Woman crying in church. cotonbro@pexels
“What are you going to do? Are you going to live in the dark, locked in here? Afraid to look out, answer the door, leave? Yes, he’s out there, and he’s clearly not going to leave you alone until one of three things happens: he hurts you and gets arrested, or he makes a mistake and gets arrested, or you stop him.” ― Fall of Night
Most of us know the drill. A pastor or leader in the church has been credibly accused of sexual abuse or harassment. The rest of the leaders must tell the church, but they have a problem. Their services are streamed, so they act like mafiosi. They silence the streaming to talk to the members. That means most people won’t hear what they say. They then tell the story that reflects well on them. They want to protect the institution and their pastor/leader who has been caught. The victim is a problem since they believe her very existence could harm the institution or call the authority of the pastors into question. They want the victim to “shut up” and for their clueless church members to join in the conspiracy of silence by downplaying what happened. Yes, I sound harsh. I have been spending time with the good folks at Church Diaries Unlocked. They have story after story of churches that silence or downplay the victim’s story while protecting the institution and even the perpetrator who has been a respected member of that institution.
On Monday, I posted Part 1: The Back Story on Former SBCV Employee and Thomas Road Baptist Church Pastor Sergio Guardia’s Stalking of Marie Columna. Marie was stalked and sexually harassed by Sergio Guardia. In every interview she has given, including with me, she has consistently indicated that the church’s response, Thomas Road Baptist Church (TRBC), was worse than the years of stalking by Sergio Guardia. Folks, this should not be. The support and love of the rest of the leaders and church members should surround a victim of a church leader. There should be contrition on the part of the church leadership for its inability to supervise and hold accountable one of its own. It is my opinion that TRBC, under the leadership of Jonathan Falwell, whiffed it. Even more concerning, I believe they are more interested in protecting the institution over the victim. That makes me think that the church is not a safe place for any victim of church or pastor abuse.
So, what happened, according to Marie?
After Guardia was arrested, Marie called the church to talk with them about what happened and why she was asking for a protective order for her family to prevent Guardia from contacting them while out on bail. She then talked with Pastor Matt Wilmington. She recounted, in detail, what had happened with Guardia. She said Wilmington kept saying
“Uh huh, uh huh”
while she discussed those awful details. Then he said, when she was finished,
I’m so sad to know that my dear friend,Sergio, was arrested.
Dear friend? This is what one conveys to a distraught victim? He recounted that he had been a pastor for many years. (ed: “So what.”) He asked her what Guardia told the police. He then wanted to know,
Who else did you tell?
Why is this any of his business? It seems that he was trying to get a handle on how far the news had spread. Little did he know that this would become a viral story on social media, which major outlets have picked up. Then he reportedly said: (I say reportedly for the lawyers, but I believe Marie.)
Be careful who you tell.
What did he think about what happened? Read carefully.
He doesn’t disbelieve her.
Wow! How supportive. Was that a lawyer-suggested response? As the conversation progressed, he then asked her,
Where do you attend church? You should attend church..
It sure sounds to me like the pastor is trying to chastise the victim rather than support her. “Bless your heart; you need to be in church.”
Here is how she heard the offer of counseling.
You need to get counseling for your past.
She had received counseling from TRBC in the past. It sounds to me like he is trying to blame the victim as opposed to dealing with the abusive behavior of his “dear friend.”He sure seems to be making the victim sound like the “bad guy.”
She said he stressed,
There are no other victims.
How does he know? This situation with Guardia went on for years. There may be other victims. TRBC should have a third-party independent investigation, and the church should have asked other victims to come forward. As you will hear in the video at the end of the post, they did not do this in any public way, which is apparent to me.
Since he didn’t ask her about how her kids were doing, she told him,
I’m afraid for the safety of my kids and me.
She said he responded,
Satan is in your mind. Tell him to get out.
Wow, how supportive of a valid fear for her safety. Guardia ran inside her house when she wasn’t there. In the last post, we wrote that he had forcibly kissed her and put his hand under her shirt in the past. This had been going on for years, and yet he said it was “Satan in her mind” causing the fear? Maybe Wilmington should leave his doors unlocked since it is Satan who causes him to fear someone might try to come into his home and commit a crime.
Then he said something confusing. At first, she thought he might be talking about her divorce, but then she pondered that it could allude to something else.
Some times with married couples, everything goes smoothly and well but one spouse contacts a lawyer and then everything falls apart. The lawyer hurts what’s going on,.
He then told her
Don’t do anything else.
As I pondered this, I realized that he could be asking her not to get a lawyer. Could he be fearful that she would sue the church?
He ended the conversation by saying,
We’ll take it from here. We didn’t give you any legal advice.
Yikes. Talk about a scripted conversation. The last line sounds like the bevy of lawyers wrote it.
The Roys Report talked with Wilmington about his conversation with Marie. As you can imagine, he saw it differently. Perhaps he had time to contemplate what he had said…
After Guardia’s arrest, Columna said she spoke with Willmington and “told him everything that had happened the past 10 years with Sergio.” Columna noted that she was on speakerphone and others were listening in.
“But helping me was not the point of the call at all,” Columna said. “Matt made sure I knew that they were supporting Sergio.”
In an email to TRR, Willmington confirmed this phone call about what he called “a sad situation,” but described it differently.
“I asked if she needed any support from the church,” he wrote. “I did not say we would be ignoring the situation, but that we would deal with it biblically.”
Willmington added:
“I did let her know that Sergio was a friend of mine, and it broke my heart. But I also told her I care more about God’s Word and his church.”
So what happened when the camera was turned off?
Let’s listen to Pastor Falwell discuss the situation with his church attendees. Why do they turn the streaming off? What do they hope others won’t hear?
My thoughts on Pastor Falwell’s comments and Pastor Wilmington’s reported comments.
- He doesn’t mention Sergio Guardia’s name.
- He claims Guardia was a “staff member” and doesn’t mention he was a pastor.
- He seemed to hesitate to use the word “lady.” This was a woman whom Pastor Sergio Guardia abused.
- Falwell mentioned ministering to the staff member and his family first. Then said they would minister to the victim. He mentioned how much they love Giardia and their family. I didn’t hear as much love expressed for the victim.
- He claims that “it” was Guardia’s stupid mistake. This is outrageous. It was an obsession that lasted years, so it was hardly a “stupid mistake.”
- Falwell claims that “it” was “just sin”—that’s all. It was not just sin; it was also a crime. The Apostle Paul said to obey the laws of the land, and some churches ignore this command. Guardia is now a criminal and could go to prison. Also, what was ‘it? The word “It” makes it sound like a small thing. This was a many-faceted crime against Marie involving stalking, sexual harassment, and possible misuse of her computer over the years.
- Did everyone in the church leadership ignore Pastor Pablo Claros’s report of his call with Marie, or did he not tell anyone?
- Who was supervising Guirdia? How safe is the church if a pastor could stalk a church member for years and nothing was done to stop it?
- He seems to think they had a “good” conversation with the victim, but she doesn’t think so. Do they plan to follow up?
- What’s with the seemingly legal comments by Pastor Wilmington to the victim?
- “I don’t disbelieve you” is hardly a ringing endorsement. Who thought that one up? That sort of gamesmanship is unbecoming of a pastor.
- Were lawyers listening to the conversation with the victim?
- Falwell kept claiming that he was walking in integrity and biblically. What does that mean?
- Why did Pastor Wilmington keep mentioning Guardia as a dear friend when talking to Guardia’s victim? And just how “dear of a friend” was he? Why didn’t Wilmington question his activities since he was so close to him?
Some musings
- According to Marie, why did Pastor Matt Wilmington serve as a character witness for Guardia? Anyone who would stalk a woman who is a single mother with children is dangerous. Maybe the pastor doesn’t care because Guardia is a “dear friend?”
- Why does Pastor Falwell sound like he is more concerned about Guadia than he is about the victim?
- Guardia is probably looking for letters of support to be sent to the judge before sentencing. Those are a matter of public record, and I plan to look for them. I hope the pastors aren’t planning to ask for a light sentence for this dangerous man.
- I believe that the pastoral staff’s shoddy supervision is a concern. This behavior lasted for years, and no one on the staff noticed. I would think the lawyers would be worried about liability.
- I am so sorry for the abuse that Marie underwent at the hands of Sergio Guardia. I am doubly sad for the way the church handled things. They appear not to understand the seriousness of what happened. Maybe their bevy of lawyers could help them out.
- Then again, maybe they understand and are trying to protect the institution. If so, they must remember how Jesus spoke to the Pharisees who heaped burdens upon God’s people. Here is a fine compilation of them.
The “woman crying in church” picture gives me the impression that the only abuse victim worth helping or defending is young, thin, white, stylishly dressed, perfectly groomed, and crying very prettily. She’s alone, but she still looks perfect in every way!
I want to look like that, so I can be a worthy victim instead of, “You asked for it.”
Cynthia W.(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
** “I asked if she needed any support from the church,” he wrote. “I did not say we would be ignoring the situation, but that we would deal with it biblically.”
Willmington added:
“I did let her know that Sergio was a friend of mine, and it broke my heart. But I also told her I care more about God’s Word and his church.” **
***
“Biblically.” Where in the Bible would he look, I wonder. In some parts of the Bible, the way to “deal with” a married man who’s trying to force himself on a woman and breaking into her house would be for her brothers to “disappear” him.
“I care more about God’s Word and his church,” and not at all about you or your children, Ms. Calumna. Priorities, you know.
Cynthia W.(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
When church is nothing more than a Good Ole’ Boys Club. They circle the wagons to protect their bro-boy predators who prey on boys, girls, and women. Church is their Hunting Ground.
If you are a boy, a girl, a woman, enter a church at your own risk. Fellowship and you may fall victim in the Family of Male Leader AlwaysRightism, WeTakeAndGetWhatWeWant-ology.
Time to get out, move on, save yourself and your family.
There’s no point in beating one’s head against the walls of these churches. The Hunting Ground churches are what they are. See the hot burner, step away, never touch. Deadly, lethal, dangerous, destructive, beyond help.
Those who choose to create a living hell in the form of a church, are nothing more than cosplay entrapment for their prey: boys, girls, women.
These leaders seek money, the pleasure of tormenting those under their spell, power, honor, and self-gratification pleasure. They set themselves up as pastors to play a game to get what they want.
Note: in the new Liz Garbus doc on Netflix called “Gone Girls” she lays out what finally caught the Long Island serialist. Part 1, the bodies are found in 2010-11 in Suffolk County. Part 2, for 10-12 years, the Good Ole Boys LE of Suffolk County refused to work with other LE (FBI, BCA, etc.). Suffolk County LE were corrupt, deep into drugs & escort services so they were covering for each other, committing NOT solving crimes. Part 3, after 12 years the corrupt Suffolk Cty LE were exposed and jailed. A new police commissioner brought everyone together and solved the LI serialst in 6 weeks what had been unsolvable for 12 years. 2022.
The corrupt church is up to no good. The Church is all 18 gifts of the Holy Spirit working together: Rom 12, 1 Cor 12, Eph 4. Nothing less. Nothing more. It’s really that simple.
Liz Garbus’ doc illustrates this well.
Ava Aaronson(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
I have to wonder a bit about the vetting and evaluation procedures for hiring of senior staff. Perhaps there should be a thorough (and probably costly) psych evaluation of every hire into a position of responsibility. It might be that the current practices of biblical assessment of the qualification for ministry of potential hires are not working well as a filter to exclude future bad actors.
Dee: I’m curious whether, in those cases where you reckon that church leadership did respond commendably to things like this (“commendably” in terms of cooperation with law enforcement, transparency to the congregation, and care for victim(s)), have you seen self-reflection into the question of “how did our systems for candidate staff evaluation and current staff oversight fail to notice potential problems before they arose and actual problems as they did arise?”
Samuel Conner(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
My first real job out of college was for a 15-year-old non-profit with an admirable mission. I was extremely surprised to see multiple occasions where the non-profit’s survival was prioritized over its stated mission. Marie’s treatment by TRBC is just another example of how “church” often behaves like the “secular” world.
Susan(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
“Break her down” Patterson would be proud of Mr. Wilmington.
Max(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
The secular world have businesses to operate, brands to promote, reputations to protect … same thing going on with much of the organized church. Within the Christian Industrial Complex, the Great Commission is not the mission. Many churches have become non-prophet organizations.
Max(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
Thay’re a Church.
That says it all.
Headless Unicorn Guy(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
Ava Aaronson,
One day, there will be a reckoning.
Muff Potter(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
nothing more than cosplay entrapment </em)
Ava Aaronson,
Yeah ….. done by cosplay Christians.
Nancy2(aka Kevlar)(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
“I heard a voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins … For her sins have reached unto heaven” (Revelation 18:4-5)
Max(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
“Woe, judgment is coming to shepherds who have been feeding themselves! … You have not strengthened those who are weak, you have not healed the sick, you have not bandaged the crippled, you have not brought back those gone astray, you have not looked for the lost; but you have ruled them with force and violence” (Ezekiel 34)
Max(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
Marie, I applaud you for your fortitude in standing up for yourself and your children, keeping records, and holding both the criminal and church accountable for their actions!
I hope that your life feels more peaceful and safe at this time.
readingalong(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
“…a character witness for Guardia…”
+++++++++++++++++++++
you must be joking.
character?
does character come in levels?
how many? 2? character and uncharacter?
3 on a sliding scale? excellent fair poor?
3 on a spectrum? chocolate vanilla and strawberry?
(honest questions)
in my mind, Sergio Guardia’s character punctured his own character and sent it farting around the room in a flaccid expired flap.
there’s nothing more to talk about.
elastigirl(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
True character is revealed when no one is looking … or when you get caught being your real self on a security camera! Putting on a pastor’s persona when you are in church or around the dudebros is intended to conceal the wolf in shepherd’s clothing.
Max(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
i recall in the Willow Creek / Bill Hybels mess, attorney Mitch Little made a good comment.
He represented some of Hybels’ victims.
In an interview with Julie Roys:
“Nobody who is an elder at a church should have any aspect of their identity wrapped up in either the role of being an elder or in the success or failure of the organization. What I’ve told people is, “If you are not ready to blow yourself or the organization up in five seconds flat, you need to find a different hobby.”
(I won’t include the link to keep things simple, but it’s easily findable)
elastigirl(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
Falwell kept claiming that he was walking in integrity and biblically. What does that mean?
…
If I had to guess I’d say this: (1 Timothy 5):
17 The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. 18 For Scripture says, “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,” and “The worker deserves his wages.” 19 Do not entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or three witnesses. 20 But those elders who are sinning you are to reprove before everyone, so that the others may take warning. 21 I charge you, in the sight of God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels, to keep these instructions without partiality, and to do nothing out of favoritism.
Of course, nowadays, I’d suspect a video would be worth at least 1 witness…
Roger(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
The theobros stick together. Why am I not surprised anymore. And I was visiting a church once, big church in SO. California and the head pastor came out at the end of service, told them to turn off the recording, then very quickly said 1 of their pastors resigned and that is all they would be saying about that. Curiously, I checked their website and googled the pastor’s name and found nothing for months afterwards.
JJallday(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
I am not aware of evaluations for senior staff. That is expensive, hard, and unreliable.
However, among several institutions I respect, both religious and secular, I have noticed several trends:
1. Background checks for people working/volunteering in positions where they work with children and at-risk populations. This started within the school system, so it is a well-understood process that local law enforcement provides for free.
2. A shift away from unsupervised one-on-one interactions. For example, instead of a one-to-one counseling session, two students will pair up when talking to an adult in confirmation class.
3. We have replaced doors to rooms frequently used for one-on-one meetings with doors that have a glass window.
4. Potential issues must be reported to social services or law enforcement rather than up the internal chain of command—failure to report results in immediate dismissal.
Is it enough? I don’t know. But I think it helps minimize engaging in and looking past questionable behavior. I think of these measures like putting a motion light on your driveway. It is not going to stop crime, but it is going to make it more likely that the criminal skips your house as they look for an easier target. Plus, it is nice when you get home from walking the dog, and the porch light automatically comes on.
Most important, I think, is creating a culture where saying, “Shhh, we don’t talk about that….” is acceptable.
I have also noticed trends in the opposite direction. Some churches and other organizations are taking steps to limit exposure and liability by reducing transparency. When I see that, I run away as fast as I can.
davewis(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
Most important, I think, is creating a culture where saying, “Shhh, we don’t talk about that….” is acceptable.
That should be ‘is NOT acceptable.’
Autocorrect removed the all caps NOT 🙁
davewis(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
… until the potato gets too hot to handle … then they distance themselves from a bad bud in order to protect their own skin … members of their tribe always get more sympathy and support than victims (something we see over and over on TWW reports) … I don’t understand why we still call some of these places “church”
Max(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
Max, that is 100% accurate. I too agree: don’t know why some of these places are called a “church” and a lot of these people are called “pastors” (but anyone can take that title for themselves).
JJallday(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
From Dee’s post: Yikes. Talk about a scripted conversation. The last line sounds like the bevy of lawyers wrote it.
Pastor Falwell also has a law degree.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Falwell
How handy!
Nancy2(aka Kevlar)(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
Awesome pickup. I shall tweet it tomorrow.
dee(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
dee,
Did you notice that he got his law degree 10 years after he got his religion degree from his daddy’s seminary school?
Nancy2(aka Kevlar)(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
JJallday,
Southern Cali is the Bible belt west.
Muff Potter(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
Cosplay Christians, Cosplay Clergy.
Jesus dealt with Cosplay Clergy and then they had him arrested. Cosplay Caiaphas et al.
Jesus dealt with a Cosplay Religious mob, who voted for his execution.
He arose from the dead to Life Eternal, no Cosplay.
Cosplay wins in the short run, loses in Eternity. Faithful to the end loses in the Here and Now, triumphs in Eternity. Who will be Faithful for real, to the end, even as Cosplay Clergy and Cosplay Christians display their power, profit, and pageantry?
Ava Aaronson(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
The Comforter is not a spittle-ridden, once-fluffy dinosaur!
Michael in UK(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
Susan,
Actually, most companies, especially large ones, handle things much better than this. There are written procedures in place and the one lodging the complaint is protected. There is typically “zero tolerance” for any type of harassment the policies reflect the issue with the “power differential”. I have seen this in the real world and it works pretty well.
George(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
The brains of adult men are considered especially choice game.
Michael in UK(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
Max,
I was just thinking about this passage today. When Todd shared the chapter a while back, I was amazed at how it feels like it was written specifically for the church today, like a literal description of the kind of ‘shepherds’ featured here at TWW. This gives me hope that God’s word is full of truth and comfort, even when those things might feel hard to find at church.
Christie24(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
“The Word of God is alive and active” (Hebrews 4:12). Scripture offers us timeless wisdom to discern the times in which we live.
Max(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
With the way things are going, it would be wise for ‘every’ mega-pastor to have a law degree … he most likely will need it to help get him or his church out of a mega-mess at some point.
Max(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
From the article up top:
She said he responded,
Satan is in your mind. Tell him to get out.
Oh Satan my @$$, if anything, ‘Satan’ is in his mind, so he can weasel his way out of doing the right thing.
Muff Potter(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
Max,
Hmmm, the Falwell family history: anti-equal rights, pro segregation, pro subjugation of women, politicization of religion, blaming 9/11 on women and homosexuals…….
and the more recent sex abuse scandals with the second generation…….
I think Jonathan Falwell knew they would need an in-house, full time lawyer.
Nancy2(aka Kevlar)(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
I mentioned an incident that other day about how a disciplinary situation in a school escalated to a meeting with the district superintendent… one of the parties brought a church elder who ‘happened’ to be the church’s lawyer.
It might vary by region and political situation. But in our area, it is pretty common for one of the local mega churches to show up with a lawyer.
So far, at least from my perspective. That church is winning a lot of battles, but they are losing the war.
Their church appears growing, vibrant, and successful, always ready to fight on God’s behalf. Within the larger picture, anyone who has been targeted by them has much less respect for religion and how it is practiced…. The interaction is just another shove down the path towards ‘done.’
davewis(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
I haven’t followed organizational theory for some time, so my buzzwords might be wrong 🙁
I tend to view people and organizations as existing on a spectrum from altruistic to selfish. Some are selfish; everything focuses on increasing the group’s prestige, power, and wealth (which can be a company, church, non-profit, …. ) or key people in the group.
Some organizations are altruistic; They exist to help others, even at a cost to themselves.
I may be a cynical old curmudgeon. But, I never listen to how a group or individual talks about themselves. That is just sales.
At least for me, existing somewhere in the middle of the spectrum is good enough for me. People have to eat. Mortgages have to be paid. The pastor does need a second private jet.
I like to pay attention to culture and policies. I like to look at how they use written and unwritten rules to solve conflicts. It usually doesn’t take long to see where an individual or group sits.
davewis(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
Much of the organized church is done … it just hasn’t quit yet.
Max(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
Im the victim in this story, Im also from Long Island, NY. I I just watched this documentary last night. I saw the press conference on the news in 2023, from my hometown, Riverhead NY. I was shocked. While watching the documentary I thought, wow what a difference a new administration makes!!
Marie(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
Stalking is unlawful in all 50 States.
Apparently, the he-man exponents of America Protestantism don’t understand that.
(Muff: They understand it just fine, and they rest in the almost sure bet that they’ll never get hauled into court for it)
How many more women will get beaten up and even murdered because the so-called ‘Church’ refuses to intervene and purge their ranks of abusers?
Muff Potter(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
Muff Potter,
The sheer arrogance of acting as if supposedly caring about ‘God’s Word and his church’ gives leaders an exemption from having to care for the wellbeing of women being stalked by one of their own. As if God’s Word couldn’t possibly have anything to speak into this situation, and ‘his church’ is something that doesn’t really include her and isn’t affected by the damage done in her life. Not just for Marie but all the women who have experienced something like this.
Christie24(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
Max,
Yup…
Jeffrey Chalmers(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
Thx for sharing your story, which matters to women who care about what happens in church, and men who care about what happens in church. In a sense, “We are all Marie Columna, if we care.”
Your comment “Wow, what a difference a new administration makes,” is spot on.
Like in Suffolk County where a nothing-happening 12yr old case was solved in 6 weeks when there was a changing of the guard in LE, DOJ, & political leadership, churches in the USA are dying for NEW LEADERSHIP.
NEW LEADERSHIP with, as Suffolk Cty Police Commissioner said, collaboration and partnership. That’s what solved the 12+yr old case in 6 weeks, leading to arrest, charges, and conviction of the LI,NY serialist. Collaboration and partnership took the danger off the streets.
Churches need to fully partner and collaborate with people like you, TWW, Dee, myself (“Legal Grounds” is my novel of what goes on in churches), and many more witnesses and expertise (like that of FBI profiler Roy Hazelwood and Attorney Jeff Anderson).
Suffolk Cty, finally after 12 long years, showed how it’s done. It is said, Commissioner Rodney Harrison knows how to close a case. LEADERSHIP.
When will church have LEADERSHIP that demonstrates how to authentically close a case instead of silencing the witnesses, hiding the evidence, and protecting predators? When?
“How long, O Lord?” Psalm 13, “How long?”
Ava Aaronson(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
davewis,
Davewis,
Many years ago I had a mother confront me in my school hallway after I had to call CPS over her home disciplinary practices (that went far beyond a slap on the butt).She came right at me with her arm up ready to hit me. I was on crutches, and an easy target. The principal stepped between the two of us and kept me from being injured.
The next day we had a meeting with the principal to discuss the situation. In she comes with her pastor! He kept claiming what a good woman she was ( hit her son with a brush, spatula, belt…). I think they were afraid I would press charges. It was sorted out (she could not come to my classsroom without a school escort), but it was the fact that her pastor defended her actions that really ticked me off.
Linn(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
Christie24,
“As if God’s Word couldn’t possibly have anything to speak into this situation, and ‘his church’ is something that doesn’t really include her and isn’t affected by the damage done in her life.”
++++++++++++++++++++++
ah, that’s biblical for you.
just like when watching a movie or TV show it’s more interesting to observe the things you’re not meant to be focussing on (everything happening in the background of a scene)
similarly what speaks loudly when someone invokes ‘biblical’ is everything that’s left out.
elastigirl(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
As we’ve learned on TWW, there are lots of “pastors” in the American church who don’t have the character themselves to be character witnesses!
Max(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
Then you should really OD with a Wes Anderson movie.
(Fantasic Mr Fox, Hotel Budapest, The Life Aquatic…)
Mild Surrealism with LOTSA stuff happening in the background of almost every scene.
Headless Unicorn Guy(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)