Topic: Making Changes
Berry encouraged us to try to connect with people who have been ripped off by church systems in other ways. In other words, people who have never experienced abuse nor been around those who have, may have difficulty understanding just how serious the impact on victim's lives. The tendency may be not to identify and not to see that the entire congregation is, in one sense, a victim.
Yet those who have had their schools closed, either from abuse or from embezzlement, may feel ripped off and more willing to join in calling leaders into an accountability about many things. They may be more willing to see abuse as not "just an error in judgment," but a matter of gross immorality that cuts to the hearts of those who have been victimized.
Persuading people to talk will be a lot easier as we build bridges with a wider group of people.
