HopeAgain

[Houston Chronicle @HoustonChron]

Survivors of sexual abuse within the Southern Baptist Convention say promised reforms have stalled or been abandoned, leaving many disillusioned and questioning whether real change is still possible.⁠ https://t.co/iQcWgUn1C5

[Diane Langberg, PhD @DianeLangberg]

The fact that those in the body of Christ commit these abuses, and then use the name of God to cross over to the other side of the road, is frankly horrific. Victims of abuse are being used by God to expose us to ourselves.

[Diane Langberg, PhD @DianeLangberg]

The use of verbal and emotional mistreatment to silence a victim, coupled with power used to prevent exposure of an abuser, can have catastrophic outcomes in a person’s life. The combined abuses constitute a life-destroying tsunami.

[Diane Langberg, PhD @DianeLangberg]

Many times as leaders, we ignore marriages saturated with sin and deceit without truth or care because we value the external appearance of marriage over the holiness of God lived out in hidden places. Here, we discuss this and additional church harm scenarios with @drmoore:

[Amy Smith @watchkeep]

This man stayed the entire time, held his sign quietly and stayed to himself. After the service let out, a Gateway church attendee exited the parking lot and parked his car on the road, jumped out and came over and started an altercation with this man who hadn’t said anything.

[Mary DeMuth @MaryDeMuth]

It is not victimhood to honestly deal with the deep pain (and sometimes trauma) of the wounding by another. It's honesty. Jesus is our empathetic savior who deeply understands being victimized. I'm weary of people coopting the word 'victim,' exclusively making it a bad word.

[Diane Langberg, PhD @DianeLangberg]

When the work of shepherding leads us to pride, judgment, superiority, or deception, we have forgotten that we are a lamb. A shepherd who is not first a lamb is a dangerous shepherd and has ceased to follow the Good Shepherd.

[Kat M. Wilkins, LPC @wilkins_kathryn]

1) When a narcissist leads a church/org/inst, the system becomes a "narcissistic system." This means that as the narcissist (N) relates in his sphere, there is an inter-dependent mutually-impacting dynamic that takes place...

[Aundi Kolber, Therapist+Author @aundikolber]

May you come to know,

you do not have to perform your pain
for it to matter.

#Beloved #HealAnyway

[Dr. Thema @drthema]

Good friends can still see you in the dark.

They steady your heartbeat with their very presence.

[Dr. Thema @drthema]

A note to trauma survivors from a trauma psychologist:

I see you in the fullness of your humanity.

You are worthy of safety, respect, freedom, and healing.

May you survive, outlast these storms, and thrive!

[HopeAgain @HopeAgain5]

@nate_postlethwt No one. ❤️💜

[Dr. Thema @drthema]

Release false, random timelines.

Give your heart all the time it needs.

Your healing is worth it. You’re worth it.

[BozLaw P.A. @bozlawpa]

Chewing with your mouth open is “inappropriate”; grooming a child is wicked.

[Diane Langberg, PhD @DianeLangberg]

We have often blamed those who suffer for their trauma. Yet, LIKE OUR LORD, many people suffer from totally underserved injustice and trauma.

[Boz Tchividjian @BozT]

"My understanding growing up was that the church was a place of refuge, and what I've come to realize is that the church oftentimes is a place of trauma." https://t.co/JpYExBMSYZ

[Wade Mullen @wademullen]

An indicator of the integrity of organizational leaders is how they make sense of credible allegations of abuse.

They’ll either sense what has happened to the victim(s) and act on their behalf or they’ll sense what might happen to the institution and act to protect its image.

[Nate Postlethwait @nate_postlethwt]

An enabler is often more dangerous than the perpetrator because the perpetrator admits they're not sorry, and that is the story the enabler paints differently. The enabler becomes the bridge to the survivor with the intent to protect the perpetrator. Truly, a huge danger.