An Open Letter: To All the Laity of Adat Shalom Church (a Southern Baptist congregation in Dallas)
“Any story sounds true until someone tells the other side and sets the record straight.” (Proverbs 18: 17) For the past three months, I’ve become increasingly aware that my soul cannot rest until I’ve completed this personal message to those who occupy the pews of your congregation. My intent is to set the record straight, going far beyond the parts of your church story which you may have heard already—either from online reports, the lengthy letter from your pastor a few weeks ago, or from hearsay. This letter will serve to tell “the rest of the story,” as Paul Harvey often declared on the radio for many years. Though I’ve never met any of you personally, I've come across hundreds of churches in similar situations as yours is right now . My name is known in certain Southern Baptist circles and far beyond due to the work I’ve done for over thirty years upon discovering the complex issues of collusion with abuse in the faith community -- a widespread, systemic problem I first...