Responding Well to a Scandal

Guest Bios Show Transcript https://youtu.be/QiNJvzlFadw When faced with a scandal, organizations have a choice. They can engage in impression management strategies, designed to obscure the truth, and save their image. Or, they can take the road less traveled. They can humble themselves. They can listen. And they can admit the truth—to themselves and to others. In this edition of The Roys Report, researcher, author, and abuse survivor advocate, Wade Mullen, speaks on how to manage a crisis in a session from the recent Restore Conference. This is a topic Wade knows well. For his doctoral dissertation, Wade studied the responses of 50 evangelical organizations when faced with a crisis. Sadly, what he found is they all do basically the same thing! They engage in impression management and hire spin doctors. They strategically omit key information. They make ambiguous statements, tell half-truths, evade questions—and do whatever it takes to try to control the narrative. What’s tragic is that victims then get re-victimized. The public is deceived. And if the group gets away with it, they become emboldened and skilled manipulators. Prior to this week, our plan had been to release Wade’s compelling, in-depth talk in February. But, in light of what’s happening at the International House of Prayer in Kansas City (IHOPKC), now seemed the right time. IHOPKC is facing allegations that its founder, Mike Bickle, sexually abused multiple women over several decades. And just this weekend, IHOPKC platformed Eric Volz of The David House Agency to manage its crisis. Sometimes, it’s hard to put your finger on what’s happening in these situations. But some light bulbs will likely go on as you listen to this talk. Guests Wade Mullen Wade Mullen, PhD, is a professor, researcher, and advocate working to help those trapped in the confusion and captivity that mark abusive situations. He is the author of Something’s Not Right: Decoding the Hidden Tactics of Abuse and Freeing Yourself from Its Power (Tyndale House). He serves as an institutional response specialist with Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment, a leading nonprofit group. His website is WadeTMullen.com. Show Transcript SPEAKERS Julie Roys, WADE MULLEN Julie Roys  00:00 When faced with a scandal, organizations have a choice. They can engage in impression management strategies designed to obscure the truth and save their image. Or they can take the road less traveled. They can humble themselves, they can listen, and they can admit the truth to themselves and to others. Welcome to The Roys Report, a podcast dedicated to reporting the truth and restoring the church. I’m Julie Roys. And what you’re about to hear is a talk from our recent RESTORE conference by researcher, author and advocate, Wade Mullen, on how to manage a crisis. This is a topic Wade knows well. For his doctoral dissertation, Wade studied the responses of 50 evangelical organizations when faced with a crisis. And sadly, what he found is that they all do basically the same thing. They engage in impression management. They strategically omit key information. They make ambiguous statements, tell half-truths, evade questions, and do whatever it takes to control the narrative and control how others think of them. And what’s tragic is that victims get re-victimized, the public is deceived. And if the group gets away with it, they become emboldened and skilled manipulators. I had planned to release Wade’s talk in a couple of months. But in light of what’s happening right now, at the International House of Prayer in Kansas City, or IHOP, I thought now was the right time. If you’re not aware, IHOP is facing allegations that its founder, Mike Bickle, sexually abused multiple women over several decades. And just this weekend, IHOP brought in Eric Volz at the David House Agency to manage its crisis. Sometimes it’s hard to put your finger on what’s happening in these situations. But I think as you listen