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
Come along with me through discussion of
characteristics of churches and pastors that tend to
operate this way under the threat of misconduct
exposure. Let’s look at common techniques of
leadership during the cover-up process.
Gracious and loving Father, you are the uncaused cause and the perfect example of relationship. Father, I thank you for brothers and sisters in Christ. I thank you for their hugs and smiles. I thank you for their honest communication. I thank you for their loving support and care. I thank you for bring every…
Who is like you, God? Who can stay your hand at what you will? Who can stand at the measure of your holiness? Who can hold a candle to the whirlwind of your Spirit? Who is there that compares to the righteousness of the Son?
Father, Teach us your ways so that we can walk in your truth. Give us undivided hearts that know you and respect and revere your holiness and your great name. We praise you, Father, with all our hearts and seek to glorify you forever. Your love for us is great. You deliver us from the…
Father, I want to thank you for constantly working for our greater good and your glory. I’m reminded in a post from Janet Ross that you are constant, whatever we go through. What a blessing that is to me as I walk through these days of swirling uncertainty and transition. You are my rock and…
Don’t Listen to the Lies An encouragement verse for today, don’t listen to the lies of the world. Believe what God says about you.
Life flows shallow the way the world operates these days. Is there depth in your relationships? Are you satisfied to wade in the shallow water or are you willing to go deeper for meaning and purpose? I floated through more than 30 years of my life, letting currents carry me where they would. When I…
My older sister and her family are Mainers. I have visited Swan’s Island every Labor Day since 2009. I am smitten by that place, the seaman’s atmosphere, gorgeous sunsets over the Atlantic Ocean and the sounds of breezes and lapping waves along the shore. Most of all, I am captivated by long walks and heart-felt…
Haven’t we all wished to rid ourselves of this earthly existence and experience a little bit of heaven here on earth? Don’t we long to walk away from the mundane and into the sublime? Oh, yes. Oh, yes we do. The only place I’ve found that is in the presence of Jesus through prayer and/or…