12 Questions You Should Ask Your Pastors
If a pastor argues that reporting child sexual abuse is a matter of personal judgment, the congregation has the biblical duty to ask further questions. It is essential not only to ascertain whether it’s safe to remain at the church but to also ensure that all vulnerable people are protected.
Financial Abuse in the Church
Financial abuse takes on additional gravity when it is done in the name of God. Abusive husbands may be drawn to patriarchal religious communities because the gender hierarchy can disguise and enable their financial abuse. Choosing to be a stay-at-home wife or daughter is one thing – being forced to work without pay or to turn down opportunities for education or paid employment is another.
Victim Blaming in the Church
Victim blaming is the act of holding a person responsible for the harm they have experienced or the crime committed against them. This often looks like attributing blame or responsibility to the victim for their own victimization, rather than the perpetrator or other external factors.
We are all complicit
One of the most complicated truths to acknowledge is that we have harmed others, yet this is an essential step in the journey to wholeness. There is freedom in acknowledging that we have been complicit in harm. It allows us to seek forgiveness, offer restitution, and find grace for ourselves and for others.
Understanding Domestic Violence
Domestic Violence impacts every community regardless of race, culture, or socioeconomic status. On average, nearly twenty people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States. One in four women and one in nine men experience some form of severe intimate partner violence at some point in their life.
The danger of denial
Listening to survivors tell their stories can be uncomfortable, especially if they name abuse that does not seem to align with what you have experienced.
No, you’re not crazy
Abusive churches excel at gaslighting people. They taught you to distrust your own body, your own emotions, and your own sense of reality.