Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #ChurchToo
Most recents (24)
š§µš§µFor years, Jared Woodfill has led extreme anti-gay campaigns in Texas, comparing LGBTQ people to child molesters.
And for years, he's known of child sex abuse claims against his longtime law partner and Southern Baptist leader Paul Pressler.
texastribune.org/2023/03/27/houā¦
And for years, he's known of child sex abuse claims against his longtime law partner and Southern Baptist leader Paul Pressler.
texastribune.org/2023/03/27/houā¦
Under oath last month, Woodfill said he was told in 2004 that Pressler sexually abused a minor - claims that were made during mediation of an assault lawsuit against Pressler that Woodfill quietly settled for $450,000.
texastribune.org/2023/03/27/houā¦
texastribune.org/2023/03/27/houā¦
Despite that, Woodfill denied any knowledge of Pressler's behavior in 2016, when a young attorney told him Pressler told him "lewd stories" about being naked with men before inviting him to skinny-dip.
texastribune.org/2023/03/27/houā¦
texastribune.org/2023/03/27/houā¦
As you can see what a #LiarsGonnaLie really looks like.
As we know, #IPCC aka @policeconduct have NEVER EVER taken my complaint on board that was made on the 5/2/2015 but it has only ever been on my twin sisters #complaint.
As for the #Statement surrounding #socialmediastrategy
As we know, #IPCC aka @policeconduct have NEVER EVER taken my complaint on board that was made on the 5/2/2015 but it has only ever been on my twin sisters #complaint.
As for the #Statement surrounding #socialmediastrategy
and not having anything to do with my @TwitterCreators @FBoversight accounts removed, but my @Dropbox is ok.
well let me just remind you fish face after you decided you had nothing better to do but to setup your @TwitterSupport account in the name of #misery @realerthanm0st
well let me just remind you fish face after you decided you had nothing better to do but to setup your @TwitterSupport account in the name of #misery @realerthanm0st
but for the @FACTukorg you have shit for brains as all in the @metpoliceuk did not realise if she used the same screenshot sent to her colleges when using @the_tpa to fuckin #Gaslighting me you decided to change the name to TONI LOVELL and changed the profile pic to the screen
When I wanted to go public with my story of #spiritualabuse & #psychologicalabuse at the hands of Andy Wood & Filipe Santos at Echo church in San Jose, CA, I knew immediately I wanted to speak to @reachjulieroys first. I had 4 major newspaper reporters reaching out. Julie š§µ
is well-versed in the patterns of the evangelical industrial complexās darkness well-hidden behind the curtain with good people who are silent while Good Old Boys scratch each othersā backs at the expense of abuse survivors being discredited and silenced. Julie says, āyou have š§µ
publishing, you have broadcasting, you have the megachurches, you have the conferences, you have these huge celebrities who are making a lot of moneyā¦And so whenever you have money involved, whenever you have power involved, unfortunately thereās protection, thereās sin, š§µ
#BREAKING The Department of Justice is investigating the Southern Baptist Convention over its handling of sex abuses, months after a third-party report that was prompted by 2019 reporting by the @HoustonChron
Story via me @John_Tedesco #SBCtoo #ChurchToo
houstonchronicle.com/news/investigaā¦
Story via me @John_Tedesco #SBCtoo #ChurchToo
houstonchronicle.com/news/investigaā¦
@HoustonChron @John_Tedesco The DOJ investigation follows a bombshell report from May, in which a third-party found that top SBC officials had for two decades intimidated abuse survivors and fought reforms that they privately said would help - but could cost $$ in lawsuits #SBCtoo
houstonchronicle.com/news/investigaā¦
houstonchronicle.com/news/investigaā¦
That report was prompted by Abuse of Faith, a 2019 investigation by @HoustonChron & @ExpressNews that detailed hundreds of criminal convictions by Southern Baptist pastors + decades of inaction by top leaders
They left behind more than 700 victims #SBCtoo
houstonchronicle.com/news/investigaā¦
They left behind more than 700 victims #SBCtoo
houstonchronicle.com/news/investigaā¦
A thread Iāve been sitting on for months.
I believe a personās abuse story is theirs to tell. But some victims of abuse are no longer with us to share theirs.
This is one of those stories:
There was a POC (letās call him āJoeā) who was a member at our former church. 1/
I believe a personās abuse story is theirs to tell. But some victims of abuse are no longer with us to share theirs.
This is one of those stories:
There was a POC (letās call him āJoeā) who was a member at our former church. 1/
It may be important to state that there were very few POC at our church & they were some of the only ones who voted ānoā on excommunicating us). 2/
Joe was mentally ill & could at times be awkward interpersonally.
Lead pastor once scolded my husband & other elders saying āyou spend too much time with Joe. He canāt be too dependent on you.ā 3/
Lead pastor once scolded my husband & other elders saying āyou spend too much time with Joe. He canāt be too dependent on you.ā 3/
Church leaders: this is šÆ how it comes across when you refuse to listen to survivors, advocates & others who challenge your chosen response path. Donāt like the implication? Choose humility. Listen to, learn from, & respond to what your critics are saying. #churchtoo #acnatoo
If there is another reason @The_ACNA continues to ignore public critiques, resignations & stories of injury (while muffling social media), Iād love to hear it. B/c otherwise it looks like abandoning the injured b/c making repairs would require leaders to admit mistakes & change.
I will never understand how any spiritual leader thinks simply *not replying* to emails, phone calls, public letters of resignation, survivors begging for response is a legitimate pastoral/professional option.
Church historians take note!!!
PCA history was made, when, in September 2016, @forejessica painted a dress with all the names her presbytery clerk had called her and wore it to a presbytery meeting.
#ChurchToo #PCAtoo
jessicafore.wordpress.com/2017/09/18/pcaā¦
PCA history was made, when, in September 2016, @forejessica painted a dress with all the names her presbytery clerk had called her and wore it to a presbytery meeting.
#ChurchToo #PCAtoo
jessicafore.wordpress.com/2017/09/18/pcaā¦
Priot to this, in April, @JessicaForeGA had attended another presbytery meeting to which she carried a protest sign reading "Justice not Abuse". She would later take this to worship & lay it at her feet in lament, an act her fellow congregants used as evidence of her impropriety.
Six yrs later, the Ad Interim Committee on Domestic Abuse & Sexual Assault delivered its report. Jessica Fore was named at #PCAGA but appears nowhere in the written report, a glaringly disrespectful omission.
I thought it was just my incredibly niche timeline of Southern Baptists thrown together with Anglicans ... but apparently not. David and Bathsheba are trending. A few points that I'm not hearing clearly enough: a š§µ1/
This will be a *short* sermon, since we're on Twitter and that's how things work. If you want the *long* version, since some of you clearly prefer that, here's a link: soundcloud.com/prairiecollegeā¦ 2/
The story of David and Bathsheba has a lot of gaps. It's brilliantly told narrative, meant to characterize David and the kind of king he is. Some of its genius requires us to draw conclusions based on what we already know. 3/
šNEW story from me:
Evangelist @Franklin_Graham pushed a domestic abuse victim to return to her husband.
He asked whether she was cheating on her husband.
āIt was a good question to ask,ā Graham told me. āI wouldāve asked it again.ā
washingtonpost.com/religion/2022/ā¦
Evangelist @Franklin_Graham pushed a domestic abuse victim to return to her husband.
He asked whether she was cheating on her husband.
āIt was a good question to ask,ā Graham told me. āI wouldāve asked it again.ā
washingtonpost.com/religion/2022/ā¦
I have been following @naghmehspanahi for a long time, watching how she once vigorously fought for her then-husband's release from an Iranian prison.
When she disclosed allegations of her abuse, I wanted to know--how was she treated behind doors by religious leaders?
When she disclosed allegations of her abuse, I wanted to know--how was she treated behind doors by religious leaders?
Evangelicals have been having a reckoning around abuse.
I once asked major Southern Baptist leader Paige Patterson about his advice to persuade an abused woman to go back to her husband. Like Graham, he said he would do it again:
washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-fā¦
#churchtoo #sbctoo
I once asked major Southern Baptist leader Paige Patterson about his advice to persuade an abused woman to go back to her husband. Like Graham, he said he would do it again:
washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-fā¦
#churchtoo #sbctoo
I would like to say something to evangelical Christians who have platforms.
Be brave. Have courage. Speak up.
It is all too easy, once we have platforms, to put our effort into maintaining those platforms.
They took time to build! Often our livelihood depends on them.
Be brave. Have courage. Speak up.
It is all too easy, once we have platforms, to put our effort into maintaining those platforms.
They took time to build! Often our livelihood depends on them.
And the evangelical world is a small one. If we want endorsements for our books; invitations to conferences; speaking opportunities--then we can't afford to tick people off.
We need to keep everyone happy so that we can keep what we have.
We need to keep everyone happy so that we can keep what we have.
When one of our colleagues or friends with a platform does something wrong--teaches something harmful; ignores abuse; or even perpetrates abuse--we stay silent.
We may speak up "behind the scenes", telling ourselves, "this is the kingdom way." But that's it.
We may speak up "behind the scenes", telling ourselves, "this is the kingdom way." But that's it.
#PCA please hear us. Women serving in the church isn't just about women feeling appreciated and the church body benefitting from our gifts (though it isn't less than that). This week, there is one very important aspect I want you to think about: (cont)
The lack of visible female leadership in the church impacts how all members think about women. If women are weak, easily deceived, bad at theology and logic, and always trying to usurp authority it's no wonder they aren't believed when they report abuse to men in charge. (cont)
It's no wonder that abusive men can convince entire congregations that their victim(s) are crazy, irrational, unbalanced, unreliable, even dangerous. Because that isn't a far cry from how women are spoken about *from the pulpit* in some churches.
TW // Sexual Abuse, church trauma
Thereās a certain way that some activists and leaders in the #SBCtoo and #churchtoo circles have responded the Guidepost report that ultimately reinforces patricarchical white supremacy and ignores many victims.
Thereās a certain way that some activists and leaders in the #SBCtoo and #churchtoo circles have responded the Guidepost report that ultimately reinforces patricarchical white supremacy and ignores many victims.
Itās often said the patriarchy harms everyone, including the men who benefit from it. Many boys and men who have been sexually abused in churches often donāt feel safe to come forward precisely because of the way patriarchy manifests.
Take the convergence of patriarchy and homophobia. We are trained to hate LGBTQIA people in white Christian spaces. Some men just straight up donāt come forward because theyāre afraid of being labeled as gay, or that they tempted some pastor into āhomosexual sins.ā
Okay, so the report on abuse in the #SBC is out now.
What the fuck is this supposed to do?
Yeah, there are eyes on the org now, but eyes have been on the Catholic church for the same thing for, what, 50 years? How many got real justice there? #churchtoo
What the fuck is this supposed to do?
Yeah, there are eyes on the org now, but eyes have been on the Catholic church for the same thing for, what, 50 years? How many got real justice there? #churchtoo
My real fear is that itās just going to make these predators more dangerous cause theyāll be more afraid of getting caught. My fear is that instead of survivors, weāll see actual corpses in the pews. #SBCtoo #churchtoo
And what about people like me, who couldnāt even admit they were abused until almost two decades after the fact, and has no concrete evidence to get justice in a court?
What the fuck are we supposed to do? #SBCtoo #churchtoo
What the fuck are we supposed to do? #SBCtoo #churchtoo
#BREAKING An explosive 400pg investigation finds Southern Baptist leaders silenced/disparaged abuse survivors, ignored calls for policies & dismissed reforms that might cost the SBC money in lawsuits. #SBCtoo
Much more to come in thread below:
houstonchronicle.com/news/investigaā¦
Much more to come in thread below:
houstonchronicle.com/news/investigaā¦
The historic report details how a small, insular and influential group of leaders āsingularly focused on avoiding liability for the SBC to the exclusion of other" abuse preventions #SBCtoo #churchtoo
Some leaders also kept a private database of offenders
houstonchronicle.com/news/investigaā¦
Some leaders also kept a private database of offenders
houstonchronicle.com/news/investigaā¦
BIG NEWS: A former president of the Southern Baptist Convention is accused of sexually assaulting a woman, weeks after his tenure as the faith group's leader ended. he allegations are included in a historic review of SBC leaders abuse responses #SBCtoo
houstonchronicle.com/news/investigaā¦
houstonchronicle.com/news/investigaā¦
If I can find the time, I'd like to write about the application of critiques of carceral feminism* to the over-reliance on church courts/processes to reckon w/ abusers. #ChurchToo
*ālaw-and-order responses to sexual and gendered
violence"
*ālaw-and-order responses to sexual and gendered
violence"
Carceral feminism ofc has a history in Christian thought, esp evangelical (ex. anti-trafficking laws of the late 90s)
This ties into radical libertarianism, w/its emphasis on the state as judge. Elizabeth Bernstein calls this "a drift from the welfare state to the carceral state"
This ties into radical libertarianism, w/its emphasis on the state as judge. Elizabeth Bernstein calls this "a drift from the welfare state to the carceral state"
So many times, I've seen church courts -as manifestations of status quo power structures - operate as mechanisms to distract from/neglect a critique of the theology/practices that fuel injustice & render women & minorities so vulnerable to racism, sexism, exploitation and abuse
š§µ Summary of the transparency issue that is affecting women in the @churchofengland:
1 In the 8 years since women were finally āallowedā to be bishops, a problem has developed in the church.
1 In the 8 years since women were finally āallowedā to be bishops, a problem has developed in the church.
2 When the legislation was passed in 2014, an exemption was agreed by Parliament, allowing those clergy/churches who donāt believe women should have equality with men in church ministry to carry on excluding women from being priests/vicars & bishops, etc.
3 Numbers arenāt made readily accessible, but it seems thereāre 100s of these churches/clergy - perhaps 5% of the @churchofengland - in these 2 groups:
A #MaleHeadship #Complementarian #ConservativeEvangelical
B #MaleOnlyPriesthood #TraditionalAngloCatholic #ForwardinFaith
A #MaleHeadship #Complementarian #ConservativeEvangelical
B #MaleOnlyPriesthood #TraditionalAngloCatholic #ForwardinFaith
One of the most helpful things my mother (an LPC) ever taught me about abuse dynamics was this: The greater the disparity between public persona and private reality, the greater the dysfunction.
Here's why this understanding is so important...
Here's why this understanding is so important...
We all understand that the version of ourselves people see in public is not exactly the same as the version someone might see if they observed us at home. We lose our tempers. We snap back. We fail to keep our responsibilities. And not everyone sees all of our worst qualities...
This is normal. In fact, we assume that people and relationships have more flaws and failures than we can observe in acquaintance or even friendship.
But in a healthy person, marriage, or home, there is limited disparity between perception and reality.
Imagine that ...
But in a healthy person, marriage, or home, there is limited disparity between perception and reality.
Imagine that ...
I came across an article today from Christianity Today's former Editor in Chief @markgalli regarding the Sovereign Grace Ministries abuse scandal. He makes key arguments regarding the importance of an independent investigation...
...that are worth revisiting at this crucial time in @The_ACNA. Let's take a posture of humility and learn from other denominations past mistakes: christianitytoday.com/ct/2018/march-ā¦
@ArchbishopFoley @frandrewgross
@ArchbishopFoley @frandrewgross
"Itās time for healing to begin. But that healing can't begin until we all know the exact nature and extent of the wound; until all the facts are out in the open; until the truth that liberates can be known; and most importantly, if and when it is pertinent, there is repentance."
We need to go through what has taken place ignored by the professionals who failed this family, as @ukhomeoffice @pritipatel allows @IOPC_Help Mr Lovett who was the line manager to #CindyButts and Butts manager to Jennifer Gillian.
@CPSUK @MaxHillQC has been involved
@CPSUK @MaxHillQC has been involved
in just about everything in reference to @BarCouncilChair @thebarcouncil @barstandards @sra_solicitors #RuleOfLaw , am I correct in assuming this is the case @factchecknet?
@MayorofLondon @SadiqKhan am I to assume you meant what you said surrounding @KidsMatterUK
@MayorofLondon @SadiqKhan am I to assume you meant what you said surrounding @KidsMatterUK
as I am assuming the @EduPolicyInst would also agree it's your jobs #MayorofLondon #MaxHill #cps to ensure the @VictimRightsLaw @GoodLawProject @JolyonMaugham who had a hell of a lot to say in the @grenfellinquiry as @DLawrenceOBE has who both are a strong team
Maybe at the point the modern Church resembles corporate America more than it resembles Jesus, itās time to scrap the whole institution and start from scratch.
(a š§µ about my complete exasperation with @The_ACNA, also an update on the @MidwestAnglican investigation)
#ACNAtoo
(a š§µ about my complete exasperation with @The_ACNA, also an update on the @MidwestAnglican investigation)
#ACNAtoo
Nov. 7 I asked @The_ACNA Provincial Response Team 10 questions about the upcoming @MidwestAnglican investigation.
They sent responses to each question on Nov. 30.
They sent responses to each question on Nov. 30.
(Itās taken me this long to put this online because I only have so much energy to deal with @The_ACNA hierarchy anymore. Itās been over a year since I wrote Mark Riveraās church community telling them what he did to me and asking them please to take care of it. Iām exhausted.)
1/4 Alliance of Love against Baptist Abuses (ALBA) is assisting in filing a complaint with the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) next week against the policies and practices of Southwest Baptist University #SBUniv.
#sbctoo #SBC #churchtoo #mobaptists
#sbctoo #SBC #churchtoo #mobaptists
2/4 The complaint addresses the cultural and "Biblical" belief among the #SBUniv administration, staff, and governance that women hold an inferior and depraved status, due to the order of creation and the Fall, and that all women are obligated to submit to all men.
#sbctoo #SBC
#sbctoo #SBC
3/4 Therefore, there is no necessity to address the collective or individual harm of molestation, harassment, slander, abuse, sexual violence, academic inequity, and inequitable treatment towards women because, by default, ...
#SBUniv #SBC #sbctoo #churchtoo
#SBUniv #SBC #sbctoo #churchtoo
25/ We have obtained (with permission) reams of court documents related to the poisonings at #SBUniv.
These reference multiple instances of sexual assault, slander, or abuse, perpetrated by SBU personnel - most members of First Baptist Church of Bolivar.
#SBC #sbctoo
These reference multiple instances of sexual assault, slander, or abuse, perpetrated by SBU personnel - most members of First Baptist Church of Bolivar.
#SBC #sbctoo
15/ Before beginning today's "episode," we make note of several realities.
"How many?" someone asked, "How many babies were killed by the #pesticides."
Is that even the right question?
How many murders does it take to reach some macabre threshold? But ...
#SBUniv #SBC #SBCtoo
"How many?" someone asked, "How many babies were killed by the #pesticides."
Is that even the right question?
How many murders does it take to reach some macabre threshold? But ...
#SBUniv #SBC #SBCtoo
15/ Before beginning today's episode, we make note of several realities.
"How many?" someone asked, "How many babies were killed by the #pesticides."
Is that even the right question?
How many murders does it take to reach some macabre threshold?
But,
#SBUniv #SBC #SBCtoo
"How many?" someone asked, "How many babies were killed by the #pesticides."
Is that even the right question?
How many murders does it take to reach some macabre threshold?
But,
#SBUniv #SBC #SBCtoo
