We Too: How the Church Can Respond Redemptively to the Sexual Abuse Crisis

Publisher Description

: Crushed by sexual abuse?

The truth: We heal better together.

The sexual abuse crisis has permeated every corner of our world, including the church. How we respond to both its menacing proliferation and the shattered hearts of survivors is vital. God beckons us to be good Samaritans to those facing trauma and sexual brokenness in the aftermath of abuse, to provide safe places to heal in community.

In these pages, author and advocate Mary DeMuth encourages the church she loves to rise up and face the very real evil of sexual abuse and harassment-with candor and empathy. Based on current research and survivors' stories, along with a fierce fidelity to Scripture, DeMuth paints a realistic picture of the church's historical and present response to sexual violence, and she provides a framework of revival and surprising hope for the future.

You will learn:

• What the Bible says to the sexually exploited.
• What harms and what empowers those who have been traumatized by abuse.
• How Jesus provides us a relational framework that welcomes victims, decries secrecy, forsakes reputation management, and deals justly with perpetrators.
• How to determine if your church is moving toward becoming a truly safe place.

In the throes of the #MeToo movement, the church now stands at a crucial crossroads. By advocating for a culture of listening and justice, Mary encourages the church to cross over to the places where people are hurting, to bind up their wounds, and to truly embrace the long-term reality of sexual abuse's aftereffects. In the circle of that kind of empathetic #WeToo community, the church will become the place it's meant to be-a place of justice and healing for everyone.