I’m so glad you’ve joined me at the intersection of faith and true crime here at The Unlovely Truth. Security issues are hiding in every church - do you know where to look for them? I’m your host, church safety advocate Lori Morrison. Our churches need to be the safest places in our communities, so our mission here is to find actionable steps that will make our churches sanctuaries of physical, emotional, and spiritual safety. To give you tools to help make that happen in your church, we’re going to investigate real crime stories from real churches. I’ve got three cases for us to investigate today, so let’s dive right in. 

Highlights from this episode include:

• A very practical problem churches can encounter when they aren’t doing to enough to respond to and prevent abuse by leaders and volunteers
• An artist behaving badly still has works displayed by Catholic Church
• Why was a man charged with multiple violent felonies still listed as a church staff member 5 months later?

Ephesians 5:1-3 NIrV

You are the children that God dearly loves. So follow his example. Lead a life of love, just as Christ did. He loved us. He gave himself up for us. He was a sweet-smelling offering and sacrifice to God. There should not be even a hint of sexual sin among you.

 Don’t do anything impure. And do not always want more and more. 

These are not the things God’s holy people should do.

Paul spent chapter 4 describing how Christians should live our lives. He continues this in chapter 5, and really boils it down here. God loves us enough to die for is in the person of Christ, and that should be enough to make us want to be like him. Then the first thing Paul tells us NOT to do as we try to lead this life of love is to be sure there is no sexual sin among God’s people. Yet as I research crimes connected to our churches, the vast majority of cases are about sexual sins by leaders within the church

Maybe that’s what the media focuses on because of its gossipy appeal, its “see, I told you they were all hypocrites” vibe - but whatever the reason, it’s a self-inflicted wound. The truth is that, as a whole, churches don’t screen leaders well enough. We don’t confront early red flags with great enough speed or diligence. And we continue to cover up for abusers and try to make victims just go away. 

I hope your church is doing everything right in this area. My concern is that most churches think they are doing a great job, only to have a scandal erupt that leaves everyone wondering “How did this happen”. Don’t be afraid to ask your church leaders what policies and procedures they have in place so that your church isn’t going to be mentioned on my podcast.

Visit my website to access more episodes. If you would like to contact me about booking me as a speaker or ask about my consulting services, please email me at lori@theunlovelytruth.com. 

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Loss of insurance halts ministry and worship services

Should a man accused of multiple rapes have his art displayed by the Catholic church?

Tip: don't list accused pedophiles as staff members