Tag: church abuse

Confronting abuse in the church – reforming towards a culture of grace

I’ve written from time to time about the issues of bullying and abuse within the church. That is because recent serious scandals relating to high profile leaders that include sexual, emotional and physical abuse, and sadly the accompanying failure of the church to deal with such issues over many years raise challenges about church culture. … Continue reading Confronting abuse in the church – reforming towards a culture of grace

Be careful who you give platforms to

Although Donald Trump had already amassed his billions and was famous when it happened, his celebrity status took off when he became the star of The Apprentice. This gave him an incredible media platform. Were we uncomfortable with his brashness, his crudeness and aggression? Yes we were. Did a number of other businessmen and women… Continue reading Be careful who you give platforms to

Developing Robust Safeguarding policies

In a recent article, I wrote in defence of safeguarding policies and officers. Here I want to put forward some suggestions for how to have good, robust policies in place. First of all, I believe it is important to start from a Biblical basis.  Elders have a responsibility to provide good spiritual food for the… Continue reading Developing Robust Safeguarding policies

In defence of safeguarding

In this month’s Evangelicals Now, John Benton, comparing Safeguarding policies to the controversy over VAR in football writes: Safeguarding in churches is of immense importance, both for the sake of children and adults. There have been too many people deeply damaged, not only by the more serious and criminal forms of abuse, but by mistreatment… Continue reading In defence of safeguarding

If you are going to revitalise you need to be good pastors to the existing congregation

Something struck me the other day as I was talking with a friend who is involved in supporting church revitalisation. His love and care for existing church members shone through. He saw them as showing evidence of being baby Christians even though they were old in years and had been in the church for a… Continue reading If you are going to revitalise you need to be good pastors to the existing congregation

Priti Patel and bullying accusations

At the end of last week, we saw the conclusions of the investigation into claims that Priti Patel, the Home Secretary had bullied staff.  It is important to note what was actually reported.  I quote at length the substance of the conclusions here. “The Ministerial Code says “ministers should be professional in their working relationships… Continue reading Priti Patel and bullying accusations

What drives false teachers, bullies and abusers?

False teachers also tend to be bullies and abusers. The reverse is also true, abusers and bullies tend to be false teachers if they happen to be involved in church life and leadership. There are a couple of reasons for this. First of all, false teaching is itself a form of spiritual abuse, secondly false… Continue reading What drives false teachers, bullies and abusers?

How do we handle #ChurchToo allegations? Supporting the victim

It is perhaps helpful when thinking about how we would handle a complaint from an adult about abuse within the church to remember that we have some starting points. Much of what we should do is covered in the policies we tend to have for safeguarding children and vulnerable adults. I think the key things… Continue reading How do we handle #ChurchToo allegations? Supporting the victim

An MP, a rape accusation and #churchtoo

In the news this weekend, an as yet unnamed Conservative MP has been arrested on suspicion of rape. There have been calls for him to have the Conservative whip suspended, for example, Jess Phillips, the shadow Domestic violence minister has expressed shock that this has not happened yet.[1]Her argument is that naming him is necessary… Continue reading An MP, a rape accusation and #churchtoo