Back in September, The Meeting House, one of the largest churches in Canada, announced that it was closing down. “It is with sadness that we are required to bring the public-facing ministry of The Meeting House to an end as of August 29”, its leaders stated on the Oakville-based church’s website. “Going forward, there will no longer be churches operating programs or doing ministry under the banner of The Meeting House” but “new missional churches” will be launched.
The decision didn’t come as a complete shock. With its numerous plant branches and home churches throughout Ontario the church reached 5,000 people but paused programming earlier this year when it was unable to find abuse liability insurance. The hope was that this was temporary.
Therein lies the central reason for the church’s collapse. The man on whom the church was largely built is the deeply charismatic Bruxy Cavey, and in December, 2021 he was placed on leave of absence pending an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct. Then, in June, 2022, he was charged by Hamilton police with sexual assault. That charge was eventually stayed by the court, and two other charges involving separate incidents dismissed, but the damage had been done. Full disclosure: I know Cavey and have tried to provide some form of counsel since all this began.
It’s not for me to comment on the nature of the charges but Cavey, a husband and father, admits to adultery, and accepted his forced resignation from the church as a consequence. This came, however, after three other church pastors faced charges of sexual abuse or exploitation. Frankly, it’s utterly shocking!
I attended the church several times, and saw Cavey take a small community gathering in a school hall to a converted theatre where entire crowds would assemble to worship. I remember him saying to the eager enthusiasts, “If you’re here just for me, then please leave now”. Then stressed that church was about Jesus rather than the priest or preacher.
Problem is, many of those listening were there precisely because of him, which is why his failing and falling has caused such devastation. This isn’t the first time, and won’t be the last, that personality-driven churches tumble when leadership is exposed as flawed or even criminal.
In this case, there seems to have been a systemic failure to address an obvious problem, and it’s resulted in multi-million-dollar civil lawsuits from women alleging the church’s breach of duty of care in earlier situations. In many denominations, a church facing so many accusations may well have been closed earlier. The Meeting House is part of a Mennonite group called Be in Christ, the Canadian branch of the Brethren in Christ, but is sufficiently large to have always seemed autonomous.
It also raises the question of why so many Christians, especially younger Christians, feel the need for novel, ostensibly heroic leaders who seem to offer something fresh. In Cavey’s case, beyond his undeniable abilities was his persona—long hair, tattoos, jeans, and what one of the church members insisted to me was, “Such a different type of guy up there telling us about the Bible. He’s cool.”
It’s to the shame of the mainstream church that we’ve left a vacuum, created a stereotype or even a caricature of what a leader looks and sounds like, and made so many people feel that they need an alternative, sometimes any alternative.
But the appeal of the compelling leader is a dangerous phenomenon, whether it be religious or political—European populism, Donald Trump, and 20th-century dictators have proven that. Churches are more vulnerable because with a leap of faith comes a leap of trust, and one of the most painful things I’ve ever heard was the oft-repeated response of Roman Catholic parents when their children claimed to have been abused. “Father would never do that. He’s a priest!” God wept.
I genuinely mourn for everybody involved in the collapse of The Meeting House, and I’ve been contacted by good, faithful, dedicated people who are broken by what has happened to their church. But for the life of me, and I say this with no relish whatsoever, I’m not especially surprised.
The Dangerous Appeal of a Compelling Leader
Back in September, The Meeting House, one of the largest churches in Canada, announced that it was closing down. “It is with sadness that we are required to bring the public-facing ministry of The Meeting House to an end as of August 29”, its leaders stated on the Oakville-based church’s website. “Going forward, there will no longer be churches operating programs or doing ministry under the banner of The Meeting House” but “new missional churches” will be launched.
The decision didn’t come as a complete shock. With its numerous plant branches and home churches throughout Ontario the church reached 5,000 people but paused programming earlier this year when it was unable to find abuse liability insurance. The hope was that this was temporary.
Therein lies the central reason for the church’s collapse. The man on whom the church was largely built is the deeply charismatic Bruxy Cavey, and in December, 2021 he was placed on leave of absence pending an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct. Then, in June, 2022, he was charged by Hamilton police with sexual assault. That charge was eventually stayed by the court, and two other charges involving separate incidents dismissed, but the damage had been done. Full disclosure: I know Cavey and have tried to provide some form of counsel since all this began.
It’s not for me to comment on the nature of the charges but Cavey, a husband and father, admits to adultery, and accepted his forced resignation from the church as a consequence. This came, however, after three other church pastors faced charges of sexual abuse or exploitation. Frankly, it’s utterly shocking!
I attended the church several times, and saw Cavey take a small community gathering in a school hall to a converted theatre where entire crowds would assemble to worship. I remember him saying to the eager enthusiasts, “If you’re here just for me, then please leave now”. Then stressed that church was about Jesus rather than the priest or preacher.
Problem is, many of those listening were there precisely because of him, which is why his failing and falling has caused such devastation. This isn’t the first time, and won’t be the last, that personality-driven churches tumble when leadership is exposed as flawed or even criminal.
In this case, there seems to have been a systemic failure to address an obvious problem, and it’s resulted in multi-million-dollar civil lawsuits from women alleging the church’s breach of duty of care in earlier situations. In many denominations, a church facing so many accusations may well have been closed earlier. The Meeting House is part of a Mennonite group called Be in Christ, the Canadian branch of the Brethren in Christ, but is sufficiently large to have always seemed autonomous.
It also raises the question of why so many Christians, especially younger Christians, feel the need for novel, ostensibly heroic leaders who seem to offer something fresh. In Cavey’s case, beyond his undeniable abilities was his persona—long hair, tattoos, jeans, and what one of the church members insisted to me was, “Such a different type of guy up there telling us about the Bible. He’s cool.”
It’s to the shame of the mainstream church that we’ve left a vacuum, created a stereotype or even a caricature of what a leader looks and sounds like, and made so many people feel that they need an alternative, sometimes any alternative.
But the appeal of the compelling leader is a dangerous phenomenon, whether it be religious or political—European populism, Donald Trump, and 20th-century dictators have proven that. Churches are more vulnerable because with a leap of faith comes a leap of trust, and one of the most painful things I’ve ever heard was the oft-repeated response of Roman Catholic parents when their children claimed to have been abused. “Father would never do that. He’s a priest!” God wept.
I genuinely mourn for everybody involved in the collapse of The Meeting House, and I’ve been contacted by good, faithful, dedicated people who are broken by what has happened to their church. But for the life of me, and I say this with no relish whatsoever, I’m not especially surprised.
The Reverend Michael Coren is the author of 18 books, several of them best-sellers, translated into a dozen languages. He hosted daily radio and TV shows for almost 20 years, and is now a Contributing Columnist for the Toronto Star, and appears regularly in the Globe and Mail, The Walrus, The Oldie, ipaper, TVOntario, The New Statesman, and numerous other publications in Canada and Britain. He has won numerous award and prizes across North America. He is a priest at St. Luke’s, Burlington. His latest book is The Rebel Christ.
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