How should churches handle allegations of abuse? Let me state right up front that I do not think churches shouldn’t “handle”
anything. This is what gets churches, pastors, and church leaders into
trouble to start with. Instead of immediately doing the right thing when someone makes an allegation of abuse, pastors and church members often:
- Consult with the pastor... NO
- Consult with the deacons or some other church board... NO
- Call a denominational leader and ask what they should do... NO
- Consult with a few church members to chart a course of action... NO
- Pray about it... NO
- Seek out counsel from other pastors... NO
- Wait to see if the “problem” goes away... NO that is what the nuns and the catholic church did to us...
- Interrogate the individual or the person making the allegation... NO... that is what nuns and the catholic church lawyers did to us...
- Investigate the “character” of the person making the allegation... NO.. that is what the nuns and the catholic church lawyers did to us...
- All of these things are the WRONG things to do.