Handling Abuse in the Church

It would be nice if we could go to church and believe that “no one in here” could abuse their spouse or children. It might be nice, but it would be naive. And the consequences of such a belief are tragic.

It is ironic that in churches, where the requirement of membership is an acknowledgment of a sin nature that only Christ’s death on the cross can remedy, we believe that certain sins are only committed “out there.” But the assumptions we embrace produce the questions we never ask and the warning signs we never see. Worse, they can keep us from hearing the cries for help because the implications make us uncomfortable.

We can start to reverse this trend by being willing to be uncomfortable. We can start by being willing to consider what we would prefer to think doesn’t exist. Read More