Tuesday Jul 16, 2024
The Best and Worst Part of Church: Community S6E15
I’m so glad you’ve joined me at the intersection of faith and true crime here at The Unlovely Truth. Security issues are hiding in every church - do you know where to look for them? I’m your host, church safety coach Lori Morrison. Our churches need to be the safest places in our communities, so our mission here is to find actionable steps that will make our churches sanctuaries of physical, emotional, and spiritual safety. To give you tools to help make that happen in your church, we’re going to investigate real crime stories from real churches. I’ve got three cases for us to investigate today, so let’s dive right in.
Highlights from this episode include:
- Woman stalked by a man from church
- Gateway Church allegedly covered up other abuse
- Man facing charges after spraying water on protesters at his church
Proverbs 27:12 GNT
Sensible people will see trouble coming and avoid it,
but an unthinking person will walk right into it and regret it later.
I’m not doing any victim-blaming here. I just love quoting Proverbs because they state things in such a memorable way. There are so many verses in the Bible that show God’s compassion for people who have been taken advantage of by others. He doesn’t blame them and neither do I. But I do want us to think about being proactive rather than reactive when it comes to safety in our churches.
How many times does a man have to behave inappropriately in a church setting before we say enough is enough? I’ve heard plenty of stories about confronting women for how they dress, or actions from their past but what about confronting inappropriately aggressive behavior in men? I’m also not slamming men. Some of the Godliest people I know are faithful and upright men. But the vast majority of the time they are the perpetrators in the cases we discuss. Let’s be more sensible like Proverbs says and avoid the trouble they cause by confronting the behavior they display.
It’s time to stop making excuses. It’s time to elevate the protection of innocents. It’s time to speak up and it has to start with the people in the pews. We’ve given decades to the people in positions of power to get it right, and too many of them have failed us. We need true shepherds, not shifty influencers. Not flashy speakers. Not charming snakes. Are you ready to demand that leaders in your church be true shepherds?
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:
Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn
Check out my Amazon Author Page to find resources on personal safety, and safety training for churches.
More trouble for Gateway Church