For those of you who know how averse I can be to Bible verses - they were so often used as weapons against me - this will seem out of character. Yet, in recent days, from morning to night, my mind is flooded with a single thought. It is the first thought in my mind on awakening and the last thought before sleeping (on those precious nights when sleep actually arrives). Is it a prayer? I don't know. I don't know if what I do even constitutes prayer. I think it would be more true to simply say that I feel prayerful. It's Psalms 19:14....
"Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart,Friends....please keep me in your thoughts, prayers, and/or incantations in the days to come. Thank you.
be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer."
"Recois favorablement les paroles de ma bouche, et les sentiments de mon coeur, O Eternel, mon rocher et mon liberateur!"
Lots of motion in the cause in the last few weeks. Glad you got to speak in front of the EC. Bible verses still speak to me and I do believe in prayer -- differently than when I was a kid for sure, but I still do. You will be in mine this coming week.
ReplyDeleteChrista, Your emotional and spiritual healing will be the focus of my prayers for you. Please stop accusing Baptist pastors of being abusers. Most of them are wonderful men of faith who would rather cut off an arm than harm anyone.
ReplyDeleteA slap in the face used to be an insult. A slap in the face was also used as a meathod of bringing a person back to reality. I grew up in a Baptist church and continue to be a Baptist. I am also a survivor. Growing up Baptist sexual issues were NOT discussed. The silence provided a sanctuary for abusers and a pit of despair for victims. This is not what God intended. A shepherd does not give his lamb to the lion willingly. He places himself between the lion and the lamb. Why are we so willing to not practice what we preach. Thank you Christa for the slap in the face to all Baptist. It's time we awake and save the lambs.
ReplyDeleteChrista,
ReplyDeleteI hope and pray that you find comfort in the words of God and healing for the evil that was done in the name of God. I am praying for peace, grace, and justice for your situation.
I am also praying that as an SBC pastor, I can help to stop this problem.
Thanks for your website.
lin: I know there are many wonderful men of faith, but I also know that child predators are chameleons. They can look and sound as wonderful as any other minister - sometimes more so. Without effective systems for accountability, the chameleon-like predatory ministers hide among the good guy ministers. I've been told that my own perp actually served on a committee at his last mega-church to establish policies for preventing child abuse - sort of like how Foley served on a House committee on exploited children. I feel certain that most who knew him would say that he was a "wonderful man of faith who would rather cut off an arm than harm anyone."
ReplyDeletelin: Christa is right. And even more, all the "good guys" out there ought to be doing everything they can to stop the minority of pastors that are out there hurting people. It seems that the "good guys" would have a vested interest in putting a stop to the continuous stream of stories of yet another church, yet another pastor, yet another child. Right now there is NO accountability, so the men who pretend to be "wonderful men of faith" continue to get away with hurting innocent children and ruining lives.
ReplyDeleteThis is really a difficult issue as you share--but for some other reasons.
ReplyDeleteFirst, you must understand the SBC structure and whether you agree or like it, each church is totally autonomous and the SBC could never enforce this issue.
Second, there has to be some way to be sure that the accuser is valid. I have known of many instances in which someone cried "wolf" and it turned out to be false but the pastor's life and ministry had already been ruined. Just because someone accuses someone of something doesn't mean its true.
As a pastor, I would say the best recourse is to ALWAYS call the local police and let them handle it.
I'm on your side but there needs to be more thought given to the issue in my opinion.