The continuing ramifications of recent leadership scandals in evangelical churches and the wider Christian world are being freshly addressed by one of the UK’s leading evangelical networks.
Affinity – which links around 1,200 churches and Christian organisations – says it wants to aim towards healthy Christian communities ‘where concerns about pastoral malpractice can be raised and dealt with fairly, and in ways which are honouring to Christ, theologically faithful and legally compliant’.
Director Graham Nicholls says: ‘One group of evangelical Christians is wary of victim advocates, often saying “there is nothing to see here” and taking refuge in the fact that being a good and strong leader will always provoke opposition. They see the drive for more openness about safeguarding as mostly driven by a secular victim culture.
Here’s the truth: our prayers are being answered!
There are more people training for ministry in the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC) than at any time in …