In the course of catching up with goings on in the evangelical world, there was a striking confluence of news stories about men who are no longer pastors, if they ever were. As we scan and digest these stories we should draw . . . Continue reading →
The Presbyterian Church in America’s (PCA) highest ecclesiastical court is taking over a case allegedly mishandled by an Indiana presbytery, a letter from the presbytery shows. The case surrounds a former Indiana pastor accused of sexually harassing multiple women. The move comes . . . Continue reading →
…Our investigation revealed that, for many years, a few senior EC leaders, along with outside counsel, largely controlled the EC’s response to these reports of abuse. They closely guarded information about abuse allegations and lawsuits, which were not shared with EC Trustees, . . . Continue reading →
Jesus is the Great Physician, and the church is his hospital. It is a place for sinners—and those who have been wounded by the sins of others—to heal. Justin Holcomb describes in his speaking and writing how the heartbreaking statistics on abuse . . . Continue reading →
Today was a tough day for us as we passed through another ramification of sexual betrayal and sin. Today Eric pled guilty in a federal court to “having sex with Ugandan female minors as young as age 14 that were under his . . . Continue reading →
On January 11, 2022, USA Today, once a reputable, mainstream national paper, ran an opinion/analysis piece by Alia E. Dastagir, who covers culture for USA Today, restating the argument made by Allyn Walker, that not all pedophiles (also known as “Minor Attracted . . . Continue reading →
Radio talk-show host Janet Mefferd has a lengthy column explaining why a certain figure in Moscow, ID Continue reading
I am not going to quote this article on the Heidelblog because some of the language in it is not fit for a family publication.
Kate Shellnut posted a story yesterday at Christianity Today revealing that 39 elders from the former Mars Hill church, from which Mark Driscoll was removed because he abused the staff and members, have published a letter calling for him to resign from . . . Continue reading →
And the hits just keep coming. Not only is Christianity Today producing a podcast series doing a post-mortem of Mars Hill Church
Julie Roys reports that, on May 14, 2021, the Central Indiana Presbytery (PCA) approved a committee report recommending that the Presbytery bring charges against a pastor (Teaching Elder).
One of the formative experiences of the earliest part of my Christian life was my exposure to Bill Gothard and the Institute of Basic Youth Conflicts. Each night for several nights we piled into the church bus (it was a Southern Baptist . . . Continue reading →
Last week I wrote an introduction to spiritual abuse and how laity and officers should respond. A correspondent writes to ask what the laity are to do when when ruling elders and ministers refuse to address a situation. May a lay member . . . Continue reading →
I grew up in the church. Some of my favorite memories come from the time I spent there — Sunday school, AWANA, VBS, youth group, and fellowship meals. For hours we would play hide-and-seek, run up and down hallways, and occasionally sneak . . . Continue reading →
Recently I had an interesting exchange on social media regarding the extent of spiritual abuse by leaders in confessional Presbyterian and Reformed Churches. The charge is that spiritual abuse is a widespread problem in the confessional Presbyterian and Reformed world. I am . . . Continue reading →
When you talk to people who have been under abusive leadership, certain words often come up: authoritarian, manipulative, controlling, mean, cruel, vindictive, defensive, and unable to take criticism. Things don’t always start out this way. Often this sort of abusive behavior will . . . Continue reading →
I am interrupting the series on the doctrine of God (again), I Am that I Am, to talk about a recurring problem in the church: abuse of the sheep by the shepherd. Recently Julie Roys featured audio from a public conference by . . . Continue reading →
If skilled professionals (e.g., cops, nurses, and physicians), who deal with such cases routinely, are capable of failing to address the danger in which Nicole Brown Simpson founder herself, how much more difficult might it be for ministers, elders, and deacons to see the symptoms and address the problem? We (ministers, elders, and deacons) need to learn the symptoms and signs of abuse and must become prepared to take concrete steps to help. Continue reading →
In the wake of the recent discussions about church discipline there have been many online discussions about whether churches should exercise ecclesiastical discipline (yes, it’s one of the three marks of the true church—see Belgic Confession art. 29), how, and when. In . . . Continue reading →