Phoenix Preacher

Personal Resolution on Child Sexual Abuse

Proposed to the 41^st General Assembly in Greenville, South Carolina

By TE Mike Sloan, Georgia Foothills Presbytery

WHEREAS our Lord Jesus demonstrated his righteous anger at his disciples, rebuking those who would do anything to prevent covenant children from coming unto him, saying “to such belongs the Kingdom of God” (Mark 10:14); and

WHEREAS the Lord Jesus, who possesses all power and authority in heaven and on earth, taught and demonstrated in his humiliation, that power is rightly exercised to serve others, protect the weak, and speak for the oppressed (Mark 10:42-45, Exodus 22:21-24, Deuteronomy 10:17-19, Proverbs 31:1-9); and

WHEREAS a silent epidemic of child abuse exists in our culture wherein 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys are sexually abused before their eighteenth birthday (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2006), including girls and boys who attend PCA churches, with 95% of victims being violated by someone they know and trust (Darkness2Light.org); and

WHEREAS child sexual abuse thrives in an environment that discourages open communication about the abuse and also thrives with both the calculated sin of abusers and by the inaction of church leaders who are nonetheless complicit in the abuse and culpable before the Lord; and

WHEREAS the law in almost all states mandates pastors, and even in some states volunteers, to report child abuse to civil authorities within 24 hours, and biblical due diligence requires churches to train its workers and volunteers to protect children by screening workers and volunteers, by strictly limiting one adult one child situations, and by maintaining a child protection policy informed by wise resources now widely available; and

WHEREAS the silence of the church, by not speaking out against this sin, or not supporting the courageous victims who disclose abuse, or not proactively taking the steps to prevent abuse, is a fundamental failure of servant leadership in such a time as this, and drives people away from the Gospel of Jesus Christ; and

WHEREAS many of our members have close relational ties with some Reformed and evangelical organizations, fellowships of ministers, and well-known leaders who have lately come under the closest moral and legal scrutiny, some facing criminal and/or civil litigation for neglect in reporting alleged criminal activity against children and harboring and protecting alleged sexual perpetrators against children, casting doubt in the eyes of some on the stance of the PCA toward child sexual abuse and our moral resolve to uproot it; THEREFORE, be it

RESOLVED that we plead with all pastors and church officers to take an active stance toward rooting out child sexual abuse in the church by leading their churches to study, implement, and maintain child protection policies pertaining to our moral and legal obligations in loving our covenant children and protecting their rightful interests as God’s image-bearers and heirs of the Covenant of Grace from the devastating actions of abusers in the church; and be it further

RESOLVED that we pledge our commitment to work and fully cooperate with duly appointed God-ordained government officials in exposing and bringing to justice all probable perpetrators, who morally and criminally harm the children placed in our trust, and not in any perceivable way display reluctance in fully cooperating with lawful authorities by attempting to handle the issue internally by subjecting either the supposed victim or alleged criminal perpetrator to private “church discipline” or relational “restoration” apart from the fulfillment of our mandated reporting duties to God-ordained government authorities; and be it further

RESOLVED that we exhort all pastors and church officers to use their power for the protection of the vulnerable, by any and all godly means, including speaking boldly about the horrors of child sexual abuse in our time, urging anyone with knowledge of these sins to “take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.” (Ephesians 5:11), and by supporting victims who are easily intimidated, and often suffer in silence, without the clear support of those in positions of power; and be it finally
RESOLVED that the 41^st General Assembly urge all members of the PCA to renew our allegiance to our Lord Jesus to love our covenant children as he loves our covenant children, for to such belongs the Kingdom of God (Mark 10:14).

1. We were sitting on the bank of the Rogue River when my son popped a piece of candy in his mouth and casually let the wrapper hit the sand. The thunder roared forth from my mouth…”WE DO NOT DO THAT! WE ARE OREGONIANS!”. After my long lecture explaining his heritage and why he must be part of sustaining the beauty of the state for his kids and grandkids (poor kid)…I had a thought.What if we all had the same passion for our faith and the real beauty of it that we native Oregonians have for our lakes and rivers? What if we stopped the conflicts and coverups with “WE DON”T TREAT PEOPLE THAT WAY. WE”RE CHRISTIANS!”  I know…too much sun…

2. Entitlement may be the most difficult addiction to break of them all.

3. I still love the church. Just sayin…

4. ““Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me?” (Jeremiah 32:27 ESV)

5. Prayer would be a lot easier if you got a delivery notice when you were finished…

6. You can go home again…but you will inevitably reminded that it’s no longer your home.

7. My prayer is that I pass on the best I have to my son and he passes on the rest of what I am. The best thing I can do is point him to the One who is without flaws and sin.

8.  California couple on the rim looking at Crater Lake…”Is there anything to DO up here”?. I wanted to suggest jumping in, but held my tongue. We are losing the ability just to be present…

9.  Any theological construction that takes anything away from our responsibility to be excellent stewards of nature is from the pit of hell.

10. Thank you all for the kind words and friendships that have survived so much here over the years. I’m grateful…

We are surrounded by a din of demanding voices:
selling,
recruiting,
seducing,
coercing.

We screen them out in order to maintain our sanity,
to secure our rest.

And then, in the night, you address us,
you call us by name,
you entrust to us risky words,
you empower us with authority.

But your voice is on first hearing not distinctive.

We confuse your voice with that of an old friend,
or deep hope,
or powerful fear,
or an ancient bias.

We hear, but we do not listen -
jolted, bewildered, resistant.

But your voice sneaks up on us:
you address us,
you call us by name,
you entrust us with risky words,
you empower us with authority.

Sometimes…occasionally…boldly…we answer:
“Speak, I am listening.”
Then we say, “Here am I.”

And listening, we are made new and sent dangerously by your address.

Walter Brueggemann

We didn’t start well.

As a matter of fact, we despised each other.

It was in the wild and wooly days of the Phoenix Preacher and I was hammering away on a certain CC pastor till I was tired, then I would rest and hammer him again.

I was relentless.

My (now) friend did not appreciate my efforts and some of the spiciest emails I’ve ever received were typed by him.

That war ended, the years went by, and my adversary went quiet.

Quiet, until a couple of years ago.

His familiar email moniker (which was a judgment on me itself) popped up and I was curious as to how I’d tripped his trigger this time.

Instead of a rebuke, it was an invitation…to go with him to Mexico and serve the people I’d been writing about.

He was going into hell at great risk to help people in one of the most dangerous places in Mexico…and the world.

I was stunned…and very humbled and grateful.

I was in recovery from surgery and couldn’t go but I’ve kept in contact as he has continued this great work since then.

I’ll let him tell you about it:

“So we have been going to Mexico now for almost 12 years. It is a beautiful area in the mountains of Mexico among the (deleted) people who live in pueblos of 100 to 150 people. Our sole goal and focus is to plant indigenous churches led by indigenous leaders among the (deleted)people. It is a very slow work at this point but everything we do is designed to assist that vision. So far we have planted 2 indigenous churches. The most recent was in a village of some 300 people, a large pueblo by their standards. 

We begin by making 6-8 trips a year and in the beginning we go primarily to establish a friendship with the people. We help stimulate their economy by bartering beans for crafts that we sell. We feed them plentiful meals as well as take doctors, nurses, and dentists when they are available to go. The docs are a very good resource to let us know what the health needs are. In this latest village they needed a good source of clean water. The entire region has been a 7 year drout. They live off of their fields but when there isn’t any rain there isn’t any food. All the water that was available to live on was run off and shared with livestock. The children are dying off at about 25-35% before age 5 because of the water and malnutrition. So we determined to drill a water well and give them access to as much as they want. The Lord graciously supplied a donation that paid for the drilling of the well. 

The snag we ran into was that the electrical authorities found out that we (Americans) are behind this project. And so to bring 300 feet of electricity to the site they decided we needed to pay $11,000 American dollars. We have tried to negotiate through the local leadership and authorities and they are just not going to budge. We budgeted a lot less than that but are now having to raise an additional $11K to get electricity to the site so that we keep fresh water stored and available. There’s a lot of logistics that I won’t bore you with but we have the potential to pipe 6 outlying communities with this water (where the water goes the gospel goes with it) and won’t be able to do it without the electricity. Until we drilled this well the women were forced to walk 6- 10 killometers for a couple pails of putrid water. They are now walking half that distance for much better quality of water.

With this unforeseen expense the $9000 we needed to raise for a purifier will be completely used up and so we are having to prioritize the need. We have to be able to deliver the water before we purify it. Immediately we need to raise $11000 for electricity and in the near future an additional $9000 for a purification unit. Every dime that is given is used in the field. 

We need medical professionals to go with us. This has become a real need as many simply have not continued to go with us because of the threat of violence. 

We need short termers to go with us as many are reluctant for the same reason and yet the Lord has blessed us with His mercy and protected us to date without a single incident that would be considered dangerous. We don’t presume to think we are immune either and so it must be considered. The work among these people has increased to critical proportions as many of the ministries that once worked in the area have chosen not to return and there is a lot of “unfinished” work to be cleaned up. 

We work with 2 indigenous (Mexican National) missionaries who have laid down their lives for this work that I hope one day that I can attain to even a fraction of their sacrifice and faithfulness. As everyone can imagine the economic crunch in the states has severely hindered their support and we struggle each month to meet their financial needs. It is humbling to receive thier gracious thank you’s every month for what little we send. 

The great news is that we are seeing a harvest take place among these people that is nothing short of early church proportions. In a village of 80 or 90 people we are seeing well over 130 attend services. Some walk over 15 miles to receive from the Lord. He is teaching people the value of fellowship and community among a people who don’t even have a concept in their language or worldview for that kind of living. It is truly miraculous and due to the work of the Holy Spirit. “

In the providence of God, an enemy who has become a friend is doing what I have longed to do…he’s carrying my heart to where I can’t go.

Only God could have brought the hearts of two very different men together for His kingdom…and that’s exactly what He did.

He needs help, as he’s explained above.

I completely and wholeheartedly endorse this man and this ministry…and if the Lord leads you to help, please do.

Email:

bolexpeditions@gmail.com

Paypal:

bolexpeditions@gmail.com

Make sure you leave your name and address in the message box to receive a reciept a the end of the year.

THE Queen’s Majesty hath the chief power in this realm of England and other her dominions, unto whom the chief government of all estates of this realm, whether they be ecclesiastical or civil, in all causes doth appertain, and is not nor ought to be subject to any foreign jurisdiction.

Where we attribute to the Queen’s Majesty the chief government, by which titles we understand the minds of some slanderous folks to be offended, we give not to our princes the ministering either of God’s word or of sacraments, the which thing the Injunctions also lately set forth by Elizabeth our Queen doth most plainly testify: but only that prerogative which we see to have been given always to all godly princes in Holy Scriptures by God himself, that is, that they should rule all estates and degrees committed to their charge by God, whether they be temporal, and restrain with the civil sword the stubborn and evil-doers. The Bishop of Rome hath no jurisdiction in this realm of England.

The Laws of the Realm may punish Christian men with death for heinous and grievous offences.
It is lawful for Christian men at the commandment of the Magistrate to wear weapons and serve in the wars. 

It is kind of a mind blower to me how offensive the concepts of this article would be to most today. One, in particular, the clear and loud proclamation that “Rome hath no jurisdiction in this realm…” J. C. Ryle says, “I ask anyone to explain how any English clergy can be acting consistently, if he does not oppose, denounce, expose, and resist Popery in every shape, either within the Church, or without.” This was a big deal then. It is not anymore. I wonder why?