_to_right&#8221; overlay_strength=&#8221;0.3&#8243; width=&#8221;1\/1&#8243; tablet_width_inherit=&#8221;default&#8221; animation_type=&#8221;default&#8221; bg_image_animation=&#8221;none&#8221; border_type=&#8221;simple&#8221; column_border_width=&#8221;none&#8221; column_border_style=&#8221;solid&#8221;][vc_column_text]\r\n<p>The evangelical church in the USA has often imported practices from the business world without first carefully sifting them to discern how well they fit with biblical teachings. The spreading use of NDAs is a recent example.<\/p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-387\" style=\"height: 250px;\" src=\"http:\/\/chapelhillbiblechurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/bible2c-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Many Christians have made the biblical case against using NDAs in a Christian environment:<\/h2>\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n<h3><strong>VIDEO:<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h3><br \/><strong>G.R.A.C.E. (Godly Response to Abuse in Christian Environments)\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<p><br \/>Excellent video about the use of NDAs in churches and Christian organizations featuring Scott McKnight (author of a Church Called Tov) and Boz Tchividjian (the Founder of G.R.A.C.E. and now an attorney in private practice representing people abused in churches and other Christian settings.)<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=A2wtT6s3qqg\">NDAs &#8211; YouTube<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Scott McKnight brings analysis of church use of NDAs from a Christian ethical perspective. Boz Tchividjian brings legal insights.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><em>\u201cThe big issue is the \u2026 \u00a0it ends up hiding sin with money\u2026 someone with power\u2026 doesn\u2019t want their reputation soiled or stained by something they have done or said \u2026 and they are more concerned with their reputation than living in the light and telling the truth.\u201d Calls it bribery (not in the legal sense), economic exploitation of someone. \u201c<\/em><\/p>\r\n<p><em><\/em><\/p>\r\n<p>\u201cPaying people off\u00a0 not to tell the truth.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>\u201cThis type of behavior hurts Jesus, it hurts the Gospel, it hurts Christian witness profoundly\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\r\n<h3><strong>PODCASTS:<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h3><strong>Julie Roys<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/julieroys.com\/podcast\/dane-ortlund-whistleblower-expert-discuss-workplace-bullying\/\"><strong>Dean Ortland Whistleblower Speaks Out on Workplace Bullying<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\r\n<p>Interview with Emily Hyland, whistleblower, and Paul Coughlin, founder of an anti-bullying organization to combat bullying in schools &amp; other organizations and to build &#8220;courage, character, and leadership for life&#8221;\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/theprotectors.org\/about\/\">The Protectors : Freedom from Bullying<\/a>\u00a0 . He is the author of <em>Raising Bully-Proof Kids, Five Secrets Great Dads<\/em> <em>Know<\/em>, and <em>No More Christian Nice Guy. <\/em>Their impressive bios are included on the website.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p>This podcast is accompanied by a transcript.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p>The podcast covers NDAs, bullying,\u00a0 surprise terminations, differential treatment of women, the effects of bullying on the person who is the target,\u00a0 and the impact of\u00a0 one elder who had the courage to stick his neck out. The whistleblower tells what she knows now that she wishes she knew then.<\/p>\r\n<p>&#8220;<em>And we spoke earlier about the pattern of behavior, right, that people undergo. And when you recognize that pattern, you begin to realize you\u2019re not crazy. And one of the things that is so painful for targets is <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">betrayal<\/span><strong>.<\/strong> &#8221; &#8211;Paul Coughlin\u00a0 <\/em>[This is one of the purposes of this blog: to help people see patterns so that they can better discern truth]\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p><em>A<\/em><em>nd I\u2019ve heard that repeatedly from people who have been victims of spiritual abuse, church abuse, retaliation, bullying. That they can handle that there\u2019s one bad apple. &#8230; They can deal with that. What they can\u2019t deal with, is that everybody got in line with that guy\u00a0 Everybody stood there silently&#8230;\u00a0<\/em> [the betrayal] .<em> &#8211;Julie Roys<\/em><\/p>\r\n<p><em>&#8230;when you take communion, and it starts with on the night he was betrayed. &#8230; Jesus knows what it\u2019s like to be betrayed, and forsaken by everyone who you thought was for you and with you. I mean, to identify in that aspect of religious community is a thread of hope you can have because Jesus knows betrayal.&#8211;Emily Hyland<\/em><\/p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n<h2><\/h2>\r\n<h3><strong>ARTICLES:<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h3><\/h3>\r\n<h3><strong>Diane Langberg<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n\r\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dianelangberg.com\/2021\/02\/non-disclosure-agreements-ndas-and-the-body-of-christ\/\">Non Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) and the Body of Christ \u2013 Diane Langberg<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>&#8220;Dr. Diane Langberg is a psychologist globally recognized for her 50 years of clinical work with trauma victims,&#8221; the author of multiple books on trauma and healing in a Christian context, a former board member of G.R.A.C.E., and more.<\/p>\r\n<p>&#8220;<em>&#8230;disclose means to reveal; to allow something covered to be seen; to uncover. Non-disclosure is to cover-up, hide away. To agree with something is to consent; like-mindedness. An NDA is an agreement to hide something. In the cases I have encountered it has always been an agreement to exercise power over and hide sin. &#8220;<\/em><\/p>\r\n<p><em>&#8220;Dear body of Christ, to cover up sin is to leave the sinner in his\/her prison of deception. You leave him\/her at the mercy of the cancer that will kill them. To cover up sin is to abandon those used and tossed out by individuals and systems. To cover up sin is to be utterly unlike our Lord. &#8220;<\/em><\/p>\r\n<h3><\/h3>\r\n<h3><strong>Julie Roys\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n\r\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/julieroys.com\/opinion-reasons-abuse-ndas-church-offense-god\/\">Opinion: 10 Reasons NDAs Are an Offense to God.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/julieroys.com\/nda-free-christian-orgs\/\">#NDAfree Seeks to End Christian Orgs Use of Non-Disclosure Agreements (julieroys.com)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Roys reports on a movement that began in the UK with a goal to eliminate the use of non-disclosure agreements in the church.<\/p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n<h3><\/h3>\r\n<h3><strong>Christianity Today<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<p><strong>NDAs Kept These Christians Silent. Now They&#8217;re Speaking Out.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/news\/2021\/july\/ndafree-campaign-confidentiality-nondisclosure-abuse.html\">NDAs Kept These Christians Silent. Now They\u2019re Speaking Ou&#8230;&#8230; | News &amp; Reporting | Christianity Today<\/a><\/p>\r\n<p><em>&#8220;&#8230;the legal tools that were designed to protect tech industry \u201ctrade secrets\u201d are widely misused to conceal abuse, preserve secrets, and protect powerful reputations without regard for the human cost.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\r\n<p><em>\u201cIt\u2019s suffocating,\u201d said John Sather, who signed an NDA with Cru in 2019&#8230;<\/em><\/p>\r\n<p><em>At the time he signed, Sather and his wife, Chris, saw the agreement as their only way out of Cru. They said they didn\u2019t think too much about the consequences of a contract that committed them to silence in perpetuity.<\/em><\/p>\r\n<p><em>\u201c&#8230;I\u2019ve learned in therapy how important it is to speak, but an NDA is this suffocating thing, when the very thing you so desperately want to do is tell your story.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\r\n<h3><\/h3>\r\n<h3><strong>Ministry Watch<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n\r\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/ministrywatch.com\/thou-shalt-not-disclose-how-churches-and-ministries-use-legal-agreements-to-silence-victims-and-conceal-sin\/\">Thou Shalt Not Disclose: How Churches and Ministries Use Legal Agreements to Silence Victims and Conceal Sin \u2013 MinistryWatch<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\r\n<h3><\/h3>\r\n<p><strong>The Wartburg Watch<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/thewartburgwatch.com\/2021\/07\/12\/is-the-use-of-ndas-in-christian-churches-and-organizations-ethically-sound-no-says-ndafree\/\">Is the Use of NDAs in Christian Churches and Organizations Ethically Sound? No, Says #NDAfree<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p>This post gives an excellent overview of NDAs by summarizing articles by Forbes, Christianity Today, Julie Roys, and the #NDAfree website.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h3><strong>Religion News Service<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n\r\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/religionnews.com\/2022\/09\/08\/ndas-are-a-tool-for-toxic-church-cultures\/\">NDAs are a tool for toxic church cultures<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p>In 2019, pastor Rick Warren\u00a0told\u00a0a reporter why Saddleback Church \u2014 one of the most dynamic megachurches worldwide \u2014 didn\u2019t use nondisclosure agreements: <em>\u201cWe believe that our competition is not other churches, but rather the world, the flesh, and the devil.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\r\n<p><em>\u201cIn many large churches and organizations, NDAs have served to conceal the truth and to protect the image of top leaders, allowing them to continue harming others entrusted to their care.<\/em><\/p>\r\n<p><em>Telling the truth, however negative, about someone else isn\u2019t gossip or slander.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\r\n<p><em>\u201cWe have to face the fact that the existence of NDAs in Christian organizations is a worse witness for the church than any information that might come out in their absence. The concealment of truth and the appearance of image management are more damaging than the truth.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\r\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\r\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row type=&#8221;in_container&#8221; full_screen_row_position=&#8221;middle&#8221; column_margin=&#8221;default&#8221; column_direction=&#8221;default&#8221; column_direction_tablet=&#8221;default&#8221; column_direction_phone=&#8221;default&#8221; scene_position=&#8221;center&#8221; text_color=&#8221;dark&#8221; text_align=&#8221;left&#8221; row_border_radius=&#8221;none&#8221; row_border_radius_applies=&#8221;bg&#8221; overflow=&#8221;visible&#8221; overlay_strength=&#8221;0.3&#8243; gradient_direction=&#8221;left_to_right&#8221; shape_divider_position=&#8221;bottom&#8221; bg_image_animation=&#8221;none&#8221;][vc_column column_padding=&#8221;no-extra-padding&#8221; column_padding_tablet=&#8221;inherit&#8221; column_padding_phone=&#8221;inherit&#8221; column_padding_position=&#8221;all&#8221; column_element_direction_desktop=&#8221;default&#8221; column_element_spacing=&#8221;default&#8221; desktop_text_alignment=&#8221;default&#8221; tablet_text_alignment=&#8221;default&#8221; phone_text_alignment=&#8221;default&#8221; background_color_opacity=&#8221;1&#8243; background_hover_color_opacity=&#8221;1&#8243; column_backdrop_filter=&#8221;none&#8221; column_shadow=&#8221;none&#8221; column_border_radius=&#8221;none&#8221; column_link_target=&#8221;_self&#8221; column_position=&#8221;default&#8221; gradient_direction=&#8221;left_to_right&#8221; overlay_strength=&#8221;0.3&#8243; width=&#8221;1\/1&#8243; tablet_width_inherit=&#8221;default&#8221; animation_type=&#8221;default&#8221; bg_image_animation=&#8221;none&#8221; border_type=&#8221;simple&#8221; column_border_width=&#8221;none&#8221; column_border_style=&#8221;solid&#8221;][vc_column_text]\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n<h3>More about NDAs &#8230;<\/h3>\r\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row type=&#8221;in_container&#8221; full_screen_row_position=&#8221;middle&#8221; column_margin=&#8221;default&#8221; equal_height=&#8221;yes&#8221; column_direction=&#8221;default&#8221; column_direction_tablet=&#8221;default&#8221; column_direction_phone=&#8221;default&#8221; scene_position=&#8221;center&#8221; text_color=&#8221;dark&#8221; text_align=&#8221;left&#8221; row_border_radius=&#8221;none&#8221; row_border_radius_applies=&#8221;bg&#8221; overflow=&#8221;visible&#8221; overlay_strength=&#8221;0.3&#8243; gradient_direction=&#8221;left_to_right&#8221; shape_divider_position=&#8221;bottom&#8221; bg_image_animation=&#8221;none&#8221; gradient_type=&#8221;default&#8221; shape_type=&#8221;&#8221;][vc_column column_padding=&#8221;no-extra-padding&#8221; column_padding_tablet=&#8221;inherit&#8221; column_padding_phone=&#8221;inherit&#8221; column_padding_position=&#8221;all&#8221; column_element_direction_desktop=&#8221;default&#8221; column_element_spacing=&#8221;default&#8221; desktop_text_alignment=&#8221;default&#8221; tablet_text_alignment=&#8221;default&#8221; phone_text_alignment=&#8221;default&#8221; background_color_opacity=&#8221;1&#8243; background_hover_color_opacity=&#8221;1&#8243; column_backdrop_filter=&#8221;none&#8221; column_shadow=&#8221;none&#8221; column_border_radius=&#8221;none&#8221; column_link_target=&#8221;_self&#8221; column_position=&#8221;default&#8221; gradient_direction=&#8221;left_to_right&#8221; overlay_strength=&#8221;0.3&#8243; width=&#8221;1\/2&#8243; tablet_width_inherit=&#8221;default&#8221; animation_type=&#8221;default&#8221; bg_image_animation=&#8221;none&#8221; border_type=&#8221;simple&#8221; column_border_width=&#8221;none&#8221; column_border_style=&#8221;solid&#8221;][vc_column_text]https:\/\/chapelhillbiblechurch.org\/ndas\/nrlb-rules-against-use-of-ndas\/[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column column_padding=&#8221;no-extra-padding&#8221; column_padding_tablet=&#8221;inherit&#8221; column_padding_phone=&#8221;inherit&#8221; column_padding_position=&#8221;all&#8221; column_element_direction_desktop=&#8221;default&#8221; column_element_spacing=&#8221;default&#8221; desktop_text_alignment=&#8221;default&#8221; tablet_text_alignment=&#8221;default&#8221; phone_text_alignment=&#8221;default&#8221; background_color_opacity=&#8221;1&#8243; background_hover_color_opacity=&#8221;1&#8243; column_backdrop_filter=&#8221;none&#8221; column_shadow=&#8221;none&#8221; column_border_radius=&#8221;none&#8221; column_link_target=&#8221;_self&#8221; column_position=&#8221;default&#8221; gradient_direction=&#8221;left_to_right&#8221; overlay_strength=&#8221;0.3&#8243; width=&#8221;1\/2&#8243; tablet_width_inherit=&#8221;default&#8221; animation_type=&#8221;default&#8221; bg_image_animation=&#8221;none&#8221; border_type=&#8221;simple&#8221; column_border_width=&#8221;none&#8221; column_border_style=&#8221;solid&#8221;][vc_column_text]https:\/\/chapelhillbiblechurch.org\/ndas\/what-happened-after-the-use-of-ndas-at-the-chapel-hill-bible-church-was-revealed\/[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[vc_row type=&#8221;in_container&#8221; 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