When You Work for the Church

I have spent years trying to fully heal from my time at Soul Survivor, says Grammy award winning worship leader Matt Redman in The Telegraph.

In a new documentary, he shares some of his story along with his wife, Beth, who is a Dove award winning song-writer. She says,

There’s been so much Providence and so many precious people connected to Soul Survivor . . . so much good has come from it, but there has been so much pain and so much damage.

According to Dr. Chi-Chi Obuaya, a consultant psychiatrist for the documentary:

Abuse has multiple dimensions, so that includes physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, and neglect. These are the main subcategories of abuse. Abuse doesn’t have to be of a sexual nature for it to be significant.

Author and theologian Dr. Amy-Orr Ewing adds:

The impact of being shunned, being silenced, the impact of emotional abuse, is hugely powerful and traumatic especially when you add in the age differential and the power differential in a relationship. When someone is a spiritual leader who is hearing from God and somebody that everybody really looks up to, and you’re on the receiving end of their displeasure, there’s a a very strong spiritual and psychological penalty that is paid by someone on the receiving end of that.

In this documentary, the Redmans seek to bring the experience of abuse into the light, to encourage others who have suffered abuse, and to work for change in the church. It’s well worth watching, and a transcript is also available:

The Let There Be Light website lists a number of helpful resources. See also:

Sexual Abuse Response and Prevention

MCC Abuse Response & Prevention