When You Work for the Church

Dr. John G. Stackhouse, Jr. taught at Regent College after I had already graduated. I met him once at a Regent College breakfast for alumni, but other than that I know him only by reputation as a professor, public scholar, and writer. I’ve read his columns in Faith Today on Christ and Culture. I have two of his books in my library: Evangelical Landscapes and Finally Feminist. I knew that he had left Regent a number of years ago to join the faculty at Crandall University.

Then I heard the news last month that Crandall University terminated his employment after a six-month investigation into allegations of improper conduct:

Crandall University has released a Summary of Findings and Recommendations for Review and Updating of Harassment Policy and Procedures. Faith Today released a statement on their former columnist. As shown in the news report above, Regent College released an initial statement that spoke of being “disturbed and saddened by the allegations against Professor John Stackhouse,” but said little more due to privacy law.

In the news report, one alumnus said, “Regent’s decision-making falls far below the standards we should expect of any institution, but especially a Christian one.” I know others have expressed concerns. I sent the following email that was forwarded to the leadership of the College:

I am disturbed by Regent’s response to the news story about Dr. John Stackhouse and Crandall University. I do understand the concerns for privacy and legal issues, however, as a graduate and supporter of Regent, I do not think that a public statement of being “disturbed and saddened by the allegations” is enough.

Where is the concern for the women at Regent who were subject to the same inappropriate behaviour? Is what happened in the past truly consistent with Regent’s policies on bullying, harassment, and sexual harassment? If so, those policies clearly need to be reviewed including any reporting procedures or avenues of addressing such behaviour.

I realize that what I have seen so far is Regent’s initial response, and I do look for more.

With prayer for wisdom and a positive way forward,

Regent’s initial statement has now been removed from the College website in favour of the following updated statement which is more responsive to the concerns that have been raised:

Crandall University recently terminated one of its employees, Dr. John Stackhouse, also a former faculty member at Regent College.

 

We are lamenting, and deeply grieved, as we listen to the stories told by students and alumni who have been affected by these reported events. We pray for healing and restoration for anyone who might have been impacted and we have allocated additional resources to support our students, staff, and faculty.

 

We acknowledge the importance of the questions that have been raised about Regent’s history. We want to reiterate our unwavering commitment to the safety and wellbeing of students. We operate within our established safeguarding policies. Complaints and concerns brought forward regarding faculty conduct are taken seriously and addressed carefully.

 

At Regent, we are determined to learn from the current situation, and to uphold our commitment to a safe, welcoming, and healthy environment—for students, alumni, staff, faculty, and members of the wider community. Thus, we accept the call to conduct a robust critical review of our policies and procedures and to make improvements.

 

Board, faculty, staff, and current students will continue to work together and we pledge to keep you informed in a timely and transparent manner. For the time being, allow us to share our current policy on the prevention of bullying, harassment, and discrimination.

 

We thank you for your patience, prayers, and understanding during this difficult time.

I appreciate both the tone of this update and the additions made to the initial statement. I see this update as a step in the right direction, and am interested in the follow through and what more may come. In the meantime, Dr. Stackhouse has obtained legal counsel and posted an initial public statement from his legal team, expressing his concern over the actions taken by Crandall University. It appears on his website, which is titled “Think Better.” Underneath this main title in the heading of his website are three questions:

What’s wrong?

How did we get here?

What shall we do?

I can’t help but think those are good questions in this situation—for Dr. Stackhouse, for Crandall University, for Regent College, and for all concerned. I continue to pray for wisdom and a positive way forward.