Reader, Jeff Brown, shared a comment this morning and because it is an older post, I wanted to shine a little more light on it in a new post:
We talk about the Big Dogs, but not much about the audiences who storm these conferences, and don’t seem to mind that Mahaney is on the bill. I can see how the BD would equate a cancellation of Mahaney with an admission of guilt. But why can’t some portion of the “fans” register some form of protest, even if it’s just booing Mahaney when he comes out to speak? Yes, they’ll risk being thrown out, but they’ll be bringing more attention to the problem. Logistics and finances prevent me from doing this; otherwise I’d be happy to show up in person to protest his appearance.
Here is my response:
Jeff, That’s a great point! I think part of the problem is that the people who go to these conferences are sheeple who may not have engaged their brains (because they have been conditioned that way by their controlling pastors) to think for themselves. They trust these Big Dogs to be doing the right thing. The Big Dogs remain silent and the cycle continues. Those of us who have engaged brains won’t be paying conference fees to attend. But maybe something else can be done to draw attention to this. We have seen that tweets do have an effect on these guys, as do comments left on blogs (if they get approved). Those who are seeing the abuse must speak louder. I will continue to challenge these guys on Twitter. I have been trying to engage with them and ask the tough questions. But keep in mind I’m a woman and because of the climate, that poses a problem. I’m already rebellious for having a voice. We need MEN to speak loudly.
Reader, Paula, earlier made the case for exposing error and calling out pastors/church leaders/teachers here. I have quoted part of the comment below:
As I was reading this morning I got hit with a 2×4. After decades of being indoctrinated with what you do and do not say about pastors and leadership when they are so obviously in sin, I read this. Instead of being told what I was bringing was to be considered, I was told what I was bringing was “full of sin”. I should have put my foot down the first time. They should have listened. I will mini bullet. Not my thoughts, but Gods examples for us all.
Many mistakenly believe that it is wrong to expose error and to name the guilty elders/pastors/teachers; but they are wrong according to scripture.
I fear many of us have worshipped at the idol of relationships, and our love of community life has blinded us to Gods truth in these matters.
Here is one of the verses Paula mentioned in her comment:
I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, does not receive us. Therefore, if I come, I will call to mind his deeds which he does, prating against us with malicious words. And not content with that, he himself does not receive the brethren, and forbids those who wish to, putting them out of the church.
Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. He who does good is of God, but[d] he who does evil has not seen God. 3 John 9-11
Now this is interesting. I did a search on Diotrephes and ran across this quote by Mark Driscoll, of all people – oh, the irony. But check out the words. I think they ring true (can someone please hand this dude a mirror):
Diotrephes is a guy who’s only mentioned once in the Bible in one of the epistles written by John, and it says this: “Diotrephes always wanted to be first.” If they’re going to put your name in the Bible for one thing, that’s pretty sad. He was really proud, and he always wanted to have all the attention. Now, the truth is some leaders will get attention. Some of us, more than we like, at least certain kinds of attention. But the sin of Diotrephes is, “I don’t want to be on the team, I’ve got to be the face of the team. I don’t want to just humbly serve, I want my name to be famous.” And we live in that sort of celebrity-addicted culture where people get famous who don’t even do anything. Isn’t that weird? You ever watch TMZ or pick up a People magazine? You’re like, “All these people are famous and they didn’t do anything.” Some people are just famous—there’s their dog in their handbag, and what did they do? Nothing. Why are they famous? Because we’re desperate to talk about somebody. And the sin of Diotrephes is, “I want them to talk about me, not Jesus.(Source)
It’s clear by the 3 John 9-11 verses, there is a biblical precedent for calling out abuse and abusers – even by name. I’ve been replying publicly to these Big Dogs’ tweets for some time now. But I’m a woman. In the circles of the Big Dogs, a woman has no voice, except for the fact that I’m a blogger.
But what can be done? Jeff suggested attending conferences and being disruptive. That will certainly draw attention, but will it work? Is there anything else you can think of that will bring attention to these issues?
Pastor Jeff Crippen of A Cry for Justice blog (deals with domestic violence in the church), discussed this same topic recently – the topic of why the church does not listen to the cries of the oppressed victims. He referenced a quote from a Judith Herman’s book on Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence–from Domestic Abuse to Political Terror, when he made this astute comment:
Do you see what Herman is telling us? She is saying that the reason A Cry for Justice is having such difficulty being heard, and why we are often distanced and ostracized by our fellow Christians, the reason abuse victims are not being heard, is because we have created, in the conservative Bible-believing church, a social context that will not give voice to the disempowered. To be heard, we need the support of what Herman calls a “political movement.” A groundswell. No one heard the early women’s rights voices until a feminist movement began. No one heard the early calls for civil rights until the civil rights movement gained a required momentum. Herman says “the study of trauma in sexual and domestic life becomes legitimate only in a context that challenges the subordination of women and children.” (Source)
It is interesting to see the social outrage at the Penn State case in secular society. I don’t see the same outrage in the church over abuse – sexual, spiritual, emotional, and physical. We, in the church who see abuse and can identify it, must be louder. How can we accomplish this? Do you see any practical ways? Let’s talk.
I want to be a big ol’ freakin’ bull horn on this issue. Come on, people. Let’s go!
Edited to add: I just found this article discussing a Mark Driscoll tweet that caused an uproar. Twitter is a very good tool for using a bullhorn. Mark Driscoll Rebuked for ‘Judging’ Obama’s Faith With Controversial Twitter Post
photo credit: Rev. Xanatos Satanicos Bombasticos (ClintJCL) via photopin cc
Spiritual Sounding Board 
Julie Anne, this is what I’m talking about. We must do something strategic. Booing gets attention, but will be immediately be dismissed as “rude,” and therefore sinful. Remember, the abusers always point to the sin of the abused to deflect their own sin. Anything taken as done in the wrong attitude will be ignored. I went to Mark Driscoll’s church Sunday and got some ideas. How about writing a flyer that pinpoints abuse and passing it out off the property (where they can’t kick you out) as people are going in. A conference one could be in big bold letters, “Top Reasons C.J. Mahaney Shouldn’t Speak at this Conference,” and lay out the facts. A church one for Mars Hill could be, “Is There Spiritual Abuse at Your Church? Learn the Top Ten Signs.” Then have a list, including “The head pastor controls the teaching by streaming his messages to ALL churches” and “There are several ex-member websites exposing abuse,” (naming URLs), etc. Must appear like this is a mainstream complaint (all the books on spiritual books written by Christians cited, e.g.), not to be interpreted as someone from “the world” just doing run-of-the-mill persecution.
Still mulling this over, but what do you think? I plan on taking up your challenge to get more men involved sounding the call!
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Michael – I like your ideas – especially using key points with websit URLs. With both Driscoll and SGM, you can include media news links as well. It should be pretty easy to organize this on Twitter. BTW, I responded to one of Driscoll’s tweets this morning by saying something like: “I wonder if Jesus would charge $$ for conferences” and immediately got a few more followers. So, there are definitely people reading and banding together, wanting to connect with others who are outraged.
Another idea: look up these guys’ speaking schedule and contact the host organization and let them know your concerns. I know CJ is speaking at a college on Feb 1-2: 20/20 Conference, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Here is the link to his speaking schedule: http://www.sovereigngraceministries.org/about-us/leadership/cj-mahaney.aspx
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There are direct actions that can be taken to bring attention to those who perpetrate abuse and those who perpetuate it through either their silence.
There are also indirect actions aimed at changing the systems so we can move from intervention of situations where the abuse has already occurred to interception of those at risk and prevention before risk happens. For instance, even if we FEEL vulnerable and helpless for direct action, we can still DO something constructive:
* Work toward federal laws on mandatory reporting of suspected/known abuse and violence.
* If we’re in one of the 21 states that do not yet have mandatory reporting of abuse, then we can work in our state for that until federal standards are in place.
* Create a list of core prayer requests to go along with the phases in the SGM lawsuit.
* Create a special liturgy for justice.
* Reflect on abuse across different denominations and theologies, and write about what you are discerning on the patterns that show up.
It could be that part of our healing – for those of us who are survivors of spiritual abuse, legalism, and authoritarian leaders – will be found in learning to lean on the Holy Spirit and discerning new directions to channel our gifts and time …
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Brad: I absolutely believe this could be part of our healing. Mothers Against Drunk Drivers began in this way. John Walsh, after first being cleared as the primary subject for the murder of his son, Adam Walsh, has become a well-known name for victim’s rights and National Center for Mission and Exploited Children. His son’s death completely altered the course of his life. If you can take the anger and pain and make something positive out of it – affect someone else’s life, it makes the pain so much more bearable.
I thought of something else. I mentioned the speaking schedule of CJ Mahaney earlier. I have a hunch that the media might be interested in knowing that this man, connected with so many sex abuse cases, is being promoted as a speaker at their nearby school. I know how this is done because this is how my story became public and boy did it ever go viral. The original e-mail was attached to correspondence of e-mails that news media sent back to me, so I know exactly what it entailed.
All you need to do is to look up the media sources around a particular location online. For example, search: Atlanta news media. On the individual news websites, find the “contact” info. Sometimes you will see a link to report a story. Other times, you may find “assignment desk” or something along those lines. Or you can send an e-mail to their info e-mail asking where to send in stories/news tips.
News media gets most of their stories from tips just like this. You want your story to stand out. I think the subject of the e-mail on my story was something like: “Local Pastor Sues Moms.” It included the case # and a brief story, a link to my blog, and contact info.
When doing this, try to be brief:
Try something like this for the subject (feel free to use this): Well-Known Pastor Sued for Sex-Abuse Cover-Up Scheduled to Speak at Local School.
Briefly tell the story in one paragraph.
Provide a couple key reputable news media links. Provide the link to SGMSurvivor blog and maybe a couple other blog posts that really get to the heart of this message (any of mine or Wartburg Watch blog posts would be good).
They usually want a contact person. If it’s regarding SGM, you are welcome to use my e-mail address (spiritualsb @ Gmail dot com) I have contact information for Susan Burke, their media rep, and also victims and can forward them the info. I also have contact info for Calvary Chapel, Mars Hill, and others and will try to help if I can.
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In terms of prevention, good training can go a long way. When I was a young pastor I went to a conference on sexual abuse coordinated by some local psychologists and the DA’s office. I believe that without that training I would have made some really bad decisions.
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Brilliant, Julie. Also good to have link to page that proves he’s speaking. Just to make it more inticing, include the title of the talk he’s giving – Knowing God as Father. http://thegospelcoalition.org/2013/talks/ (under conference plenaries)
Brad, if you need help finding stuff on SGM Survivors, I can help.
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Craig – Good to “see” you. I think prevention is key, too. Does PCA have all the negative stigma attached to psychology that we see in other churches like SGM? In thinking about SGM and other churches with similar characteristics, I don’t think you would catch them going to anything having to do with psychologists or mental health. They have a superior attitude that they have it all together and have no need for guidance in this area. It’s pretty sad. I wonder what would be acceptable? I don’t even think they would appreciate something presented by local police. Maybe if it was a Christian para-church organization – – – oh, I just remembered this organization: GRACE: http://netgrace.org/ I’ve been hearing good things about this group. I need to make sure they are listed in my resource page.
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Michael – good point – especially about including the name of the speaker’s topic of discussion. What’s sad is the Gospel Coalition guys remain completely silent. I’ve been trying to engage them on blogs and when I do, I have to word it carefully or it won’t get published. And then, I still get the run-around.
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Julie Anne,
In general, I think we have a healthy respect for psychology. The largest church in our presbytery has put on a couple of excellent programs on sexual abuse. We could, and should, do more however. There are movements in some of our churches that are, in my view, dangerously arrogant when it comes to psychology. The reason training is so key is that it’s easy to make shockingly bad decisions. After the fact we can look and wonder how any competent leader could even think of doing such a thing (like not reporting a crime). From the inside it may start out as a way that seems right and then arrogance takes over and the whole thing snowballs into great evil.
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Craig – I think you are right – it is easy to overlook dangerous situations if you are not aware of the possibilities of consequences involved. And it’s important to realize that laws change all the time, too, so just because you have had your staff educated on sex abuse policy doesn’t mean you are safe. Ie, I was reading recently about a bill that was trying to be passed that all church volunteers would have to be mandatory reporters. This particular bill did not pass, but if it had, this would definitely necessitate more training of individuals who help at churches. Perhaps a yearly refresher on sex abuse awareness would be good. Understanding the long-term effects of sex abuse would motivate most churches to take preventative measures.
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Julie Anne – Interesting quote from Driscoll. More interesting when you consider that his assessment of the 3 John passage is incomplete.
I realize that this is taken out of context so maybe there was a better explanation later but is strikes me as avoiding preaching to himself.
Looking at the whole passage you quoted, says not only that Diotrephes was seeking self importance but was also “prating against us with malicious words” or as The Message reads, “spreading vicious rumors about us”. On top of that, he dictates that his congregation be isolated from other believers.
Thank you for the Obama tweet post as well. I don’t know where I would rate him in my rank of favorite presidents but I don’t think it would be at the top. On the other hand, he should not be treated the way he was by either Driscoll or Piper (https://twitter.com/JohnPiper/status/293193822022799360).
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Joel – both Piper and Driscoll have me saying, “did he really just say that?” quite often. But what baffles me even more are all the “followers” that retweet and favorite their tweets.
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I got an e-mail response that is a great idea:
“I think I have the best solution to handling these guys at conferences. While everyone is inside praising the Lord, have folks attach copies of the lawsuit on the hood of each car in the parking lot.
Pricey, but…well, it gets the word out.”
The lawsuit is something like 25 pages long (I actually printed it out). A less expensive way would be to copy the key notes from the lawsuit (names of defendants), case number and primary complaints, along with the web address of the actual lawsuit so people could read it for themselves.
Also . . . . . someone notified me that they have contacted places where CJ will be speaking. This is great! Thank you, reader!
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I would check to make sure state laws do not have anything regarding placement of ads/flyers on cars. You will lose the interest of the person that is just upset something was placed on their car…no matter what it says/said. Meaning, they would not even read it, just grab and crunch it up without knowing what it is.
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Hmm, good point, Tammy. I guess I was figuring if you know who was putting business cards on parked cars warning about Women of Mass Destruction, then this would probably be ok, but better to check that out for sure!
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I forgot about your “nice” business cards.
I remeber you saying they handed them out, I didn’t realize they were putting them on cars too.
Maybe it’s not a problem at all there…WA…OR? Not sure where you’re at. Anyway, worth a check before.
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They are in OR. I may not have mentioned that they were on cars in parking lots. I try to avoid the subject, but sometimes my fingers go fast than my brain can tell them “NO!” I have no idea if they are legal there or not, but heard reports that they were put on cars in parking lots.
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BTW-wish I could help more with ideas or action. But, one, I am drawing a blank on ideas and two, I think I need to get to a better place in my own healing. I’ll get there. Thanks for your voice and advocacy for those that are truly the victims, marginalized &/or do not have a voice.
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Tammy, no problem. There’ll always be time for that. I’m just so thrilled to see what you’ve already overcome.
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Judith Herman’s quote is classic and has impact:
“the study of trauma in sexual and domestic life becomes legitimate only in a context that challenges the subordination of women and children.”
Christians for Biblical Equality is a wonderful resource for helpful information to get people started in considering the biblical gender equality issue as a sensible alternative to patriarchy. This theological persuasion needs to be challenged since so much hangs on a few Scriptures–which are used to subordinate women. There is a need to challenge faulty views which ensnare and intimidate one gender while elevating another.
Check out: http://www.cbeinternational.org
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Have y’all heard about One Billion Rising? They are an example of a group doing something to raise awareness. They state that:
ONE IN THREE WOMEN ON THE PLANET WILL BE RAPED OR BEATEN IN HER LIFETIME.
ONE BILLION WOMEN VIOLATED IS AN ATROCITY
ONE BILLION WOMEN DANCING IS A REVOLUTION
On V-Day’s 15th Anniversary, 14 February 2013, we are inviting ONE BILLION women and those who love them to WALK OUT, DANCE, RISE UP, and DEMAND an end to this violence. ONE BILLION RISING will move the earth, activating women and men across every country. V-Day wants the world to see our collective strength, our numbers, our solidarity across borders.
What does ONE BILLION look like? On 14 February 2013, it will look like a REVOLUTION.
Check out what is being done in your location!
ONE BILLION RISING IS:
A global strike
An invitation to dance
A call to men and women to refuse to participate in the status quo until rape and rape culture ends
An act of solidarity, demonstrating to women the commonality of their struggles and their power in numbers
A refusal to accept violence against women and girls as a given
A new time and a new way of being
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A public demonstration on the steps of the conference building, or if that wasn’t possible, at the gateway to the premises but on the sidewalk of the public roadway, so the protesters couldn’t be charged with trespass. The old fashioned protest: banners, blowing whistles, banging tin cans, having a portable PA system and a speaker or two to address the protesters. Inviting the TV cameras. Handing out leaflets to the media and passersby.
The protesters could sing the song that Christa Brown writes about in her book “This Little Light”. Here is Christa’s dream, from page 169 of the book:
“Nowadays I sometimes have a new dream. All the Baptist survivors who have ever contacted me a in it [in the dream]. So are some of their family members and some of the people who participate on the StopBaptistPredators blog. We’re all standing on risers and singing in a great choir. There are several hundred of us.
“Even the director of the choir is a Baptist clergy abuse survivor. I think he’s the one who probably first triggered this dream. He’s a guy who, in real life, once directed a choir at Lincoln Center.
“In my dream, we’re singing ‘This Little Light.’ That was my favorite Sunday School song when I was a kid.
“this little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.
“We had hand motions that went with the song. We would hold up our index finger like a candle – our ‘little light.’ Then we went through all the places where we were going to shine it. ‘Shine all over Farmers Branch, I’m gonna let it shine . . . Shine all over Texas, I’m gonna let it shine . . . Shine all over the USA, I’m gonna let it shine . . . Shine all over the whole wide world, I’m gonna let it shine.’ When we did the ‘whole wide world’ part, we would make a big circle with our ‘little light.’ I always liked that part.
“But my favorite part was when we sang ‘Hide it under a bushel, Oh No! I’m gonna let it shine.’ We would cup our left hand over our ‘little light’ to hide it, and then fling our left-hand-bushel away when we sang ‘Oh No!’ I was one of those over-exuberant kids who always shouted out a little too loud on the ‘Oh No!’ part.
“It’s such a happy dream. We’re all standing there on those risers singing this song that we all learned as children. Our voices fill the air. Our voices are pure and clear.”
Another song the protesters could sing is my recently penned Cry For Justice Chorus. http://cryingoutforjustice.wordpress.com/2013/01/16/cry-for-justice-chorus/
I haven’t had time to read all the comments and suggestions above, sorry.
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Actually, getting arrested may be the best way to get publicity. I would suggest having someone with a bullhorn preach a sermon against the sin of supporting people like CJ and organizations like SGM. Let them get arrested for preaching against the sin of covering up pedophilia. Good press.
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60s Radical, where are you suggesting this be preached? Like street preachers do in street corners? Shoot, I recently did an interview in which the interviewer hardly asked questions. I just kept talking and talking. Give me the dang bullhorn. Lol
I didn’t know preaching with a bullhorn was illegal. I guess if there are noise ordinances.
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Barbara, I love your idea and the book excerpt was fantastic-so emotionally charged. Wow. Love it!! Thank you!
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Some good ideas here, especially the one about contacting media near the conferences.
Julie Anne, I was wondering about the possibility of several blogs – yours, SGM Survivors, Wartburg Watch, etc. – coordinating to have one day (or more) set aside solely for the purpose of giving Contact Info and ideas so there will be a mass communication of twitters, emails, maybe even phone calls and in-person events, in order to protest the silence over the lawsuit by the Big Dogs, Mahaney’s participation in conferences, and anything else related to the issue.
As far as Contact Info for Mahaney’s next three conferences, I have this:
1) 20/20 Conference, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
Title: “Gospel And Mission”
February 1–2, 2013
Wake Forest, North Carolina
Contact: http://www.sebts.edu/contact/default.aspx
http://www.sebts.edu/contact/complaint_policy.aspx: This is a page explaining their complaint policy; then it links to the URL above. Main thing to remember is to begin your comment with “Public Concern/Complaint.”
2) The Gospel Coalition National Conference
April 8–10, 2013
Orlando, Florida
Title: “His Mission: Jesus In The Gospel Of Luke”
Mahaney’s Talk: “Knowing God as Father: Understanding the Doctrine of Adoption”
I could only find the general Gospel Coalition contact: http://thegospelcoalition.org/contact/
3) Rezolution 2013 Conference
April 11–24, 2013
South Africa (Capetown, Durban, Johannesburg)
The above dates are on Mahaney’s page; I doubt it’s that long. The dates at the site are April 15-21.
Title: “What Is The Gospel?”
Contact: http://www.rezolution.co.za/Contact_Us.html. On this page, you’ll see:
REZ QUERIES:
Alan Schuster
al@antioch.org.za
083 331 2567
However, if you click on or copy the email address, it changes to this:
gerhard@rezolution.co.za
Have fun.
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Jeff, thank you for posting this information. As for a combined blog effort, I will ask around. Dee of TWW and I have spoken about some of this recently and we sometimes cover stories simultaneously intentionally (and by accident – lol). I’ll let you know. Regardless, readers, here ya go. Take Jeff’s info and have at it. It’s much more difficult to fly out to N. Carolina to picket than to pick up the phone or e-mail or tweet. I think every e-mail, tweet, phone call brings this issue to their minds. Go squeaky wheels!!!
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The bullhorn preaching should be right outside the main door to the conference. It needs to be gospel oriented, sound like a black or country type preacher, and loud, so when the door is opened, people inside here the preaching. Needs biblical references quoted, like Jesus teachings on children, and other things about abuse and sexual sins. On the property, but not inside it. Make them come out and get the PD involved.
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Thanks for the detailed instructions. I want to be a bug on the wall!
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I like the ideas of Michael Camp and Barbara Roberts in terms of taking concrete action on location. Has anyone seen the videos of the group of pastors who staged a coordinated, synchronized interruption of the Todd Bentley’s revival after he had been “restored to ministry?” Now that was something. It would be quite pricey to repeat that type of demonstration, given the conference fees. But what about those suggestions for taking action outside the venue itself?
I lived within a day’s drive of Orlando. As a college teacher, I usually take a dim view of protests, but this thing has really gotten my dander up. If anyone is interested in organizing some bodies on the ground outside of TGC in April, my e-mail is smgeorge@ymail.com
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Would love to join you Sergius, but I’m in Australia! Hope you get something up. 🙂
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I just saw this article. They are willing to take the risk: http://www.iol.co.za/news/crime-courts/sex-scandal-clouds-visit-by-church-group-1.1458003#.UQFHE46ExSV
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I am new to this blog, so excuse me if this is something that you might have already discussed elsewhere. I do respect your courage to stage protests and in some circumstances, that may be the best option. However, there are many who cannot attend, except in spirit, so I wonder if an free, practical way to make a difference would be through on-line book store reviews. I recently left one at John Piper’s Momentary Marriage on Amazon and because it is a one star, it gets spotlighted every time someone clicks on the reviews. I have also copied it to Christian Book.com and it seems that with the few reviews that book has there, it might effect the rating on that book. Ditto on Lou Priolo’s Divorce book. What if we had a list of books to warn people about and made appropriate reviews? We would be doing a service for the people of God and also their publishers, book distributers and personal staff might take note that a controversy is brewing. Perhaps some pastor considering the Momentary Marriage for a sermon or small group class might become aware that domestic abuse is an issue to be dealt with. Maybe it might effect their sales? David made great use of a small stone..shouldn’t we?
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Persistent Widow – I absolutely love your idea. You are right – book reviews like Amazon.com do get a lot of publicity (and there can be quite a debate as well). Great idea, thank you!
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I still think sending the empty grape kool-aid packs to these churches and promoters of these cult leaders would get the message across. Think they could ignore receiving 25 or 30 thousand empty kool-aid packs. Not to mention the boost it would give to the US Postal Service, and the stockholders of Kool-aid.
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Paul Mendlowitz at theunorthodoxjew.blogspot.ca recommended attorney Marci Hamilton’s book: “Justice Denied: What America Must Do to Protect Its Children.”
Marci Hamilton makes the point that in order to protect children from predators, that legislation is “the only way to get to the truth.”
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Check out Paul Mendlowitz’ articles. Here are two that resonate regarding ‘keeping the image untarnished’ and ‘silencing the victims’:
http://theunorthodoxjew.blogspot.com/2013/01/jehovahs-witnesses-boy-scouts-of.html
http://theunorthodoxjew.blogspot.com/2013/01/isolated-victims-from-williamsburg.html
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People like Mark Driscoll seem to be so outrageous I think that his followers must have itching ears to be running after him. It seems that he is already widely known for his folly, and in my opinion, people who seek out these types of teachers are not spiritually wise. His actions seem to suggest that he is a narcissist and he would probably love the attention that a protest would bring to him. He could rationalize that he was being persecuted for righteousness sake and his followers would probably believe him. I don’t think that any protest will change him or other false teachers. Rather, when it is necessary and appropriate to protest, I think that denominational headquarters, counseling services and seminaries would be better targets. In some cases the secular domestic abuse activists may be our allies and a help in securing media attention.
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Barb, thanks for mentioning Marci. I actually follow her on Twitter after seeing her connection with Attorney Gilion Dumas whose video I featured here. One of the big issues I have is regarding mandatory reporting laws and how they are not consistent from state to state. I would love to see mandatory reporting laws become uniform across the states. People like my former pastor would then be obligated to report abuse when they hear about it instead of hiding behind a loophole.
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Raymond, you crack me up. If you want to coordinate a mass effort to send Kool-Aid somewhere, let me know and I’ll invite my readers.
BTW, I posted the link to Jeff’s post of CJ’s upcoming speaking engagements and all of the contact info at TWW. I think Dee is going to be discussing this tomorrow and I’ve told her she is free grab anything from here she likes. We’re all in this together. I sent Kris of SGMSurvivors a note, and haven’t had a response yet.
Oh, Raymond – any particular flavor of Kool-Aid?
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Persistent Widow – – – -I follow Mark D. on my Twitter to see what he is up to. If I see an obnoxious Tweet (and he usually does them on a regular basis), I deal straight up with him. Good grief, to have that kind of audience and waste people’s time and energy with his drivel. Ick.
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Grape
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I would have recommended red Kool Aid.
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Any particular reason why red? I’ve heard of the grape Kool-Aid thing. I’m just wondering what I”m missing out on red.
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SSB Readers: Check out TWW’s newest post: http://thewartburgwatch.com/2013/01/24/south-africans-query-about-c-j-mahaney-while-the-gospel-coalition-remains-tight-lipped/
They have posted Jeff’s helpful contact information. Thank you, Jeff!!
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