By Jay Kieve “If any of you put a stumbling-block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world because of stumbling-blocks! Occasions for stumbling … Continue reading
Category Archives: Safe Churches
Making Online Programming Safer for Children, Teens, and Vulnerable Adults
By Jay Kieve In this season of COVID-19, church staff members have gone to heroic lengths to offer worship, prayer, Bible study, and fellowship through electronic means. They have used Facebook Live and Zoom, phone calls, emails, and text messages as vehicles for pastoral care and age-appropriate programming. Clergy deserve praise and gratitude for their … Continue reading
Best Practices for Responding to a Victim of Sexual Abuse
By Shauw Chin Capps In the early years of my social work career, I started volunteering at a rape crisis center in Louisville, Kentucky. I would be on call and respond to hospital calls whenever they had a rape victim walk into their ER. I went on to become a therapist, providing counseling for survivors … Continue reading
Can Our Fellowship Be Born Anew?
By Curtis Freeman Not all that long ago in America the ministry was a respected profession. Now trust in pastors as people of moral character is at an all-time low. High profile scandals involving sexual misconduct by clergy have contributed to the gradual erosion of public confidence. Yet too often these bad examples have been … Continue reading