When Silence Becomes Complicity
Current CFC members should consider that if even some of the published accounts accurately describe what occurred, the issue extends far beyond individual misconduct. It becomes a question of institutional culture: whether leadership structures encouraged transparency and accountability, or whether they inadvertently fostered conditions in which victims' suffering was minimized, spiritualized, or handled exclusively within the church.
Insider Language at Christian Fellowship Center
Outsiders listening to Carson’s sermon would likely hear a preacher praising generous hospitality. Survivors who know the CFC context will recognize something quite different: a full-throated defense of controlling and predatory housing arrangements.
Crisis Response at Christian Fellowship Center
North Country residents and CFC members have legitimate questions: Why have Daniel and Brietta Paladin decided to plant a church in Sinclair’s hometown? Why are so many long-time CFC families selling their houses and moving to Tennessee and Kentucky? Why has Pastor Rick Sinclair’s son-in-law, Ben Hull, resigned his position on the St. Lawrence County Board? CFC leaders don’t appear inclined to provide clear answers to any of these questions.
CFC Continues to Enable Child Abusers
Both Sean Ferguson and Jeremie Keleher attended CFC Madrid, and both men were reportedly counseled by Bill Hull, a long-time CFC leader.
The Importance of Language Surrounding Adult Clergy Sexual Abuse
The sociological concept of “moral entrepreneurs” explains how people with power shape what is considered right or wrong. In religious communities, leaders often act as moral entrepreneurs. To create safer communities, church leaders and congregants must change the way they talk about abuse and the way they respond to it.
12 Questions You Should Ask Your Pastors
If a pastor argues that reporting child sexual abuse is a matter of personal judgment, the congregation has the biblical duty to ask further questions. It is essential not only to ascertain whether it’s safe to remain at the church but to also ensure that all vulnerable people are protected.
The Danger of Inadequate Child Protection Policies
Inadequate child protection policies are often more dangerous than the absence of a policy because nominal policies allow church members to believe that they are safe when they are actually in grave danger.
An Introduction to Child Liberation Theology
In today’s world that sees children as having no rights themselves, but rather sees parents as almighty rulers over their property, Jesus’s point stands out. By lifting up children, Jesus really is making the last first. He is making clear that children deserve the same rights, and bear the same value, as adults.
Suffer the Children: Developing Effective Church Policies on Child Maltreatment
Although churches, synagogues, temples and other places of worship are increasingly implementing policies to protect children from abuse, the policies adopted are often inadequate and of limited value. This article includes ten concrete suggestions for faith institutions that will aid in developing and implementing policies more likely to keep children safe.
Victim Blaming in the Church
Victim blaming is the act of holding a person responsible for the harm they have experienced or the crime committed against them. This often looks like attributing blame or responsibility to the victim for their own victimization, rather than the perpetrator or other external factors.
Why we CARE
Child sexual abuse is heinous and tragically common in church settings. Strong evidence suggests that child predators are attracted to churches. Sexual abusers benefit from Christian teachings on repentance and forgiveness; if they’re caught, they can simply performatively express remorse, rely on unwise church practices that grant access to all in the name of grace, and then secretly continue their abuse.
The Quiverfull Families Next Door: Part 4
Because Quiverfull communities like CFC preach patriarchy as the only biblical framework, individuals who challenge the gender hierarchy must be labeled rebellious and sinful.
News Conference: Michelle’s Statement
Church should be a place where children are safe. Where children are protected and where the evils of the world stop at the door. Pastor, elders and leaders are the gate keepers. They have an obligation to protect the least of these. During this divisive political climate it's important to stress that reporting CSA is not now nor has it ever been a political issue.
We are all complicit
One of the most complicated truths to acknowledge is that we have harmed others, yet this is an essential step in the journey to wholeness. There is freedom in acknowledging that we have been complicit in harm. It allows us to seek forgiveness, offer restitution, and find grace for ourselves and for others.
Why we support the CARE Act
The Child Abuse Reporting Expansion (CARE) Act is a proposed New York State law that eliminates the mandated reporting loophole to include members of the clergy.
Counting the Cost
For those of us who still identify as Christians, we understand that our lives are dedicated to Christ. We understand that Christ calls us to seek justice, even when it’s uncomfortable. We understand that our faith often puts us at odds with political parties. Our faith calls us to support the people around us – we help them move with our pick-up trucks and fifteen-passenger vans, we bring meals and take care of their older children when they have a baby, we lend them our generator when their power is out.
But there is a hidden cost that we didn’t count on: the cost of leaving Christian Fellowship Center.
Book Review: A Church Called Tov
In A Church Called Tov, by Scot McKnight and Laura Barringer, it’s all about the root and the soil. It’s all about character and culture and what is allowed to thrive and what is tamped down into compliance and told to hush because ‘we don’t talk about such things,’ ‘that’s gossip’, ‘you need to trust that we as leadership have this in hand.’
This book may not be for everyone, but it’s pretty darn close.
Understanding Domestic Violence
Domestic Violence impacts every community regardless of race, culture, or socioeconomic status. On average, nearly twenty people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States. One in four women and one in nine men experience some form of severe intimate partner violence at some point in their life.
Librarians are the best
If you’re interested in a book-length exploration of a certain topic but you don’t have the financial resources to purchase your own book, never fear! The librarians at Potsdam Public Library have purchased many books from our resources list and they can be requested from anywhere in the North County Library System.
Researching the effect of trauma
It is projected that people who have experienced trauma are up to seven times more likely to develop chronic health conditions like diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and even cancer.
Trauma is more likely to cause health complications even in people who maintain a healthy diet, stay active, and do not indulge in drugs and alcohol. Young people are more at risk for the effects of trauma specifically because our brains are still developing and will not be fully developed until age 25.