The need for humility
Diane Langberg
Fifty years ago, I had just finished my Master’s degree and started my doctorate. I also began seeing clients.
I was excited to begin the work but felt very uncertain about my capability and knowledge (which was wise). Somewhere during that first year a college co-ed [a US term meaning female student] came to see me and after several appointments she took her long hair and threw it forward so it covered her face. That was followed with the words: ‘My father used to do weird things to me.’ I had no idea what she meant. Little by little she taught me what it meant. I went to a supervisor for input because I did not know what to do. I had never heard about or encountered sexual abuse.
What does heaven do with dungeons?
Diane Langberg
Come and let me take you where I have been. For the last 50 years of my life I have met with the traumatised. They have been abused as children, raped, victims of domestic violence, trafficked, and affected by the ravages of war.
The vast majority of those precious image bearers have experienced these atrocities within the bounds of Christendom. The victims have come from churches, homes and Christian organisations. Many were abused by pastors, youth workers, teachers or family members. Many have found no refuge in the church. They understand what Jesus meant when he said that the Temple had become a safe place for those who steal and exploit the vulnerable (Matt. 21:13).
‘I fear Christendom has given much effort to hiding and ignoring iniquities we have known about…’
Diane Langberg
In recent years, we who call ourselves Christians have been speaking and writing about topics like ‘abuse in the church’, ‘cruelty in the sanctuary’ and the dangers that can be found in ‘God’s house’. It seems that the place God designed to be a refuge for His people has instead, at times, become a den of thieves.
These descriptions are what we call an oxymoron – statements that are a combination of contradictory words and incongruous elements. Think about this now common phrase: ‘abuse in Christian organisations’. These words should take our breath away and cause up to weep. Sadly, they often result in scrambling for ways to hide or ignore the abuse so that the ‘Christian’ organisation can proceed undisturbed. We have forgotten God’s word to the young boy Samuel. When called by God, Samuel responded: ‘Speak, for your servant is listening.’ God told him that he was about to bring judgment on Eli’s house forever for the iniquity he knew … and did not rebuke’ (1 Sam. 3:13).