This article is part of a series on child sexual abuse and the church:

• How widespread is the problem?
• Impact on children and youth
• Impact on adults
• The church’s responsibility to protect children
• Reporting and care after abuse occurs
• Prevention resources

In recent years, reports of child sexual abuse scandals in the Catholic Church grabbed headlines for months. Not long after the initial reports of abuse among Catholic priests and cover-up by church officials, a prominent football coach at Penn State University, Jerry Sandusky, was arrested and convicted of molesting many children. His boss, famous head coach Joe Paterno, was fired for failing to report the abuse to police.

In more recent days, horrifying accounts emerged of widespread abuse of young U.S. gymnasts by their team physician, Dr. Larry Nassar. More than 150 women testified against him in the trial that resulted in his conviction.

In Southern Baptist circles, questions about physical and sexual abuse preceded and drew widespread attention at the 2018 Southern Baptist Convention. Immediately following the convention, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported a former IMB missionary and leader in the South Carolina Baptist Convention was charged with sexual assault of a child under 17. His alleged abuse of a teenage girl occurred as he served in youth ministry in a church in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Similar accounts of other former Texas youth ministers also made headlines in the last year.

These stories highlight the incredible importance for churches, ministry personnel, and for all who attend Baptist churches to be aware of the issue of child sexual abuse, to be knowledgeable about the matter, to be able to act to protect children from abuse, and to help produce healing for children and families when abuse occurs.

To that end, this is the first article of a four-part series on child sexual abuse in the church, which covers the following:

• What is the rate of abuse; how widespread is the problem?
• What are the ramifications of abuse; how does it impact those who are abused?
• What is the responsibility of the church and church leadership to protect children and how can churches do this most effectively?
• What resources are available to churches and families?

How is sexual abuse defined?

A key problem in determining the rate of abuse is how a researcher defines abuse. Abuse may be defined from legal perspectives, from social perspectives, or from the perspective of those attempting to provide protection to children. Varying definitions of abuse tend to lead to a wide range of outcomes in reporting rates of sexual abuse.

An example of one researcher’s definition of sexual abuse can be seen in the work of Delphine Collin-Vézina and her colleagues, who define child sexual abuse as, “any activity of a sexual nature between a child and an adult or another child who by age or development is in a relationship of responsibility, trust or power, the activity being intended to gratify or satisfy the needs of the other person.”

Two common subcategories in defining child sexual abuse are contact abuse and non-contact abuse. Contact sexual abuse tends to include penetration, fondling, kissing or touching of an adult or older child directed toward a younger child. Non-contact sexual abuse can include adult exhibitionism or voyeurism toward a child, exposing a child to pornography or sexualized material, or interacting sexually with a child through electronic means, such as by phone or on-line.

What is the rate of child sexual abuse?

Despite the challenges in defining abuse, one thing upon which all experts agree—the rate of abuse is higher than what is reported.

Some children do not tell any adult what happened to them. Others are coaxed, tricked, coerced or threatened into silence by the abuser. Some victims are too young to comprehend what has taken place to them and do not have the emotional capacity or communication skills to alert adults.

The outcome is that the extent of abuse is higher—likely much higher—than what is reported. The U.S. Department of Justice estimates that only 30 percent of sexual assault cases are reported to authorities.

Even though rates of abuse are underreported, the numbers are still staggering.

In the United States, 10 percent of all children experience some form of child sexual abuse before age 18. According to an article appearing in the April 2014 issue of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics, of those abused, 75 percent are females and 25 percent are males.

In a 2013 JAMA article, David Finkelhor, a leading researcher on violence toward children, found that just under 6 percent of all children in the U.S., ages 1 month through 17 years experienced contact sexual assault the previous year. Of this group, 14-17-year-old females were particularly vulnerable, with 22.8 percent reporting being sexually victimized in the previous year. Nearly 13 percent of females 14-17 years of age experienced some kind of unwanted sexual solicitation on the internet within the previous year.

Most children who are molested know their victimizer. Only 10 percent of children are abused by a stranger; 90 percent know their abuser. The younger the child victim is, the more likely the perpetrator is an older child or teenager.

The need for awareness

The biggest and most costly mistake church leadership can make related to child sexual abuse is assuming “it can’t happen here.”

If the statistics are anywhere near accurate (and there is reason to believe the data grossly underrepresents the scope of the problem), at any church activity, children are present who have been victims of child sexual abuse. In medium and larger size churches, dozens of victims are in attendance each time the church gathers. Most unfortunately, for some children, the abuse may have happened in a church or in a church-related setting or at the hands of ministry personnel who are wolves in sheep’s clothing.

——-

Upcoming articles

• What is the effect on children and youth who have been victimized?
• What is the impact of sexual abuse on adults, and is there hope?
• What is the responsibility of the church and church leadership to protect children from abuse, and how can churches do this most effectively?
• Who must report abuse, and how can churches help abuse victims and their families?
• What resources are available to churches and families to help prevent abuse and to help the family where abuse has already occurred?

Scott Floyd, Ph.D., LPC-S, LMFT, is a senior fellow and director of Counseling Programs at B.H. Carroll Theological Institute.

I’m sitting outside. I have to. I need to feel the cool breeze of this overcast summer day. I need to hear the background noise of the nearby freeways that sounds almost like water … if I squint my imagination just right.

More than natural (and manmade) surroundings, I need a break to breathe and pray.

Do you ever feel like you need a break to breathe and pray? Better still, do you ever take the time to do it, to step away for some fresh air and a conversation with God?

I need to breathe and pray because I’m stressed.

Why are you stressed, pobrecito?

Life is good. I’m a “fortunate son” with a wonderful family, good health, good job, good connections, a lot of education, a roof over my head, plenty to eat and plenty of creature comforts. How on Earth could I be stressed?

As good as life is, it’s not perfect, and I’m not immune to the emotional and physiological effects of stressful situations. Two examples will suffice.

I just started a new job and moved. Relocating my family was and still is stressful. A bad contractor situation in the midst of the move was and still is stressful.

I read a lot of news, which I’ve always done and more so now as part of my new job. The news is full of stress-inducing stories from our less-then-perfect world. In turn, my mind is full of things I wish were different in politics, economics, racial relations, society and the world.

Reading the news as I do, I am well-aware what a charmed life I lead. For me to give the above as examples of stressors in my life, for me to offer them as a not-so-subconscious ploy for sympathy is bald proof of how good I have it.

But the fairy-tale nature of my life (and maybe yours, too) should not be a diversion from the need to acknowledge and respond to stress. Instead, the luxuries of life should give space for responding to stress better. After all, stress is an opportunity for followers of Christ to grow closer to him and in turn to exhibit his hope to a world awash with stress.

Frankly, the world needs us to take such an attitude to stress.

Are you stressed?

In case you are unsure of your stress level, you might take a few minutes to assess your situation using the well-known Holmes and Rahe stress scale, which you can access here. If the link doesn’t work, you can find the Holmes and Rahe scale with a simple Internet search.

Go ahead. Take a few minutes. I’ll wait.

(Insert Jeopardy theme song)

How was it? Did you answer all the questions? Are you ready to continue? Or do you need to see your doctor?

In truth, we don’t need tests, inventories and questionnaires to reveal our stress. Stress is not that mysterious. What these instruments do for us is provide a measure of the sources and intensity of our stress, which can help us make beneficial adjustments in our lives in two directions—vertically and horizontally.

Vertical: Stress and our relationship with God

Though God is not relegated to a room upstairs, we generally think of our relationship with God being an up/down, or vertical relationship.

When we become aware of stress, what is our first reaction? Do we become angry, withdrawn, worried, anxious, combative, critical, suspicious or cynical? Or do we become prayerful, turning to God for peace, security and guidance?

I’m not talking about piety. I’m not assessing our level of faith or gauging how spiritual we are. I’m not wagging my finger at us chiding us “to just trust in God … more.” I’m simply asking: What does stress drive us to do? Does our stress drive us away from Christ or closer to him?

For both of us—you the reader and me the writer—we can gauge our vertical relationship through our horizontal relationships.

Horizontal: Stress and our relationships with each other

Our response to stress and the condition of our vertical relationship with God are played out, whether or not we are aware of it, in our horizontal relationships with each other.

Our family, friends, coworkers and even the people standing in line with us at the grocery store (if we still buy groceries in a store) can tell us how we respond to stress. These people know without our telling them whether we breathe in air or breathe out fire when we are stressed.

So, I ask the same questions here I asked above: When we become aware of stress, what is our first reaction? Do we become angry, withdrawn, worried, anxious, combative, critical, suspicious or cynical? Or do we become prayerful, turning to God for peace, security and guidance?

What does stress drive us to do? Does it drive us to mirror the world’s angst or to reflect Christ’s hope?

Stress drives too many to an early grave

Unfortunately, too many of us allow stress to carry the day. As a result, we put ourselves at increased risk of “obesity, heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, depression, gastrointestinal problems and asthma.”

These are just the physical problems associated with stress. Stress also affects our mental and spiritual health, driving us apart from each other, God and even ourselves … if we allow it.

“Hmm. If we allow it,” he echoed ponderously.

A stress exercise for followers of Christ

The next time we sense tightness in our chest, shoulders, jaw or forehead; the next time our breathing becomes shallow; the next time our pulse quickens; the next time we become aware of stress in our lives—whatever the cause or intensity—let’s take a deep breath (or two or three) and reach for God in prayer so we are not driven down but up, not out and away but in and together with Christ and each other.

It sounds like a Sunday school answer or cat poster until you try it.

What the world needs now

The world could use a lot more love, it’s true. That love can start with us taking stress seriously, taking our relationship with God seriously and taking each other seriously. The things dividing us from one another, the things doing damage to our own selves, and the things we are allowing to divert us from God threaten to take us down and out.

It doesn’t have to be that way. Instead, those same things can drive us up and in to Christ and each other, and that’s what the world really needs now.

I don’t know how you scored on the Holmes and Rahe stress scale, but I know based on my score I need much more time outside breathing and praying.

But I already knew that.

Eric Black is the executive director, publisher and editor of the Baptist Standard. He can be reached at eric.black@baptiststandard.com or on Twitter at @EricBlackBSP.

When Lewis and Clark reached the Continental Divide, they expected to find a river that would allow them to paddle easily to the Pacific Ocean. What they saw instead were the Rocky Mountains.

That’s the type of challenge facing church leaders today — so daunting, so new and so unexpected that the old solutions won’t work, says Tod Bolsinger, the vice president and chief of leadership formation and an assistant professor of practical theology at Fuller Theological Seminary.

“It’s not going to do you any good to paddle harder,” he said. “You have to make an adaptation, and the key to adaptation begins with going back to your deepest core value.”

In his book “Canoeing the Mountains: Christian Leadership in Uncharted Territory,” Bolsinger draws upon leadership theory as well as his experience as a pastor and seminary professor and administrator to offer a “trail map” for Christian leaders navigating a rapidly changing world.

Continue reading the interview on Faith & Leadership.

As my interview with the Personnel Team of a church looking for an interim pastor came to an end, the chair turned to me and said, “We don’t want to waste the momentum we have right now.” When I asked for a broader explanation of what he meant by that, he said, “We are in such a good place as a church right now … solid finances … great staff … wonderful spirit. We don’t want to waste any of it.” What a great outlook that represents, and what a hopeful future portends for that church.

Momentum is an interesting concept. Apparently, momentum can go both ways … forward and backward. From personal experience, it is tougher to reverse a backward momentum than it is to advance a forward momentum. Thus, the gentleman’s wish to not waste the momentum.

But there is one crucial understanding about momentum that must not be overlooked. Jim Collins, in his business book “Good to Great,” talks about the “flywheel concept” and how a flywheel gains momentum the harder it is pushed. It takes great effort to turn it once, but soon that same effort yields five spins. Eventually, that same effort yields ten spins and then twenty and finally the wheel almost seems to spin by itself. Momentum.

People often ask for a simple explanation of how a church grew or some ministry flourished. They will ask “What was the one big thing that made this possible?” More often than not, there wasn’t one big thing. As much as we long for a silver bullet or a magical plan that will move us forward, there is something far more powerful when fully appropriated. Collins put it this way when talking about companies that made the transition from good to great:

“No matter how dramatic the end result, the good-to-great transformations never happened in one fell swoop. There was no single defining action, no solitary lucky break, no wrenching revolution. Good to great comes about by a cumulative process — step by step, action by action, decision by decision, turn by turn of the flywheel — that adds up to sustained and spectacular results.”

What happens in business translates, at least in this example, to churches also. If a church or a minister or a church staff seeks to constantly improve whatever it is they are doing, they have a chance for a good-to-great breakthrough. It is not necessarily the first effort that yields fruit or even the second; but eventually, with tenacity and perseverance, momentum occurs and a breakthrough in ministry is possible.

Momentum comes from repeated and consistent effort. Ministry is hard work, but it can also be rewarding work. A colleague of mine had made three or four efforts at a particular ministry that honestly did not yield the desired results. But that minister never gave up … never quit trying. In the end, working with a group of laity, she developed a new approach unlike anything previously attempted.

The results were amazing! She was not smarter when the breakthrough came. She was not working harder when the ministry flourished. And there was no one thing that energized the process. The thing was that she never gave up the quest. She kept trying new ways to live out the ministry before her and the church.

It would have been so easy to get despondent when things did not work out. It would have been so easy to abandon hope in the face of continued disappointment. But because she never lost hope and because she kept on pushing, the flywheel effect finally kicked in and made all the difference in the world.

The lesson for me is that momentum does not generate itself. It is in doing the hard work of the church that we create momentum. The better we do … the better we do.

Where is the momentum in your congregation? What are the things in your church that God has called you to do that need your attention and your best efforts? Where is the energy generated through ministry at your church?

By beginning to ask and answer these questions, we will know where and how to invest our lives in our churches. And we can take great comfort in knowing that all of our congregations, when led by the power of the Holy Spirit, can make the transition from good to great.

Don’t waste the momentum. It really is a wonderful gift.

Recently retired Mike Queen, along with his colleague Jayne Davis, has founded a ministry of encouragement called Hopeful Imagination to work with traditional churches dedicated to finding God’s way in a changing world. He is a consultant for the Center for Healthy Churches, where this article originally appeared.

The following article does not constitute legal advice but is intended to provide churches with questions to ask with regard to the formation of a security response.

During worship on Sunday, Nov. 5, 2017, Devin Patrick Kelley walked into First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs and shot and killed 26 people, and he wounded 20 others. The response to this mass shooting was immediate and has continued to reverberate through houses of worship.

Churches all over Texas and elsewhere scrambled to assemble security teams to prevent a similar occurrence. Unfortunately, these churches may have created a new problem for themselves.

On the same November morning, Manuel Garcia shot and killed his ex-wife and her boyfriend outside St. Alphonsus Church in Fresno, California.

According to the FBI, 220 active shooter situations occurred between 2000-2016, said John Litzler, director of the church law division of Christian Unity Ministries, during his workshop at the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship 2018 general assembly in Dallas. Eight of those incidents, or 3.6 percent, happened in houses of worship. Most were robberies or spillover from domestic disputes. Some actually targeted the religious group.

While active shooter incidents in houses of worship are rare, eight occurring over 17 years, three such incidents occurred in 2017 alone, two on the same day.

Church security is broader than gun violence

Litzler told workshop participants to “think broader [than gun violence] about church security.” Churches need to think about chemical attacks, cyber attacks, bomb threats, robbery, vandalism, natural disasters, child abductions and other things that have occurred at places of worship.

In thinking through other security concerns, churches should consider what kinds of events happen in close proximity to them, such as parades, marathons or concerts. Think about how many people may flood your facility if a violent incident happened nearby. How would you handle those people in that situation?

Be proactive in developing a crisis response plan

• Know your nearest emergency responders. How far away are your nearest first responders and who are they?

• Invite first responders to tour your facilities and provide them blueprints. During their tour, ask them to help you strategize and plan for emergency events. For example, where will people shelter during a tornado? What entrances to the building pose security threats?

• Create safety and security policies and review them regularly. Schedule your review to coincide with your state legislature. The Texas legislature convenes every two years and makes changes to the law that may affect your policies.

How the law affects and complicates church security

Be familiar with the legal requirements of your local jurisdiction. What follows pertains only to Texas.

In 2015, the Texas Legislature amended the Texas Penal Code to allow gun owners to open carry. Previously, gun owners were allowed to conceal carry with a permit unless prohibited by a private property owner under state statute 30.06. After Jan. 1, 2016, gun owners are allowed to open carry with a permit unless prohibited by a private property owner under the new state statute 30.07.

Churches in Texas have four options with respect to guns on their premises.

1. Allow all guns, which is the default position and does not require any notice.
2. Prohibit all guns, which requires oral or written notice under 30.06 and 30.07 according to the specifications of the Texas Penal Code.
3. Allow only concealed carry and no open carry, which requires oral or written notice under 30.07 according to the specifications of the Texas Penal Code.
4. Allow only open carry and no concealed carry, which requires oral or written notice under 30.06 according to the specifications of the Texas Penal Code.

If a church in Texas opts to provide written notice under 30.06 and 30.07, the posting must follow the guidelines given in the Texas Penal Code.

Be aware that 30.06 and 30.07 are trespassing statutes, giving authority to the land owner. Under these statutes, churches are considered private property with the rights that apply to land owners.

If a church in Texas has a school, then a different statute applies. Texas Penal Code 46.03 prohibits firearms and other weapons on the premises of any school or educational institution, public or private. Whereas churches have private property rights under 30.06 and 30.07, church schools do not under 46.03.

A further complication of 46.03 relates to the word ‘premises.’ Under 30.06 and 30.07, ‘premises’ refers to the inside of buildings, allowing a person to leave a firearm in his or her vehicle in the church parking lot. Under 46.03, ‘premises’ includes parking lots, sidewalks, parks and other places where a school activity is taking place, such as Sunday school rooms.

In other words, the same person protected under 30.06 and 30.07 would be in violation of 46.03 if he or she parked in a school parking lot where school activity is taking place, boarded a school bus or attended a school event at a nearby park while carrying a prohibited weapon.

Churches take on legal issues by choosing a fifth option

Due to the cost and unsightliness of written notice requirements and the complexity of state statutes, many churches in Texas choose a fifth option—only the security team will be permitted to carry firearms. This, however, is not a safe option in Texas.

The fifth option could unintentionally create a de facto security team in violation of Texas Occupations Code 1702, which governs private security. In 2017, the Texas Legislature passed a blanket exemption for houses of worship, making compliance with 1702 easier.

Under the exemption, individuals providing security to churches in Texas must be volunteers and must avoid the appearance of being trained private security. Volunteers cannot receive any form of compensation, including gift cards, gift bags or other item of monetary value. Volunteers under this exemption should not wear any article of clothing labeled ‘safety’ or ‘security’ in order to avoid even the appearance of being trained.

While the exemption to 1702 allows individuals to provide security to churches, churches must still be cautious. Statute 1702 only applies to individuals and does not remove liability from the church. If a church knowingly enlists individuals to provide security, and one of those individuals injures or kills another person on the premises, the church may be held liable for the individual’s actions.

Should churches have security teams?

Because security is a matter of discipleship and stewardship, churches should provide security and should be careful how they do it. Litzler suggests churches do the following.

1. Engage a professional who can provide accurate legal counsel.
2. Discuss safety and security measures with your church insurer and be prepared for premium increases if you allow a safety or security team to be armed.
3. Form a diverse group that includes ministers to children and youth to inform emergency response plans.
4. Layer your security using policies, visible cameras and greeters who observe and report suspicious behavior.
5. Train individuals providing security to comply with state statutes.
6. Partner with other churches to fund security.
7. Don’t arm your safety or security team but train the team in preventative measures, such as welcoming people while still in the parking lot. An unarmed security team is not subject to 1702.
8. Hire off-duty law enforcement. This is the best option in Texas if a church can afford it because 1702 does not apply in this situation and it develops good relationships with first responders.

None of these measures prevent a lawsuit. They do demonstrate your concern for the safety of those in your care. No one will begrudge you that.

Eric Black is the executive director, publisher and editor of the Baptist Standard. He can be reached at eric.black@baptiststandard.comor on Twitter at @EricBlackBSP.

What will you do when something unexpected happens that turns the eyes of the world on you and your ministry? What will you do when reporters call, knock on your door or show up with cameras?

Ellen Di Giosia and Jay Pritchard provided answers to these questions during their workshop at the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship 2018 General Assembly in Dallas.

Di Giosia served Texas Baptist churches in Valley Mills, San Marcos and San Antonio before being called in 2017 as pastor of First Baptist Church in Jefferson City, Tennessee. Not long after becoming pastor at First Baptist in Jefferson City, Di Giosia and her church became the subject of a media storm related to the position of the Tennessee Baptist Convention on women in ministry resulting in the church’s expulsion from the state convention.

Jay Pritchard is a member of Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas, co-founder of Upward Strategy Group and specialist in crisis communications. In 2014, Wilshire found itself at the epicenter of an Ebola crisis in Dallas when Louise Troh, fiancée of Thomas Eric Duncan, was revealed to be a member of Wilshire. Duncan contracted Ebola prior to his arrival in Dallas and died days later.

The story made national and international headlines, taking Wilshire along with it. Pritchard played an instrumental role in consulting Wilshire staff on how to prepare for and interact with the media. As a result, Wilshire skillfully navigated a potentially overwhelming crisis situation.

Churches, their ministers and members can unwittingly find themselves at the center of similar situations. For example, First Baptist Church of West, in Central Texas, received considerable media attention during the immediate aftermath of a fertilizer plant explosion there in 2013. First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs also received international attention after the mass shooting there in 2017.

Are you prepared for a crisis event?

Crisis communications for organizations and their leaders

As an expert in crisis communications, Pritchard provided the following advice to prepare for and respond to the media.

1. Get ahead. Establish a crisis response team before a crisis or emergency arises. Do so when things are calm and you have time to create an effective team. Determine who will be the point person for all inquiries and public communication. Designate a specific area where media will be allowed. Send all media to your designated area where they will be addressed by your point person. Establish concentric circles of concern (to borrow Oscar Thompson’s title for his book on evangelism), or a prioritized list of people and entities you will contact immediately following and throughout an incident. Determine who needs to be contacted first and move outward from there.
2. Give the team the opportunity to rehearse a crisis situation.

When a crisis or emergency happens:

1. Begin by breathing. Literally take a breath. Take as many deep and deliberate breaths as you need before doing anything else. The brain needs the oxygen as well as the buffer of time.
2. Follow your plan.
3. Start by talking through what is happening and establish the message you want to communicate to each circle of concern, including the media. What do you want each circle to know about you, your organization and what is happening?
4. Communicate only what you know. Tell the truth and only the truth. Do not speculate.
5. Stick to your message. Don’t let the media or anyone else get you “off message.”

Crisis self-care for ministers

As a minister who experienced the chaos of a media frenzy, Di Giosia provided the following pointers for self-care.

1. Know when to talk and when not to talk. Media training will help set these boundaries.
2. Practice being the non-anxious presence during less stressful situations. Leaders are expected to be calm and cool under pressure.
3. Have an ‘internal crew’ of people within the congregation with whom you can debrief.
4. Have an ‘external crew’ of peers, colleagues and friends outside the congregation who can support you in ways your congregation cannot.
5. Know your limits. You are not a superhero and need to say ‘no’ to the media more than you say ‘yes.’ You do not have to accept every request for an interview.
6. Be honest about the media cycle and educate your congregation about it. Once you are in the news, you will continue to be in the news, periodically popping up after everyone thinks the story has gone cold.
7. Be transparent with your congregation. Don’t hide things.
8. Take time off. On top of the regular demands of leading a church or other organization, being available to and responding to the media adds layers of extra stress. You owe it to yourself, your family and your congregation to take time off.
9. Have professional help (a counselor or therapist) waiting in the wings. You may need help beyond your family, friends and congregational leaders.
10. Once you appear in the media and give an interview, expect to be contacted again by the media to comment on other news.

A word to us, the media

As the media, there are a few things we must do.

1. We must remember the stories we tell first belong to the people living them and not to us. We owe it to the people to handle their stories as a sacred trust.
2. We must respect the boundaries people establish for themselves, their families and others involved.
3. We must respect any crisis response plan a person or organization may have in place without trying to circumvent the plan.
4. We must be more concerned with honoring people than with being first to tell the story.

Be prepared

So much is out of our control. But not everything. During the chaos of crisis, we can bring some stability and calm by being prepared ahead of time. Seeking media training before crisis happens is a worthy investment.

Eric Black is the executive director, publisher and editor of the Baptist Standard. He can be reached at eric.black@baptiststandard.com or on Twitter at @EricBlackBSP.