In recent weeks, there have been calls for abuse reform in the Southern Baptist Convention and Presbyterian Church in America. We’d like to highlight some of the recent reports in the news and call the church to repentance and concern for the hurting.
- On May 22, 2022, Guidepost Solutions published an independent investigative report on abuse in the Southern Baptist Convention at the request of the SBC. The report covers the stonewalling and cover up of abuse within the SBC. In an op-ed on World Opinion, Dr. Al Mohler says that the Guidepost Solutions report is devastating, heartbreaking, and infuriating. “The weight of truth calls for repentance, broken-hearted concern, and a concerted determination to make things right. We will not get—and will not deserve—a second chance at this.”
- On May 23, 2022, a Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) Abuse Study Committee Released its Report on abuse. The committee was asked to prepare an annotated bibliography of resources “related to child abuse and sexual assault, domestic abuse and sexual assault, and domestic oppression.” Its 220-page report starts off with a survey on how Scripture and the Westminster Standards define abuse and offers advice and best practicies to sessions, presbyteries, and PCA agencies on how to deal with abuse. Some of its recommendations overlap with recommendations from the Guidepost Solutions report. Tim LeCroy, the committee chair hopes the report can be studied and utilized as a resource and be helpful for training purposes. “I would hope that the sobering [Guidepost Solutions] report would cause folks in the PCA to take our advice seriously and seek to implement it.” Case studies from PCA churches included in the committee report should cause elders and church leaders to see that the PCA is not immune from domestic, sexual, child, or spiritual abuse.
For those who want to grow in learning to handle abuse:
- Pastor Tom Pryde with the Psalm 82 Initiative writes an open letter to church leaders on abuse. His ministry is aimed at helping church leaders recognize and respond well to abuse. He said we must remember several key principles when dealing with abuse. These include being harmless, being wise, seeking the truth, understanding the nature of love, understanding true repentance, and understanding Biblical freedom. Pastor Tom’s open letter explains these principles concisely and offers many good book recommendations that can jump start those who want to love well. I encourage you to read his letter.
- In a Biblical Counseling Coalition article published last week, Nate Brooks and Ann Maree Goudzwaard explain how emotional abuse harms the body. This is why asking an abuse victim if they have been hit by an abuser is not a very helpful question. Physical abuse can come in obvious ways such as with black and blue marks, but should not be limited to assault. What about depriving a victim of sleep or medical care? What about verbal abuse? Nate and Ann explain that “emotional abuse and physical abuse are inextricably intertwined, just as physical bodies and spiritual souls are intertwined.”
