{"id":2627,"date":"2011-11-10T10:04:06","date_gmt":"2011-11-10T15:04:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/?p=2627"},"modified":"2014-07-21T10:15:03","modified_gmt":"2014-07-21T14:15:03","slug":"lessons-for-the-church-from-joe-paterno","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/lessons-for-the-church-from-joe-paterno\/","title":{"rendered":"Lessons for the Church from Joe Paterno"},"content":{"rendered":"

Photo credit: Richard Paul Kane<\/a> \/ Shutterstock.com<\/a><\/p>\n

I have been in Joe Paterno’s shoes many times.<\/p>\n

In case you have been off visiting another planet, the storied coach of Penn State’s football program agreed to retire at the end of the season amidst allegations that he should have done more when he received a report of suspected child abuse on the part of a member of his coaching staff.\u00a0 Because we have a community-based biblical counseling center<\/a> at our church, we regularly serve\u00a0families where an accusation of abuse is part of the story.\u00a0 It is some of the hardest and most complicated work I have ever done.\u00a0 Thankfully God’s Word is sufficient (2 Peter 1:3) and provides helpful guidelines as we navigate these terrible situations.<\/p>\n

Protecting children<\/h2>\n

God’s Word is filled with commands to place a high priority on defending those who are too weak to defend themselves.\u00a0\u00a0One representative example is\u00a0Isaiah 1:17:\u00a0Learn to do good; seek justice, reprove the ruthless, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.\u00a0 <\/em>Frequently a decision has to be made about protecting the child, the adult, or the institution.\u00a0 A follower of Christ should always err on siding with the rights and needs of the child or even the abused adult.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Learning from professionals<\/h2>\n

Several years ago we invited the director of our local Child Protective Services office to our site to train our school, counseling center, and church staff on how to recognize and report instances of suspected child abuse.\u00a0 There is no question about the fact that even though many of the people on our team have been counseling for many years, this woman knew more about the subject than anyone else in the room.\u00a0 Regardless of where you are in your ministry career, there are others who can teach you better ways to serve others.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Submitting to our government<\/h2>\n

The Bible also teaches us to submit ourselves to the governmental authorities (Romans 13:1-7).\u00a0 I am thankful that we live in a community where the secular authorities work hand in hand with our ministry to address such situations.\u00a0 I also understand that some people minister in communities where there is more of an aggressive or adversarial relationship with local child protective staffs and services.\u00a0 Regardless, we must err on the side of making the report.<\/p>\n

In our experience, if the accused abuser is part of the counseling process, we encourage him (or her) to file the report of what is being said.\u00a0 We then follow up immediately to be sure the report was made to satisfy our reporting requirements.\u00a0 If the abuser refuses to contact the appropriate government agency, we would immediately make the report ourselves.\u00a0 This is one of the reasons we make it clear to our counselees that we do not practice absolute confidentiality.\u00a0 Where the law requires us to make a report, we will submit to our governing authorities.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Keeping an attorney on retainer<\/h2>\n

By God’s grace we are privileged to have a Christian attorney as part of our church’s leadership.\u00a0 He gives thousands of dollars worth of legal counsel to our staff every year free of charge.\u00a0 Before that time, we kept an attorney on retainer and instructed our staff to contact him any time there was a question about whether something should be reported.\u00a0 There were some months where the legal bill was rather large, but we always viewed that as money well spent.<\/p>\n

Praying for wisdom and healing<\/h2>\n

Situations involving child abuse allegations are seldom simple and straightforward.\u00a0 The twists and turns in the story can make your head spin.\u00a0 Thank the Lord that He stands ready to answer our prayers for wisdom as we seek to serve every person He brings\u00a0across\u00a0our path.\u00a0 But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him<\/em> (James 1:5).<\/p>\n

May God help His people respond to suspected abuse with unusual wisdom and skill.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Photo credit: Richard Paul Kane \/ Shutterstock.com I have been in Joe Paterno’s shoes many times. In case you have been off visiting another planet, the storied coach of Penn State’s football program agreed to retire at the end of the season amidst allegations that he should have done more when he received a report… read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":2640,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4237,96,257],"tags":[4261,135,184,228,4503],"yoast_head":"\nLessons for the Church from Joe Paterno - Faith Church Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/lessons-for-the-church-from-joe-paterno\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lessons for the Church from Joe Paterno - Faith Church Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Photo credit: Richard Paul Kane \/ Shutterstock.com I have been in Joe Paterno’s shoes many times. 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