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 Roy's Report, a podcast dedicated to reporting the truth and restoring the church.

I'm Julie Roy's. 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 emit 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 Voles 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 to Wade's talk, some light bulbs will go on. And so I'm very excited

to share this talk with you, but first, I'd like to thank the sponsors of this podcast, Judson

University, and Mark Ward of Barrington. If you're looking for a top-ranked Christian

University providing a caring community and an excellent college experience, Judson University is for you.

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