My book is finally out!It's called This Little Light: Beyond a Baptist Preacher Predator and His Gang.
As always, I hope that my work may be of help to others, that it may shine a light on truth, and that it may prod this in-the-dark denomination toward an ethical practice that prioritizes kid-protection ahead of institutional protection.
This Little Light is a combination memoir and exposé that not only tells my personal story, but also documents the beginning of activist efforts to bring clergy accountability to Baptist-land. You can see more info about the book on this new blog-site: ThisLittleLight-TheBook.
You can see the full cover of the book - front and back - here.
The book is available on Barnes and Noble and Amazon, or you can order it from your local bookstore.
Many thanks to all of you who have shared parts of this journey with me. The journey continues.
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Read the news on my book in the Associated Baptist Press.
Posts
30 comments:
Hi Christa, Haruo from baptistlife.com here, just letting you know I just recommended your book for purchase by the Seattle Public Library. Good luck with it; I look forward to reading it.
Leland aka Haruo
I recommended it on my blog, the podcast, my facebook account, and the FFF. I hope people will be brave enough to read it. Certainly is well written. It's a brilliant, engaging, if tragic, book
Oh, Christa. I did not know that you had finally written your story. How therapeutic that must have been. I cannot wait to read it and share it with others.
Take care.
Phyllis
I hope you are sending a copy to Paige Patterson and the leadership of the SBC.
Christa,
Congratulations on your book! Hopefully the truth will set others free to shine their light! I am also posting this link on my facebook page.
I encourage all those who support the work that Christa does as an advocate against clergy sexual abuse to use your facebook pages to get the word out. Many are still in the dark about how this crime is dealt with in the Baptist churches. Too many believe they have to live in the darkness of shame.
Thank you Christa for letting your light shine!
Off Topic:
let's stop pastor darrell gilyard together > The Trail of Tears.
Since the plea bargain I have received so many emails from caring people from my past, people that also watched Darrell Gilyard preach back in the late 80's early 90's and revered him. Most of these people knew of my situation with him and also of the scandal that that all became public once his past was fully seen. But there are still many that simply did not know and are now shocked. They wondered what happened to him, why he wasn't a regular at First Baptist any longer, but assumed he just moved on. There have been pictures of our church youth group tour days posted on the popular "facebook" site, in many of these Darrell is sitting in a pew with his arms around teen girls and no one thought much of it. They have held onto the pictures and just see the memories of being with this "famous pastor" and of the fun we had as a huge group of kids that love the Lord and were on the road telling people about Jesus. No one really saw any red flags, atleast not any that they mentioned. Why, you may ask? Because he was presented to us as a Pastor/Evangelist that we were very blessed to have the honor of touring with, and because we should have been able to trust him. Because people just don't think to be careful of a Pastor, to be weary of "innappropriate behavior". I am sure at that time if anyone had a "complaint" it would have been scrutinized and maybe even blamed as "overactive teen imagination". After all, this is the "great Darrell Gilyard", a famous southern Baptist Preacher. Many were fooled, epecially his victims.
"What hurts the victim most is not the cruelty of the oppressor but the silence of the bystander."
- Elie Wiesel
What should never be forgotten in the Darrell Gilyard saga is that Gilyard wasn't the worst of it. The worst of it was soooooo many others who turned a blind eye. High honchos Paige Patterson and Jerry Vines are the most obvious examples, but there were many, many more.
So what would be any different the next time? What would make it different? What would stop the next Gilyard sooner? Those are the questions people should ask.
And the answer is this: Nothing. Nothing would be any different. Nothing has changed.
Baptists have a buck-stops-nowhere system and they refuse to plug the holes in the system. It's a system that rejects clergy accountability and that turns its back on compassion for the wounded.
I can't wait to read this book. I am so thankful for people like you.
Because you have chosen to let your light shine, I am one who has been blessed. I hope that many more will be blessed as well.
Not going to wait for the copy I ordered...going to the Barnes and Noble near by!
I need to know your touring schedule!I AM a member of the RRR... for the Relentless Christa Brown!!I can have your lodging, drivers, and security arraigned in several southern cities in no time flat!
I'm sure you have friends in places all over the country!!! I'm ready!
Some Baptist minister is being shown on 48 hours tonight...I haven't caught all the names yet....sounds like one of the Baptist minister perps we discuss here...except he also killed his wife. Going to pay attention and check the list on your site.
Matt Baker. This story is worse on TV than when I originally read it.
Thanks for the heads-up, gmommy!
It's such an important story. This Texas Southern Baptist pastor, Matt Baker, had so many allegations against him, and yet no one did anything. Now he's charged with murdering his wife.
Here's the CBS 48 Hours story that just aired.
Here's my own prior blog posting on it.
Leland,
Welcome to the blog, and thanks for recommending my book to the Seattle Public Library.
Coming from a church that had a member that was associated from the neo-conservative movement in the SBC, a long past on friend and deacon stated that although their pastor preached well, he was not good at pastoring. This is the heart at what is wrong with the current movement in the SBC. As Cal Thomas stated top down approaches in reforms only tend to develop Pharisism.
Before everyone leaps on the bandwagon to crucify all pastors, you should hear some of the things pastors hear about their church members and their adultery, fornication, child abuse, incest, and theft.
Might cause some of you to slow down a bit when you realize we are all reprobates without the blood of Jesus.
Anonymous, you perfectly exemplify the situation ethics and flexible, devilish morality that reign in the SBC and the Religious Right. We are not talking about pastors gossiping, or taking a nip of brandy, or watching baseball on Sunday We are talking pastors about molesting children: pastors who are sodomites and fornicators with the youngest members of Christendom, destroying lives and destroying faith in Christ. These pastors are guilty of the unspeakable sins of Romans chapter one, being shielded and protected by other pastors.
And you are among that number of those who call good evil and evil good.
It doesn't matter what other people do, when a pastor engages in ANY sexual sin he is to be confronted, rebuked, and removed from office. When he commits the unspeakable sins that spell out his damnation, he is to be excommunicated from Christendom.
If you have any conscience at all, go repent of your hard heartedness against the innocent. And if you have no conscience left, I hope hell catches up with you before you go out and continue to defend the indefensible. As you have no fear of God, then may God teach you the fear of God. What could you be thinking, to defend such men and such grossly perverted sins?
ABP > Book says SBC lacks system of preventing sexual abuse.
A book released in advance of the June 23-24 annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention claims the nation's largest Protestant faith group has more than 100,000 clergy, but no effective system of denominational oversight to protect children from sexual abuse.
This Little Light: Beyond a Baptist Preacher Predator and His Gang is a combination memoir and exposé written by Christa Brown, an anti-clergy-sex-abuse activist.
Brown tells her own story of being sexually abused by a youth minister at the Texas Southern Baptist church of her childhood and how years later as an adult she met a bureaucratic response when trying to warn denominational officials there might be a sexual predator in their midst.
If anyone who wishes to contact NPR for a possible story on Christa's book, please do so.
NPR > Suggesting Story Ideas to NPR.
Because It Matters ~ Freedom In Christianity [Dani Moss] > The Invisible Holocaust in Our Church.
I just finished reading a book, which is as profound as it is powerful. I honestly have no good words.
This book is so important to the church as an organization and to every individual who claims to be a Christian, a simple review is not adequate. EVERY believer, and I do mean EVERY believer, needs to read this book.
DEEP THOUGHTS [MOJOEY] > This Little Light, by Christa Brown.
BECAUSE IT MATTERS ~ FREEDOM IN CHRISTIANITY [Dani Moss] > The Church Holocaust Through One Person’s Eyes.
Please read the above post. It contains excerpts from Christa Browns's book "This Little Light".
It shows how not only was Christa raped sexually, but spiritually and soulfully. It is truly sickening.
Where is God in all this? Why is Grace only shown by the Church to the abusers but not to the victims?
This is one of the primary reasons why there is so much hypocrisy and why ordinary people do not trust Church officials. May God have mercy on their souls on Judgement Day.
Book review and posts of Christa's book, This Little Light:
THIS LITTLE LIGHT.
Stop Baptist Predators > This Little Light.
Stop Baptist Predators > Harsh words make my point.
Amazon.
Barnes and Noble.
ABP News > Book says SBC lacks system of preventing sexual abuse.
The above was also reposted here, and here.
New BBC Open Forum > This Little Light: Beyond a Baptist Preacher Predator and His Gang.
GOOD HARD WORKING PEOPLE > Book Recommendation: "This Little Light".
Christian School Confidential > This Little Light by Christa Brown.
BECAUSE IT MATTERS ~ FREEDOM IN CHRISTIANITY [Dani Moss] > The Invisible Holocaust in Our Church.
BECAUSE IT MATTERS ~ FREEDOM IN CHRISTIANITY [Dani Moss] > The Church Holocaust Through One Person’s Eyes.
DEEP THOUGHTS [MOJOEY] > This Little Light, by Christa Brown.
DEEP THOUGHTS [MOJOEY] > Review: This Little Light.
The Fighting Fundamental Forums > THIS LITTLE LIGHT: Beyond a Baptist Preacher Predator and His Gang --BASS's review.
Spiritual Samurai > Christa Brown’s New Book.
This Little Light - Book and Reviews.
Christa Brown said...
I'm reposting below a prior comment by Jeri:
"... You know, friends, the more people who post reviews on Amazon, the more prominently Amazon will display the book in searches for things like "Baptist Books" (believe it or not!), religion, clergy issues, etc.
Amazon does its rankings based on daily sales, so a brand new book that sells 10 copies in one day actually shoots to the top of their smaller charts (like religion). And reviews also add points to the ratings, as do comments on reviews.
If you are shy about writing in such a large venue, you can always stay simple: identify your reason for reading the book (I'm a Christian; I've been following clergy abuse stories; or I'm a survivor of clergy abuse, etc) and then a single statement of your reaction. (This book helped me understand the situation. Or, I had no idea the problem was this serious. Or, This book made me feel like I have not suffered alone, etc.
By contributing reviews and comments on reviews, you help to keep the book prominent."
Thanks to any of you who are able to post just a few sentences about my book on the Amazon or Barnes & Noble sites. It really helps!
June 22, 2009 8:10 AM.
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Christa Brown said...
Many thanks to those of you who contributed comments to the Associated Baptist Press article about my book. It's up to 93 today, and still counting. I think that's way more than ANY other ABP article has ever garnered.
To this day, the ABP is still running that article as a lead-story-slider at the top of its home page. I believe the many comments are what have helped to keep the story in a highly-visible place on the site, and particularly with the Southern Baptist Convention starting tomorrow, your comments help.
June 22, 2009 8:24 AM.
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BeautyFromPain > This Little Light By: Christa Brown.
This Little Light > Review of Rev. Thomas Doyle
Reverend Thomas Doyle is the whistle-blower priest and former Vatican canon lawyer who, twenty-five years ago, warned Catholic bishops about the looming clergy sex abuse nightmare. They ignored him, but Doyle’s prophetic words proved to be tragically true.
In 2007, Doyle wrote to Baptist officials with a similar warning. They too ignored him.
Ministry of Reconciliation [Debbie Kaufman] > This Little Light By Christa Brown Pt. 1
I am sitting here thinking what part of the book This Little Light by Christa Brown should I write about? It’s a book that when I finished reading the last page left me with a host of different thoughts and feelings. One chapter had me shocked at the number of victims in the Southern Baptist churches alone, one chapter had me angry that leaders in the Southern Baptist churches, Convention, literally turned their backs on Christa Brown as she tried to approach them, one chapter had me both angry and sad that Christa Brown was full of hope in approaching Southern Baptist leadership about clergy sexual abuse only to have her hopes dashed as excuses were made, doors shut on her, threatening letters were sent to her.
just found your blog, every blog on this subject helps other victims know that they are not alone. I have put a link to your blog in mine if that is ok.
http://jayne-thehungryperson.blogspot.com/
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