I don’t know many who aren’t familiar with the Hillsong name. The organization is most likely known for their musical worship team and the Hillsong United music. It’s highly unfortunate that the church also faced the sexual abuse issue because of Pastor Frank Houston’s pedophilia in 1970 that his son, Brian, failed to report to…
The issues at Eastview Christian Church crowed the headlines in 2023. What began in 2016 as allegations of sexual misconduct of the senior pastor’s son, who was asked by the senior pastor to terminate his pastoral position at the church. Seven years rolled around until the potential sexual abuse and cover-up bubbled to the surface…
I was quite young when the inklings of trouble within the Catholic Church erupted. When abuse is first publicly reported, it can easily be dismissed. However, the issues with the Catholic Church proved how long it takes to fight through the emotional, spiritual and legal battles. From the book: “The Catholic Church dioceses make up…
Here’s another clergy cover-up technique that sets an organization up for failure. It is the inability to recognize the potential danger of abuse in the church and pro-actively preparing to handle the situation properly. From the book: “Lack of accountability of senior leaders, blocks access to those with questions, powerlessness on the part of elders;…
Let’s shed some light on how accountability works in the cycle of abuse. From the book: “I’m learning about the divide in tyrannical governing. I’ve mentioned the duality of power, but there is also a hierarchy of accountability. The abusive minister sets a different standard for himself in that he is the chosen one, God’s…
Scripture Twisting is used often by abusers to establish their position over that of anyone questioning their behavior. They turn God’s Word into weapons to go against their perceived attacker. From the book: “Abusers use distortion of biblical passages to gain their desired response. I have personal experience with Scripture twisting both from within my…
Allow truth to shine in the darkness of cover-up. Keep asking pertinent questions. From the book: “Shaming One must never criticize their church. If you do, you are looked at as disloyal, a troublemaker. How could you raise issue with the ones under whose teaching you sit? You must show absolute, unquestioning loyalty. Justin Humphrey…
Silencing is a pressure tactic to keep questioners from speaking out. Have you experienced this? From the text: “Once you stand up against the wrongdoing, the pressure to back down and self-censor increases. Ask the whistleblowers, the ones named in the legal documents, the ones who lost jobs. Threats of lawsuits, legal protective orders, church…
From the foreword: “Fighting sexual crime should be a collaborative effort. We all need each other in this fight. Evil has been winning for far too long. It’s time to restore the innocence of our children and protect them from dangerous predators within the church. Jimmy Hinton, MDiv” If we are going to affect clergy…
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