A letter to the Protestant church about sex abuse: We are not safer
Many Protestants have expressed righteous sadness at the sexual crimes in the faith traditions around us, namely the Catholic Church, while remaining indifferent to similar crimes within our congregations. We believe our churches are safer. We are wrong.
I know this from personal experience. Both my youth minister and pastor sexually abused me in my Southern Baptist church near Birmingham, Ala., in the mid 1980s, trapping me with spiritual threats and intimidation.
The lack of concern in Protestant churches rests on the faulty logic that, by virtue of not having a celibate priesthood, Protestants are more protected than our Catholic friends. This helps pave the wide road by which predatory ministers, staff members, volunteers and members within Protestant churches groom and abuse children. These abusers are like the Old Testament god Molech, lying in wait with a rapacious hunger for the sacrifice of both children’s innocence and their trust in God.
Unchecked crimes of sexual abuse in the Protestant church include red flags and shrugged shoulders that kill the spirit of young believers and damage the cause of Christ.
My youth minister began sexually abusing me when I was 14, after telling me that God was “calling" me to help him in his ministry. He groomed me, abused me and threatened me for over a year. When I could not tolerate the abuse any longer, I went to the only other person at my church that I thought could help — my pastor.
My pastor blamed me, fired my youth minister and began abusing me. The church fired him after discovering his affair with my Sunday School teacher. These staggering crimes went unreported because of the chokehold of fear the two men held on my life. Both men, Molechs themse...
Winter Appeal 2023
To our friends,
2023 has been a long year with many ups and downs for us all. As we close out the year, we at SNAP hope that you are feeling like you are on your way to being healthy, fulfilled, and happy. This past year has brought both successes and challenges. Thanks to the support you have shown in the past, we’ve been able to celebrate the good days and weather the stormy ones. Now, we are once again asking for your support as we work to support survivors new and old as we ‘Move SNAP Forward.’
At SNAP we are proud to have hosted a very well-attended conference in August 2023. This event allowed us to gather friends, survivors, advocates, and allies for a weekend of camaraderie and connection. We were so happy to be able to welcome many first-time attendees to gather in person and are already looking forward to the next conference.
To strengthen our movement for justice, healing, and prevention, SNAP will be expanding our peer support and providing more volunteer opportunities in the coming year. Through this great work, we are ensuring survivor voices are represented as we work for significant change that will benefit children and survivors.
Right now, survivors worldwide are getting the help they need from SNAP, and more and more reach out to us daily, but we need your help to keep those programs going and get our volunteers the training they need to thrive.
Your tax-deductible gift to SNAP can help offset the cost of our important mission. If you are not in a position to contribute, you can still support us by sharing this letter with those who can. As we continue to fight for survivors across the globe, your donation or sharing the great work SNAP does will help us continue our work to protect the vulnerable, heal the wounded, and prevent abuse.
Your donation ensures SNAP will be there for those who need us more than ever!
Warmly,
Michael W. McDonnell, C.P.S.
Interim Executive Director