The Unlovely Truth

A Life Sentence, a Ministry Ban, and a Taser: S6E29

 
Welcome to the Unlovely Truth. I'm your host church safety advocate and coach Lori Morrison. I help ministry leaders assess and address the 12 critical safety issues that exist in every church. Our churches need to be the safest places in our communities, so my mission on this podcast is to give you actionable steps to make your house of worship a true sanctuary in your community. Let’s investigate the unlovely truth about real crime stories happening in real churches. I've got three cases to explore today, so let's dive right in. 
 
Important points from this episode include:
 
Proven character is more important than a title
A ministry ban is a good way to curb spiritual abuse
If you want your church to grow, don’t use a taser on a worshipper
 
For anybody who says they're a follower of Jesus, their character should be producing such amazing fruit that we know exactly who guides their steps. And in Galatians chapter five, verses 22 and 23, it says, “But the fruit of the spirit is love. Joy peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law.”  
 
So if we think back over our three cases from today, we definitely didn't see any faithfulness in that first one. And the second one -- we didn't see kindness. And that third one, golly. We did not see any kind of Christian love. 
 
And I know none of us are going to be producing all of this, all the time. But when we look at our leaders, our volunteers, the people we look up to in our spiritual lives -- we should see the fruit of the spirit in their actions. 
 
So I want you to ask yourself. Is there anything in your church where you think that leadership is not really showing the fruit of the spirit? Maybe they need to step aside for a time, maybe they're going through a tough time. Maybe they never should have been a leader in the first place.  But things aren't going to be better unless somebody steps up. And is willing to say the hard thing and have those conversations. And if you need help with that, please, please get in touch with me. 
 
I would love to help you with that.  
 
Visit my website to access more episodes. If you would like to contact me about booking me as a speaker, or ask about my consulting services, please email me at lori@theunlovelytruth.com. 
 
Ways you can support the work of The Unlovely Truth:
 
Buy Me a Coffee to help me continue to offer free church security advice on the podcast
 
Share the episode 
 
Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Pinterest
 
Check out my Amazon Author Page to find resources on personal safety, and safety training for churches. 
 
Read more about today’s cases:
 
Pastor murders one of his girlfriends
 
Spiritual abuse busted
 
Tasers and tambourines

Abuse, A Coverup, and Christian “Domestic Discipline”: S6E28

Welcome to the Unlovely Truth. I'm your host church safety advocate and coach Lori Morrison. I help ministry leaders assess and address the 12 critical safety issues that exist in every church. Our churches need to be the safest places in our communities, so my mission on this podcast is to give you actionable steps to make your house of worship a true sanctuary in your community. Let’s investigate the unlovely truth about real crime stories happening in real churches. I've got three cases to explore today, so let's dive right in. 
 
I'm not a fan of horror movies. There’s enough real-life stuff that scares me so why would I look for fake scary stuff. The episode proves that we’ve got to be on the lookout for horrific happenings even in our churches. So why do I think it’s important to talk about the things I talk about on the podcast?
 
Numbers 21:6-9 (CSB)
Then the Lord sent poisonous snakes among the people, and they bit them so that many Israelites died. The people then came to Moses and said, “We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you. Intercede with the Lord so that he will take the snakes away from us.” And Moses interceded for the people.
 
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake image and mount it on a pole. When anyone who is bitten looks at it, he will recover.” So Moses made a bronze snake and mounted it on a pole. Whenever someone was bitten, and he looked at the bronze snake, he recovered.
 
The children of Israel were whining, again, about the state they found themselves in. Never did it seem to occur to them that THEY were the reason things weren’t going so good. It would get a lot worse once the snakes made their appearance. And I’m fascinated to think about the idea that God “sent” these snakes. Was it that he commanded them to go and bite the people, or that He had been restraining them to protect the people and now since they were murmuring against God, he simply got out of the way like they seemed to say they wanted?
 
Ouch. That hits pretty close to home doesn’t it?
 
But God is merciful and gave the people a way out of the mess they’d created. If they would look up in their distress at the bronze snake, they would live. Let’s think hard about this. They had to look at the very thing that was killing them to live. 
 
I think that as a whole, the church has whined and grumbled about taking the protection of the vulnerable among us as seriously as we need to. We need to hear these stories, these things that have the potential to strike and wound the church, if we want the church to live and thrive.
 
So I want to ask you - are you willing to be a person who speaks out? Who tries to get your leaders to look at problems they don’t want to look at? If you are, please reach out to me. I’d love to help you on that important journey.
Let me know what you think of this episode! Send me an email at lori@theunlovelytruth.com or message me on social media. I love it when people are willing to have hard, but impactful conversations that strengthen physical, emotional, and spiritual safety
 
Visit my website to access more episodes. If you would like to contact me about booking me as a speaker, or ask about my consulting services, please email me at lori@theunlovelytruth.com. 
 
Ways you can support the work of The Unlovely Truth:
 
Buy Me a Coffee to help me continue to offer free church security advice on the podcast
 
Share the episode
 
Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Pinterest
 
Check out my Amazon Author Page to find resources on personal safety, and safety training for churches. 
 
Read more about today’s cases:
 
Volunteer youth pastor also a pimp
 
Another denomination covers up abuse
 
Spiritual abuse against women

Fake Church Shooting, Ethics Prof Arrested, and Pastor Arrested with Guns and Drugs: S6E26

Welcome to the Unlovely Truth. I'm your host church safety advocate and coach Lori Morrison. I help ministry leaders assess and address the 12 critical safety issues that exist in every church. Our churches need to be the safest places in our communities, so my mission on this podcast is to give you actionable steps to make your house of worship a true sanctuary in your community. Let’s investigate the unlovely truth about real crime stories happening in real churches. I've got three cases to explore today, so let's dive right in. 
Highlights from this episode include:
Who fakes a church shooting? Someone who shouldn’t be on your security team.
Ethics for thee, none for me says a Christian ethics professor. 
Doesn’t everyone take guns and drugs to Vegas?
Visit my website to access more episodes. If you would like to contact me about booking me as a speaker, or ask about my consulting services, please email me at lori@theunlovelytruth.com. 
 
Jeremiah 23:11 ICB
Both the prophets and the priests are evil. I have seen them doing evil things even in my own Temple,” says the Lord.
Let’s start off with some context. To put it simply, Jeremiah reports that the civil and religious leaders of Israel were a mess! Rather than acting as shepherds of the people, they were committing adultery, lying, and deceiving their people. Unfortunately, today’s stories show that “religious” people today often aren’t all that different. We have to be honest with ourselves and admit that even today people that have power in our churches often hide the side of themselves that is behaving in deeply sinful and abusive ways. That has to stop. 
It’s time to remove unfit leaders while still praying for them as Dr. Stephen Cady showed us by his example. If you know that your church needs to do that but you don’t know how to even approach such a situation, please message or email me. I’d love to walk alongside your church and serve you the best way I know how. 
Let me know what you think of this episode! Send me an email a lori@theunlovelytruth.com or message me on social media. I love it when people are willing to have hard, but impactful conversations that strengthen physical, emotional, and spiritual safety in our churches. 
Ways you can support the work of The Unlovely Truth:
 
Buy Me a Coffee to help me continue to offer free church security advice on the podcast
Share the episode 
Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Pinterest
Check out my Amazon Author Page to find resources on personal safety, and safety training for churches. 
 
Read more about today’s cases:
 
Fake church shooting
Christian Ethics Professor Arrested
Pastor arrested with guns and drugs

The Greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven: S6E25

I’m so glad you’ve joined me at the intersection of faith and true crime here at The Unlovely Truth. Does your church or ministry struggle with physical, emotional, or spiritual safety issues? I’m your host, church safety advocate Lori Morrison and I’m so glad you’ve joined me today. Our churches need to be the safest places in our communities, so our mission on this podcast is to find actionable steps to improve every aspect of safety in our houses of worship and beyond. We will investigate The Unlovley Truth about real crime news stories happening in real churches. I’ve got new cases to explore today, so let’s dive right in. 
 
Highlights from this episode include:
 
Is the coverup always worse than the crime?
A celebrity pastor behaving badly
Another Christian school, more bad behavior
 
Matthew 18:1-10
 
About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?” Jesus called a little child to him and put the child among them. Then he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.
 
“And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me. But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to have a large millstone tied around your neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea.
 
“What sorrow awaits the world, because it tempts people to sin. Temptations are inevitable, but what sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting. So if your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one hand or one foot than to be thrown into eternal fire with both of your hands and feet. And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.
 
“Beware that you don’t look down on any of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels are always in the presence of my heavenly Father.
This is not a super hard passage to understand. So let's just look at some of the really important points that stick out to me. Jesus starts out answering a question in a way that is unexpected. And he does that so many times. He doesn't just straight up answer their question. He redirects what he wants them to be focusing on. They were focused on themselves, on their deeds, and what those deeds might entitle them to. But Jesus talked about some of the most vulnerable members of any society. It's children. 
 
And he doesn't just mention children. He calls a child to him. It has that little one stand as an equal with all these adults around him. And then he challenges those adults to be more like that. Marginalized. Powerless child. 
 
And it's so opposite of what our leaders in today's cases did and how they failed the children around them. Having a millstone hung around your neck and being tossed in the sea is such a vivid word picture. When I directed a children's ministry many, many years ago, I wanted that to be our ministry verse and to paint it up on the wall, but they wouldn't let me. I can't imagine why not! But to me, it shows how seriously Jesus takes the protection of children. But in our society and yes, even in a lot of churches, We focus on adults. And we say that that's where the air quote real ministry happens. We let budgets distract us. We let the lack of volunteers keep us from doing what needs to be done. We let the lust for power blind us. And not because we're cutting out any offending part of us. It's not our hands, feet, and eyes that are the problem. It's our hearts. Hearts that lead us to steal, to abuse, and to neglect. 
 
And we saw all that happening just in this episode. So, what do we do about it? Jesus had the answer as he always does. He said that we need to become humble, like children. And you might be thinking, have you met any kids? Not always so humble. Maybe not an attitude, but I think what Jesus was getting at was being humble in station. Not trying to rise above and be over people. Not stealing to acquire riches, not abusing, to feel powerful and not neglecting our obligations toward others. 
 
If churches would all have leaders that met these criteria. I wouldn’t need to produce this podcast anymore. And nothing would make me happier.
Visit my website to access more episodes. If you would like to contact me about booking me as a speaker, or ask about my consulting services, please email me at lori@theunlovelytruth.com. 
 
Ways you can support the work of The Unlovely Truth:
 
Buy me a coffee
 
Share the episode 
 
Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Pinterest
 
Check out my Amazon Author Page to find resources on personal safety, and safety training for churches. 
 
Is the coverup always worse than the crime?
 
A celebrity pastor behaving badly
 
Another Christian school, more bad behavior

Does Being Like-minded Mean Not Having a Mind of Your Own? S6E24

I’m so glad you’ve joined me at the intersection of faith and true crime here at The Unlovely Truth. Does your church or ministry struggle with physical, emotional, or spiritual safety issues? I’m your host, church safety advocate Lori Morrison and I’m so glad you’ve joined me today. Our churches need to be the safest places in our communities, so our mission on this podcast is to find actionable steps to improve every aspect of safety in our houses of worship and beyond. We will investigate The Unlovley Truth about real crime news stories happening in real churches. I’ve got new cases to explore today, so let’s dive right in. 
 
Highlights from this episode include:
 
Calling out bullying in disguise
Are you managing your volunteers well enough?
Leadership team does the right thing
Phillipians 2:1-4 NIV
 
Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
 
Rather than meaning we all have to think alike the way a high-control leader might want his followers to do, we are to simply act like Jesus. Well, simple in theory, oh-so-hard in practice. It takes a very intentional mindset that says we are willing to be uncomfortable if that makes it better for someone else. 
 
It’s hard to speak out when there may be physical, emotional, or spiritual safety issues in our church. But things won’t get better until we are willing to get uncomfortable and talk about them, do something about them. Are you ready to do that?
 
Let me know what you think of this episode! Send me an email a lori@theunlovelytruth.com or message me on social media. I love it when people are willing to have hard, but impactful conversations that strengthen physical, emotional, and spiritual safety at the intersection of faith and true crime.
 
Visit my website to access more episodes. If you would like to contact me about booking me as a speaker, or ask about my consulting services, please email me at lori@theunlovelytruth.com. 
 
Ways you can support the work of The Unlovely Truth:
 
Share the episode
 
Buy Me a Coffee
 
Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn 
 
Check out my Amazon Author Page to find resources on personal safety, and safety training for churches. 
 
Read more about today’s cases:
 
Church discipline, or bullying?
 
Really, really bad volunteer
 
Church network...or cult?
 

Sharing Stories to Make a Difference: S6E23

I’m so glad you’ve joined me at the intersection of faith and true crime here at The Unlovely Truth. Does your church or ministry struggle with physical, emotional, or spiritual safety issues? I’m your host, church safety advocate Lori Morrison and I’m so glad you’ve joined me today. Our churches need to be the safest places in our communities, so our mission on this podcast is to find actionable steps to improve every aspect of safety in our houses of worship and beyond. We will investigate The Unlovely Truth about real crime news stories happening in real churches. I’ve got new cases to talk about today, so let’s dive right in. 
 
Highlights from this episode include:
 
A podcast sharing stories of survivors from inside a denomination gets shut down
More news from troubled megachurch Gateway Houston
Finally, a church that got it (mostly) right
 
Acts 14:1-7
The same thing happened in Iconium. Paul and Barnabas went to the Jewish synagogue and preached with such power that a great number of both Jews and Greeks became believers. Some of the Jews, however, spurned God’s message and poisoned the minds of the Gentiles against Paul and Barnabas. But the apostles stayed there a long time, preaching boldly about the grace of the Lord. And the Lord proved their message was true by giving them power to do miraculous signs and wonders. But the people of the town were divided in their opinion about them. Some sided with the Jews,
and some with the apostles.
 
Then a mob of Gentiles and Jews, along with their leaders, decided to attack and stone them. When the apostles learned of it, they fled to the region of Lycaonia—to the towns of Lystra and Derbe and the surrounding area. And there they preached the Good News.
 
Wow. There are so many parallels here to what we’ve been talking about for the last 6 months or so on the podcast. Let's break this down a little bit at a time and let me talk about where I'm seeing these parallels. So Paul and Barnabas are going in there spreading the good news they're doing what they're supposed to be doing. And they're being very effective. But some people didn't want to hear what they had to say. And that reminds me so much of, in so many churches when someone stands up. To tell the truth. People will try to shut them down.  And it even says, you know, some of the Jews, however, spurned God's message and poisoned the minds of the Gentiles against Paul and Barnabas. I know so many of you, if you haven't had this happen to you, you've seen it. Someone brings up an issue. And leadership turns around and makes them the issue. They're the problem. 
 
The whistleblower is the problem, not the problem being the problem. Scripture tells us though that the apostles stayed there a long time. They were bold. And that, because they did that. God proved that their message was true. Now, I don't know if He's going to give any of us miraculous signs and wonders the way he did here, but you never know.
 
Why wouldn't God give us that same boldness that they had? Why wouldn't he allow us to have the grace of being able to boldly state what we know to be true? And having that make a change. Now, of course, the passage goes on to say that the people in the town were divided.   Some sided with the apostles and some sided with the Jews. Then a mob of Gentiles and Jews along with their leaders, decided to attack and stone them. Not everybody in leadership is doing the right thing and we have to be able to call those people out. 
 
The apostles knew what was going to happen. They found out, and so they fled.  Sometimes we have to leave. When they fled, they still spoke what they knew to be true. And that's what we all have to do, too.
 
Let me know what you think of this episode! Send me an email a lori@theunlovelytruth.com or message me on social media. I love it when people are willing to have hard, but impactful conversations that strengthen physical, emotional, and spiritual safety
 
Visit my website to access more episodes. If you would like to contact me about booking me as a speaker, or ask about my consulting services, please email me at lori@theunlovelytruth.com. 
 
Ways you can support the work of The Unlovely Truth:
 
Share the episode 
 
Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn 
 
Check out my Amazon Author Page to find resources on personal safety, and safety training for churches. 
 
"Wall of Silence" podcast almost silenced - listen to it here
 
Here we go again with Gateway Church
 
A church that didn't totally mess up

Do The Right Thing: S6E21

I’m so glad you’ve joined me at the intersection of faith and true crime here at The Unlovely Truth. Does your church or ministry struggle with physical, emotional, or spiritual safety issues? I’m your host, church safety advocate Lori Morrison and I’m so glad you’ve joined me today. Our churches need to be the safest places in our communities, so our mission on this podcast is to find actionable steps to improve every aspect of safety in our houses of worship and beyond. We’re going to do that by investigating The Unlovely Truth about real crime news stories that are happening in real churches. I’ve got new cases for us to investigate today, so let’s dive right in. 
 
Highlights from this episode include:
 
One more Gateway pastor is gone
Did this pastor have a vision or was he a fraud?
Church money is stolen and they didn’t notice
Let’s look now at a passage of Scripture that’s right in line with that and has lessons for us about all of today’s cases. 
 
2 Corinthians 8:16-21 from the NIV
 
Thanks be to God, who put into the heart of Titus the same concern I have for you. For Titus not only welcomed our appeal, but he is coming to you with much enthusiasm and on his own initiative. And we are sending along with him the brother who is praised by all the churches for his service to the gospel. What is more, he was chosen by the churches to accompany us as we carry the offering, which we administer in order to honor the Lord himself and to show our eagerness to help. We want to avoid any criticism of the way we administer this liberal gift. For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord 
but also in the eyes of man.
 
Paul has collected money from fellow believers to help a struggling church. Since they didn’t have Venmo back then, someone had to actually take the money where it needed to go. Paul made sure he chose someone who was widely known for his service, not his charisma or public speaking abilities. He was also sent with someone else. And what was the offering for? Not to build a Christian Disneyland but “to honor the Lord himself and to show our eagerness to help.” And notice how Paul says he wants to avoid criticism of how they are doing things. He doesn’t do that by hiding what is going on, but by putting safeguards in place and using trusted people. 
 
I think that the last sentence in this passage applies to not only financial matters, but to everything we do in church. “For we are taking pains to do what is right not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of man”. Paul knew that being a church of high integrity is necessary to spread the gospel! We don’t try to have a good reputation by hiding what we are doing, but by doing the right thing. There is a huge difference there. I so I want to end with a question that will hopefully make us all think. What is OUR church’s reputation based on?
 
Let me know what you think of this episode! Send me an email a lori@theunlovelytruth.com or message me on social media. I love it when people are willing to have hard, but impactful conversations that strengthen physical, emotional, and spiritual safety at the intersection of faith and true crime.
 
Visit my website to access more episodes. If you would like to contact me about booking me as a speaker, or ask about my consulting services, please email me at lori@theunlovelytruth.com. 
 
Ways you can support the work of The Unlovely Truth:
 
Support this work financially with a one-time gift
 
Share the episode
 
Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn 
 
Check out my Amazon Author Page to find resources on personal safety, and safety training for churches. 
 
Another Gateway pastor sent packing
 
Was this pastor a failed businessman - or a con artist?
 
When money gets stolen and your church doesn't notice
 

Beyond the Pulpit: Why Character Matters in Church Leaders S6E20

I’m so glad you’ve joined me at the intersection of faith and true crime here at The Unlovely Truth. Does your church or ministry struggle with physical, emotional, or spiritual safety issues? I’m your host, church safety advocate Lori Morrison and I’m so glad you’ve joined me today. Our churches need to be the safest places in our communities, so our mission on this podcast is to find actionable steps to improve every aspect of safety in our houses of worship and beyond. We’re going to do that by investigating The Unlovley Truth about real crime news stories that are happening in real churches. I’ve got new cases for us to investigate today, so let’s dive right in. 
 
Highlights from this episode include:
 
“The Money Doctor” turns out to be “The Money Thief”
Another Texas megachurch does terrible PR job
Former pastor, longtime criminal
 
2 Peter 1:3-8
 
His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
 
For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
This is an excellent blueprint for living a holy and mature life AND it can help us recognize who around us is doing the same and who maybe needs to not be in a leadership position
 
First, let’s notice that we get these attributes through God’s holy power. It’s not about our awesomeness, which means we must be humble. And we need to look for humble leaders. 
 
Peter explains why things can go sideways - we give in to evil desires. One way to avoid that is to be accountable to people. Allow them to speak into your life when they see areas of weakness or sin. And for goodness sake, let’s stop following leaders who refuse to be accountable. If anyone says something like you can’t hold leaders responsible because the Bible says “do not touch my anointed ones - they are taking that Scripture completely out of context. It’s about the patriarchs in the Old Testament. It’s not a license to refuse to be held accountable today.
 
Moving on - start with faith, add goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, mutual affection, and love. If your leaders aren’t displaying these traits in increasing measure - it’s time for new leaders. 
Visit my website to access more episodes. If you would like to contact me about booking me as a speaker, or ask about my consulting services, please email me at lori@theunlovelytruth.com. 
 
Ways you can support the work of The Unlovely Truth:
 
Share the episode
 
Support The Unlovely Truth with a one-time gift
 
Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn 
 
Check out my Amazon Author Page to find resources on personal safety, and safety training for churches. 
 
“The Money Doctor” turns out to be “The Money Thief"
 
Another Texas megachurch does terrible PR job
 
Former pastor, longtime criminal

Abuse of Power: S6E19

I’m so glad you’ve joined me at the intersection of faith and true crime here at The Unlovely Truth. Does your church or ministry struggle with physical, emotional, or spiritual safety issues? I’m your host, church safety advocate Lori Morrison and I’m so glad you’ve joined me today. Our churches need to be the safest places in our communities, so our mission on this podcast is to find actionable steps to improve every aspect of safety in our houses of worship and beyond. We’re going to do that by investigating The Unlovley Truth about real crime news stories happening in real churches. I’ve got new cases to investigate today, so let’s dive right in. 
 
Unlovely Truths from this episode include:
 
Church daycare site of alleged physical abuse
Church shields inappropriate youth pastor and gets sued
Church pastor preaches one thing, does another
1 Corinthians 10:1-6
 
For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers and sisters, 
that our ancestors were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, 
and that rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; 
their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. Now these things occurred as examples
 to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did.
 
When Paul wrote this letter to the church, there were some issues about idol worship. Paul reminded the people how that worked out for the children of Israel after God delivered them out of slavery in Egypt. He took care of their every need, and they betrayed him. They made something else more important to them than their holiness.
 
We still do that today, whether it’s with money, or status, or sex. I think in all three of our cases today it was about power. It was disguised as both physical, emotional and spiritual abuse - but each of our perps wanted to exert whatever power they could over someone weaker so they could get what they wanted. 
 
My safety tips for you today apply equally well in your personal life as they do in our churches. Avoid people who are controlling. You don’t need to be in a relationship with controlling people and you certainly should hire them to hold any role associated with your church. It sounds like I’m trying to control you by saying that, but you get what I mean. High-control people and groups aren’t healthy, and you and our churches deserve better!
 
Let me know what you think of this episode! Send me an email at lori@theunlovelytruth.com or message me on social media. I love it when people are willing to have hard, but impactful conversations that strengthen physical, emotional, and spiritual safety at the intersection of faith and true crime.
 
Visit my website to access more episodes. If you would like to contact me about booking me as a speaker or ask about my consulting services, please email me at lori@theunlovelytruth.com. 
 
Ways you can support the work of The Unlovely Truth:
 
Buy me a coffee so I can keep helping churches be the safest place in their communities
 
Share the episode 
 
Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn 
 
Check out my Amazon Author Page to find resources on personal safety, and safety training for churches. 
 
Church Daycare worker allegedly abuses child
 
Did this church ignore horrible behavior by a staff member?
 
Did this pastor solicit a prostitute?

How Humilty Increases Church Safety

I’m so glad you’ve joined me at the intersection of faith and true crime here at The Unlovely Truth. Does your church or ministry struggle with physical, emotional, or spiritual safety issues? I’m your host, church safety advocate Lori Morrison and I’m so glad you’ve joined me today. Our churches need to be the safest places in our communities, so our mission on this podcast is to find actionable steps to improve every aspect of safety in our houses of worship and beyond. We’re going to do that by investigating The Unlovley Truth about real crime news stories happening in real churches. I’ve got new cases to investigate together, so let’s dive right in. 
 
Big Questions from this episode include:
 
What kind of abuser is worse - a priest who sexually abused children, or the priests who knew, and did nothing?
Why are more than 500 people asking Father Barry Stechschulte of St. Susanna Church in Mason, Ohio to resign?
Labor trafficking doesn’t happen in faith communities…does it?
 
James 4:17 NLT
 
Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.
Avoiding doing evil is obviously a very good thing. But James takes things a step further here. He says very clearly that avoiding doing good is a very bad thing. Those are some pretty tough words, but all of us who are believers need to take them to heart! 
 
In one sense, the book of James is a call to action. He tells us to be doers of the word and not just hearers (James 1:22). James also says that we should take action to meet people’s needs (James 2:16) as well as being sure to humble ourselves (James 4:10).
 
This may upset some of you, but I have to say that I think that our churches, and of course that includes the people in them, need a healthy dose of humility. Pride can keep us from recognizing problems and taking steps to fix them. Let’s not ever get so protective of the reputation of our church that we protect it at the expense of the safety of our people. 
 
Let me know what you think of this episode! Send me an email at lori@theunlovelytruth.com or message me on social media. I love it when people are willing to have hard, but impactful conversations that strengthen physical, emotional, and spiritual safety at the intersection of faith and true crime.
 
Visit my website to access more episodes. If you would like to contact me about booking me as a speaker or ask about my coaching services, please email me at lori@theunlovelytruth.com. 
 
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