What is the result of a church that has taken on an air or silence?
To batterers, it has communicated to men that their efforts to control their wives or girlfriends are justified because women are to be subject to men in all things. They have been permitted to “discipline” their wives and their children all for the “good of the family.” The couple is encouraged by the leader of the silent church to seek couples counseling to get to the root of the matter.
THIS COULD BE THE BEGINNING OF THE END.
When abuse in Christian homes becomes evident, the unspoken "Sacred Silence" unobtrusively induces observing believers to be more concerned about placing blame, minimizing and denying that abuse is rampant in Christian families.A religious leader may see a shelter as “breaking up families” or “undermining a woman’s faith.” A secular advocate may see a religious leader as “sexist” or “endangering a woman’s safety,” not attentive enough to reality to care enough to make a difference. Breaking through this mistrust requires risk-taking and initiative from both sides and a shared commitment to the well being of the victim and the survivor. It takes knowledge and willingness to listen.
How then, does the church find its voice?
How then, does the church make its voice heard above the den and confusion that is life?
Spiritual leaders must prepare themselves to deal with the idea that the church can be either a resource or a roadblock.
The silence of the church forces its members to begin a journey down a road that, without intervention, has no traffic signals, no warning signs, no end in sight.
The road with no traffic control devices is the pathway to danger. The family that is subject to the failure of the church to speak on issues of domestic violence is likewise, headed to danger.
