Watch the video of the sermon below. Or read the text summary that follows.

This message is best watched – it has quite a lot of content. But if you prefer, here are my notes that guided the sermon:

When child abuse comes to the church

• WhatsApp message from a parishioner on Friday: “Adrian. What’s happening in our Anglican Church?”
• Church as sanctuary and moral authority
• But when child abuse comes to the church…
• Catholic, Hillsong, Conservative Baptists, etc
• And now Anglican Communion
• Personal for me:
  • I was sexually exploited by a leader in teens
  • Church could not take a clear stand
  • Silenced, shamed, theology
  • Now I’m a Rector – responsible to safeguard a parish

Context of today’s message

• Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin, resigned on Tue
• Archbishop of CofE and of the Anglican communion
• Our Archbishop, Thabo Makgoba, has been called by some to resign
• He responded on Wed & Friday, more this week
• All in a time of splintering around sexuality & gender
• John Smyth – evangelical lay person
• Physical beating of children in UK, Zim & SA from 1970s
• Lived in SA from 2005? to 2018, attended ACSA
• Physical and sexual abuse rampant churches
• Children, women, young men
• This has both theological and pastoral implications

Theologies that may enable abuse in the church

• Adult authority over children
• Proverbs 13:24, “Whoever spares the rod hates their children, but the one who loves their children is careful to discipline them”
• Theologies of salvation
• God’s requirement of blood for forgiveness
• Glorification of Jesus violent death – blood blood
• Predominance of masculine values
• power, control, hierarchy, authority, sexism
• Leaders answer to God only, not men
• Free to do as they please – little oversight
• Theologies of forgiveness
• RC confession, absolution, wiped clean, as if
• Seal of the confessional
• Conspiracy – cover-up each other
• Theologies of sanctification
• Belief in capacity for personal reform
• Second chances
• Belief in the basic goodness of everyone (despite Paul’s even our best like dirty rags)

Pastoral implications: What should we do?

• Pastoral implications 1: Open eyes
• Church easy pickings
• Adults: clever, deceptive, duplicit, psychop
• Children: model, ignorance, curiosity, empathy
• Victims: threatened, coerced, made complicit > shame & fear>silence
• Perps: hard to believe they’d do that
• Fear: false accusations can destroy one
• Pastoral implications 2: Theological stance
• Theology of love is central
• God’s love for every person – better or worse
• God’s image of a united humanity under Christ
• Church should be a sanctuary, safe community
• A place for redemption, healing, transformation
• ACSA Code of Pastoral Standards
• Safe & Inclusive Church: Disclosure by all leaders
• Separate, independent – they investigate
• Google: Safe Church Guide
• Need to be more diligent about this – Jan annually
• Pastoral implications 3: Actions
• We are all broken and fall short of God’s glory
• We are all capable of harming self and others
• There is potential for redemption & forgiveness
• Potential for transformation & wholeness
• But we are all on a journey
• Talk with your children about safety, touching
• Listen to your children when they raise issues
• Don’t be naïve (mini-perps)
• Keep your eyes and ears open
• Listen to your intuition (Holy Spirit’s whisper)
• Intervene if immediate & safe
• Speak to me, wardens, councillors
• If me, speak to wardens or archdeacon or bishop
• Contact Safe Church – email, form
• Pastoral implications 4: Prayer
• Let us pray for the church, leaders & children
• Pray for wholeness and holiness for us all
• Pray for victims – healing and restoration
• Pray for perpetrators – HS conscience and empathy
• Pray for leaders – standards, conviction
• Pray for safeguarding members – discernment