Survivor Sanctuary

You may have seen the "inspirational" quote floating around online: Trauma is not your fault, but healing is your responsibility. Well, on today's episode, we'll discuss why admonishments like this are a slap in the face to survivors of sexual abuse.  RESOURCES: Trauma is Not Your Fault, Period.

It should be the love and compassion of Christ, a sense of justice and righteousness that compel christian institutions to report, rather than conceal the sexual abuse of minors in their midst. But since that doesn't seem to be working, perhaps the threat of mug shots and orange jumpsuits will do the trick. On this episode we discuss the recent arrests of five administrators at Midland Christian S...

Doctors, Scientists and researchers have long been exploring the link between obesity and childhood sexual abuse. In fact, sexual abuse is now recognized as being a key factor in obesity. The church, as usual, seems to be lagging behind the research. On this episode of the podcast, Kelly opens up about her experience with sexual abuse, trauma related obesity, and why many Christians' misinterpreta...

Why do survivors of sexual abuse seem to struggle with self care? And how has the church contributed to that struggle? We chat about it on today's episode.

If you followed the Josh Duggar trial, you know that he was recently found guilty on two counts of possessing child pornography. Maybe you also noticed some similarities between how much of the Duggar family and The Church deal with perpetrators in their midst. We chat about it on this episode.

As promised, in this episode of Survivor Sanctuary we are piggy-backing off of our last episode on vaccine mandates and protecting the bodily autonomy of survivors of sexual abuse. We're chatting with Joshua Yoder, host of the "Unbinding the Bible" podcast, about why sexual abuse is often viewed and cared about through a party lens, especially within the church. When liberals or conservatives, chr...

Every once in a while, I need to record an episode that will step on #allthetoes. Typically, I try to stay away from political/partisan topics, but as vaccine mandates begin to go into effect across the nation, survivors of sexual abuse are being affected in a way that often triggers trauma responses. We'll discuss that trauma (*not* the efficacy of vaccines) on today's episode. 

It seems every other day in South Florida we see a new story of a teacher sexually abusing a student. And in fact, this past week, it was literally every other day, as two female teachers were arrested in Miami-Dade county for predatory sexual relationships with male students. What's even more disturbing than the abuse itself may be the response to it by the general public, a large portion of whic...

As we've watched the tragic story of Gabby Petito unfold over the last several weeks, it's been triggering to survivors of all kinds of abuse. For survivors of sexual abuse in the church, specifically, we may not be able to relate completely to Gabby's experience, but there are definitely parallels which bring he story close to home. On this episode of the podcast, we'll talk about those parallels...

On today's episode of Survivor Sanctuary, we chat with Mendy Hood, a survivor of sexual abuse by her youth pastor at age 13. Mendy's fighting spirit is contagious as she shares her story and refuses to hold back in her quest for justice, her calling out of abusers, and her struggles in the aftermath of sexual abuse. 

Maybe you've seen the news that Hillsong founder Brian Houston has been formally charged for allegedly concealing his father's sexual assault of children. He is "devastated" by these charges, but perhaps not as devastated as the children who could have been protected had Brian Houston done the right thing. 

"Speaking out about sexual abuse doesn't ruin the reputation of the church... Sexual Abusers ruin the reputation of the church..." I'm sure they "meme" well, but when people use this logic to combat those who silence abuse victims, they're only feeding the monster. The impact of sexual abuse is much greater than the tarnishing of a person's or institution's reputation. We chat about it on today's...

We know that many survivors of sexual abuse are judged by Christians for walking out of the church. But what about the survivors who choose to stay? It turns out many of them are also being judged, just by a new set of people--some of their fellow survivors and survivor advocates. On this episode, we'll chat about it, and the importance of allowing survivors a voice when it comes to their own spir...

Of all the places that could offer a second chance to people who sexually abuse children, The Church is arguably one of the most dangerous. This is not solely because abusers are often put back into leadership roles there, or because those in leadership tend to be blindly trusted by congregations; it's not even because there are children present on most church campuses. Rather, the church inadvert...

According to most preachers, Jesus is the example we should all be following. So why do so many of them fail to emulate Christ and his willingness to lay down his life for his sheep? If Jesus willingly gave up his rights as God, humbling himself to the point of a humiliating death on the cross, then why can't a preacher caught sexually abusing someone even humble himself to the point of stepping d...

The title of this episode is pretty self-explanatory. We're chatting about former SBCer Russell Moore and his letters which were leaked this week, revealing things about the SBC Executive Committee that really don't surprise us, but should definitely grieve us. Until those at the top of the SBC are as grieved and angered over sexual abuse as the Lord is, the denomination will not be safe for the v...

Sometimes, speaking out about sexual abuse can cost you family relationships. That's often because the perpetrator is a member of the family. But what about family members who resent your voice for other reasons? In this episode, we'll chat about those super fun people who resent our advocacy, and do a quick recap of the "why" behind speaking out about sexual abuse. 

In this episode of the podcast, we're going to finish our conversation about Wolves, and why the Church has so much trouble recognizing them in its midst. To start, it's very difficult to recognize a wolf when you don't even know what a real sheep looks like. Yes, we will know them by their fruit, but we often have a very warped idea of what "good fruit" actually looks like.  Repeat after me:...

It's there in black and white, and sometimes in red. The warnings about wolves are weaved throughout the tapestry of the New Testament, admonishing us to be on the lookout for the ravenous predators disguised as sheep in our midst. And yet when churches are alerted to predators in their fold, there is an absolute refusal by most to believe that the predator is in fact, a predator. Instead, this ma...

It can often feel to survivors that pastors who truly care about sexual abuse are mere legends. Sure, we've heard they're out there, but has anyone ever actually seen one up close? As it turns out, yes. And while we aren't actually seeing him, in this episode we continue our chat with Bryan Holt, a pastor whose childhood experience with a predator has shaped the way he cares for victims of sexual...

It can often feel to survivors that pastors who truly care about sexual abuse are mere legends. Sure, we've heard they're out there, but has anyone ever actually seen one up close? As it turns out, yes. And while we aren't actually seeing him, in this episode we're chatting with Bryan Holt, a pastor whose childhood experience with a predator has shaped the way he cares for victims of sexual abuse....

Evangelical Christianity has its own music, movies, books and catch phrases, so it stands to reason that we need our own therapists as well. Right? Well, maybe not. While Christian movies may only make you cringe and desperately wish you could have the last two hours of your life back, so-called "biblical counseling" can do very real harm to survivors. On this episode we'll chat about nouthetic co...

Survivors of childhood sexual abuse know all too well that churches often miss the mark (by a lot) when it comes to supporting survivors. But what pours salt into their deep wounds is that these same churches often demonize the very people who * can* offer support and healing to survivors. On this episode we'll chat about Christianity's disdain for psychology and the impact it has on survivors of...

While experts and offenders debate whether child predators should be rehabilitated or imprisoned, victims of sexual abuse receive an automatic life sentence. 

You're ruining the reputation of the Church. You're hurting the cause of Christ. You're turning people away from Christianity and sending them to hell. If you're a survivor of sexual abuse, you've likely had all of these accusations, and more, launched at you by "Christians" any time you've tried to speak out. So where did the idea that exposing sin causes people to turn from Christ come from? And...