Here is this week’s podcast Audio Video
Tag: #ChurchToo
How we think about abuse matters
Yesterday I shared an update on my correspondence with Premier Christianity about their article claiming that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene. We might leave it there except that the article seems to be part of a concerning trend from a pastoral perspective. It was followed by two articles that I find deeply concerning in… Continue reading How we think about abuse matters
In the end it’s not reviews and reports that will protect you
I was reflecting with someone the other day about the horror of recent scandals within the church and the ongoing challenge for the many of us who are concerned about how such scandals have been made possible and may reflect other deeper cultural challenges. My friend expressed concern that we may be seeing the growth… Continue reading In the end it’s not reviews and reports that will protect you
It may appear to come from your side but it’s not friendly fire
You may be familiar with the term “friendly fire”. It refers to when a military assault on the enemy ends up taking out members of the same side as well as or instead of the enemy positions. This can be caused by those people being in close proximity to the enemy at the time or… Continue reading It may appear to come from your side but it’s not friendly fire
When someone is falsely accused
This is the third and final part of my mini-series on false accusation. In my first article, I said that often the person who is falsely accused is not in a position to do much and so will be dependent upon the help of others. I believe that this is where others in the leadership… Continue reading When someone is falsely accused
What can I do when falsely accused?
Sadly, we’ve seen some high profile examples of sin, bullying and abuse or of church leaders failing to handle such situations well. I’ve written occasionally about these things because I’m concerned to see healthy churches and healthy leadership. However, not every accusation will be true. Sometimes this is because there has been a genuine misunderstanding… Continue reading What can I do when falsely accused?
Anatomy of an abusive relationship
Last week when talking with Ryan Burton King about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, we discussed the response in Russia. Over the past few week’s we’ve seen a lot of examples of bravery from Russians willing to protest, most notably a young Russian TV editor who interrupted a news broadcast holding up a protest sign. At… Continue reading Anatomy of an abusive relationship
Throwing people under the bus
In a recent article I mentioned the “Rise and Fall of Mars Hill” podcast. The Christianity Today series tells the story of Mark Driscoll and Mars Hill Church, Seattle. Driscoll became well known as a church planter and mega-church leader succeeding in an area regarded as hard to reach. He went on to head up… Continue reading Throwing people under the bus
Gay Conversion Therapy: You can’t use already criminalised behaviour to justify criminalising legitimate behaviour
The I newspaper recently reported a very distressing case of a woman claiming that her pastor raped her in order to “cure” her of her Lesbianism. If true, then this is another horrendous example of abuse in the church. It may not be possible now to establish the truth concerning the allegations about he pastor… Continue reading Gay Conversion Therapy: You can’t use already criminalised behaviour to justify criminalising legitimate behaviour
Our responsibility when there are accusations of abuse and bullying
Today I’m attending an online conference organised by Church As Refuge. The organisers want to encourage pastors and church leaders to think about how we make churches safe and welcoming refuges for victims of abuse. However, the context is also that sadly we have seen too many cases of abuse within the church. We’ve seen… Continue reading Our responsibility when there are accusations of abuse and bullying
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