On March 18, Adele Mulford and Cherri Rodriguez, two former contractors for moderate/progressive Christian collective The New Evangelicals, released the results of an investigation into TNE's culture conducted by  Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment (GRACE). The investigation was commissioned the previous summer due to incidents of inappropriate and abusive behavior on the part of TNE founder and executive director Tim Whitaker.

Among other things, while driving creative director Mulford (the Reporting Victim in the GRACE report) to a documentary shoot, Whitaker (Individual 1) engaged in alarming rage driving. He then retaliated against Mulford when she expressed her concerns. Ultimately, Mulford and Rodriguez (Witness 1) resigned during the course of the GRACE investigation.

GRACE found that Whitaker's actions with Mulford amounted to “behavioral misconduct” and demonstrated “a lack of self-control, controlling behaviors, and holding double standards.” It also revealed that Whitaker had told TNE's board of directors about Mulford's concerns in May, but later said that no one had expressed concerns about his driving in several months. GRACE recommended taking the focus off Whitaker and adding more members to the board who were not TNE supporters.

Both TNE's board and Whitaker fully committed to implementing GRACE’s recommendations. It appeared that TNE was willing to acknowledge that it was no longer a startup, but a major voice in the moderate and progressive Christian world. 

That hope, however, was dashed when Rick Pidcock of Baptist News Global revealed that mere minutes after his report on the investigation, Whitaker called him and heatedly accused Pidcock of running a story laden with factual errors. And yet, Whitaker failed to point out any errors, not to Pidcock or to Baptist News Global editors.

That was alarming enough, but Pidcock reported that no fewer than five other people had experienced similar behavior from Tim within minutes of posting comments about him. While they were far less heated than the one with Pidcock, a common theme ran through them—Whitaker claimed factual errors and attempted to downplay his behavior.

This came mere days after Whitaker personally committed to "embrace repentance" for the actions spelled out in the GRACE report. His behavior with Pidcock and others is as far from "embracing repentance" as you can get. Indeed, in light of his behavior with Mulford, this is prima facie evidence of a pattern of abusive behavior. And yet, the board has taken no action.

This inaction is even more disturbing considering that Whitaker has been churning out social media content on a regular basis even though no fewer than two third parties cut ties with TNE in the wake of the GRACE report. First, Peter Bell, host of Sons of Patriarchy, a podcast focused on exposing Christian nationalist pastor Doug Wilson, deleted an episode featuring Whitaker within half an hour of reading the GRACE report and apologized for platforming him. Soon afterward, Christian publisher William B. Eerdmans backed out of a book deal with TNE. In other words, TNE was told in capital letters that it could not continue as before, and needed to take concrete steps to ensure it was serious about change. 

TNE bills itself as a safe space for people who are deconstructing their faith. And yet, Whitaker's actions with Pidcock and others were reminiscent of the very behavior that led TNE members to start deconstructing in the first place. How can an organization brand itself as a safe space when it is led by someone who exhibits the same patterns that many of us saw in the past? There isn't a credible answer to that question. 

Any organization worth its salt, for-profit or nonprofit, secular or religious, should know that when a top executive demonstrates an irrefutable pattern of abusive behavior, it’s a firing offense. The board's failure to act at this point puts TNE in stratospheric legal danger. It raises grave questions about whether TNE is serious about preventing another incident like the one with Mulford.

With heavy hearts, we believe the only way forward at this point is for TNE’s board to completely, permanently, and formally separate from Tim Whitaker. While we believe there is still a space for TNE, it is now clear not just beyond reasonable doubt, but ALL doubt, that Tim is not the person to lead it.