Hi everyone :)
I recently spoke with some people about abuse occurring in the church or being brushed aside by Christian leaders. This has been an issue I have had to deal with since I was a little girl. Abuse has not just occurred in the Catholic Church. It has been across many church denominations.
I have been abused in my life. I was molested when I was a little girl and I was in a relationships with men later on where the men were abusive. The church did not help and sometimes was the cause or contributed greatly to getting abused. There has been a recurring theme of Christian validating (encouraging) the exact men who were abuses. They encouraged them by voicing how good and Christian they were. They encouraged them by the emphasis (and the wrong interpretation) of submission in the church. They encouraged them by the attitude of what a leader is.
I believe men of honour should rise up in the church (the body of Christ) so that men and women can be strengthened. So many times I found (and not just in my circumstance but for other women who were abused as well) that abusive men took positions of power in churches or in Christian organizations. And Christians just went along with whatever the leader said.
The idea of submission to church leaders and Christian organizations' leaders needs to be re-evaluated. Are we supposed to blindly follow a leader. I don't think so. Are we supposed to submit? I think our submission should be to God and that when we treat God as our leader then he shows us what is right to do.
Christian women should be safe in a Christian environment and we need more men of honour to stand up and help keep people safe. But also we need to not just assume a church leader means a man of honour. What is their heart like? Are they really safe to be around? Who should you leave your children with?
I have kept my children safe and one of the things I had to do was make sure I wasn't spending time with abusive people. And I mean even a little bit mildly abusive (like a person being verbally abusive or emotionally manipulative). If someone can be a little bit abusive then they can be a whole lot more too.
God wants his people safe. We need to act with wisdom and not cave in to church leaders who desire control. Many of the positions of leadership have been filled with people who desired control. And people have blindly accepted them.
A church leader does not have to be a leader of a church organization. The church is the body of Christ. So be a leader for God in your work and your day-to-day life.
Be safe. Keep your children safe. Be a person of honour. If you are a man, be a man of honour. A man of honour is a leader in the body of Christ.
Lots of love from Ohroara :)
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