Creating response protocols for churches to follow when a member, pastor, or staff member receives a child sexual abuse disclosure will churches respond consistently in a manner that ultimately protects children. How we respond to abuse disclosures will have lifelong impacts upon the survivor. The Church has a responsibility to make sure its response demonstrates love, compassion, and great value to the one whose life has been eviscerated by the pains of abuse.

So what could a non-hierarchichal denomination do? For Evangelical denominations who don’t have enforceable policies brought down from above, how can they tangibly act?

I think a starting place is for the leadership of these denominations to engage in personal dialogue with those of us who have already been directly addressing this issue and who really have a heart’s desire to equip the church in understanding this issue. I think it starts with that almost one-on-one dialogue, helping train and equip these leaders to understand the gravity of the issue.

I think sometimes the issue is not discussed at a national or denominational level by these leaders because they simply don’t fully understand it. These are theologians. I completely understand that these individuals have been called to focus on preaching and other aspects of ministry. They’re not called to be experts on child abuse, and that’s understandable. However, that is not an excuse to be un-teachable on a subject that impacts so many inside and outside the Christian community. So the hope is that they are open to begin a dialogue with those who are the experts in this area and who desire to serve Christ’s church in helping it better understand this issue.

Second, there are things that can come from a leadership level that can greatly influence churches to move in this direction. For example, if leaders are learning from the experts in the field, they will be in a better position to challenge pastors to read at least one recommended book a year that will help them better understand the dynamics of abuse. Anna Salter’s book entitled, Predators , is a very difficult book to read. However, if every pastor read that book I am convinced our churches would be safer because our pastors would have a much greater understanding of the gravity and prevalence of this issue. Recently, I recently wrote a Protecting Children from Abuse in the Church: Steps to Prevent and Respond. This is a short but very informative book that I hope can find its way into every church in this country.

This all begins by denominational leaders acknowledging that they have much to learn about this issue. Such an acknowledgment will prayerfully lead them to reach out to organizations like GRACEand others, who are here to help equip them to address this issue. The more informed people are on the issue of child sexual abuse, the more likely they will be to speak out about it. We even encourage pastors to preach on this topic at least once a year.

Read More