Abuse survivor bishop commends new resources; others express reservations

An abuse survivor who is now a bishop says new resources from the Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC) produced after recent scandals should ‘help churches engage’ with the issue.

Published in the wake of revelations about Jonathan Fletcher and Steve Timmis, the resources include a film, some ‘culture review questions’ and a ‘liturgy of lament’ – all of which can be found on the CEEC website.

However while some have welcomed the new resources, others have raised questions about whether they get to the heart of some key issues.

In the introductory film, Andrew Watson, Bishop of Guildford, says: ‘Speaking as a survivor of abuse myself, and having listened to the stories of survivors who have often suffered far more than I did, there is a sense that this is a life sentence. It really does damage people very badly.

‘In the Psalms we read about how God is our refuge and strength, and in many ways churches should be places of real refuge. Tragically that’s not always been true in the past.

‘It’s therefore vital that we not only engage with safeguarding and training, but also look more seriously at the culture in our churches. We need to ask ourselves, “What might lead people to go astray, abuse to go unchecked, power dynamics to become unbalanced?” I think this resource will really help churches to engage with these questions.’

Ed Shaw, CEEC co-chair, who led the CEEC’s work on this issue, said: ‘These resources are very much the beginning of the conversation – with God and each other – on the issues of culture, power and abuse within evangelicalism.

‘We are simply hoping to kick-start discussions that others will continue both within and across local churches. We are especially aware of further work that needs to be done on how badly expressed and applied evangelical theology has sometimes been used to justify unhealthy cultures, misuse of power and horrific abuse.’

Writing on the ‘Surviving Church’ blog, Stephen Parsons, author of Ungodly Fear, Fundamentalist Christianity and the Abuse of Power said: ‘The CEEC study material and the questions on church culture asks many of the right things but the material is notable for what it leaves out. It sometimes hints at the need for deep honest appraisal, but draws back each time from any real criticism of the culture of the CEEC and its leaders.’

On Twitter, Fletcher abuse survivor Lee Furney pointed to the links a number of those involved with the material had with just one church (St Ebbe’s, Oxford) and commented: ‘It’s rarely functionally recognised – even by those trying their best to help – that prolific cultural hegemony in evangelical circles both enables abuse within the community and works to limit the spread of the gospel outside of middle-class boundaries.’

On the ‘Psephizo’ theology blog, en columnist David Shepherd wrote: ‘Once exposed, abuses of power typically result in loss of credibility for the very authority structures that were either incapable, or unwilling, to protect the victims. While useful, the review questions don’t appear to address this key issue.’