This is the true story of a church in America's Bible Belt, the First Christian Church in Florissant, Missouri--a church with a meager beginning and record of steady growth for forty-nine years until the weight of sexual abuse charges against a youth minister left it, and its congregation, broken. This is a case history and analysis of those events.
This is for the victims.—Joy S. Taylor, Author
Father God, I am of your household, a believer and a lover of Christ. Once your dwelling was the physical Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle and the Temple in Jerusalem, now I carry Your Spirit with me in my heart. I live and move and exist within the circle of Your will. I sense…
Today is a beautiful day, because only with God’s help are we freed, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Though they are at full strength and many, they will be cut down and pass away. Though I have afflicted you, I will afflict you no more. And now I will break his yoke from off you and…
I bless You, Lord, for You are my solid foundation. You do not change. Your steadfast love remains. Your faithfulness does not waver. I walk in Your consistency, though my heart and flesh may fail. I stand because You are my breath of life. You are worthy of praise in Your powerful name and authority,…
Today is a beautiful day, because “And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth. And he shall be their peace.” (Micah…
Lord, Yours is the blood of the new covenant. It binds me forever in loving commitment to the One who died in my place. You took my feet free of the snare of my transgressions. You placed me on the rock that is higher than I. You give me purpose and a future. You are…
Today is a beautiful day, because “O Lord, my strength and my stronghold, my refuge in the day of trouble, to you shall the nations come from the ends of the earth and say: ‘Our fathers have inherited nothing but lies, worthless things in which there is no profit. Can man make for himself gods?…
Father, God, to think that you loved me before I knew you, to think that you loved me even in my darkest moments, to think that your goodness overcomes leads me to the well of your mercy and forgiveness. The renewal of your living water is like no other. The uplift of your redeeming love…
Today is a beautiful day, because “Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord; awake, as in days of old, the generations of long ago.” (Isaiah 51:9 ESV) Strength #joyinverse #blessedthisdayandeveryday
I’m waiting, Lord, humbly and quietly waiting. This is the time you meet me. This is the time you reveal yourself to me. This is the time I sense your nearness through the shivers of perfect love. This is the time I hear you speak through your Word. This is the time I learn of…
Today is a beautiful day, because Isaiah wrote of the Messiah as God’s servant hundreds of years before His birth, “And now the Lord says, he who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him; and that Israel might be gathered to him—for I am honored in the…
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