Dear Editor,
I write as someone who loves Jesus, whose life has been shaped through faithful Bible preaching. In recent years my faith has also been significantly damaged by abuse in a church setting, the subsequent handling and hiding of the truth. The isolation and inability to trust church leaders is soul crushing. Many victims of abuse in our churches have been caused to fall. We can’t be Christians in isolation, yet churches have been places of hurt.
I am troubled by the lack of awareness in evangelical culture. Victims are often seen as troublemakers, over-sensitive, even threats to our institution, rather than the oppressed whom the Bible calls us to uphold and defend.
If we say we must remain Biblically faithful, call people to repentance and indeed call the rest of the church to this standard, surely we must deal with this sin within, otherwise we are hypocrites. Two upcoming evangelical culture-forming conferences mention failings of leaders in their promos. I hope this is not a perfunctory nod, or worse still casting themselves as victims (lumping in abuse scandals with Covid) as if it has been outside our control.
In my story, I never imagined I would see such unChrist-like determination by leaders to keep things hidden in the darkness. And yet…
We must do better. Diane Langberg is a great place to start learning.
Yours sincerely,
(Name and town withheld)
