Balls and Strikes! Out of the Game!

In any sport, there come times when the player is taken from the game. The rules are not as clear-cut in the game of recovery and faith. In both arenas, there are no rules that can be not evenly enforced. So people get hurt and are carted off the field. in my experience in some groups and some churches, there are no referees who can call a violation. You say no way!

In secular recovery meetings, how many young ladies are hit on way too early in their recovery? In many cases group discipline does not exist. Groups hide under the banner of Live and Let live. Now the faith folks will say we don’t have this problem. But surprisingly it is more egregious. Clergy abuse is not a myth. But the activity of taking advantage of positions of authority in faith fellowships has a league of its own.

Unfortunately, I have lived too long. God raged over shepherds who abused their flocks. I have seen and been the victim of this wild west of power gone mad.

In recovery groups, people just leave. But some are caught in abusive tangles. In my experience, vigilantes take care of some problems, and Sponsors can intervene. But sometimes people are caught and are broken in abuse which is out in the open. This is not right and is a stain on the recovery community. The recovery community has to take charge of its arena. The larger organizations need to set rules to protect the defenseless. Rules and norms need to be enforced. In recovery, there needs to be some safe place,

In the Faith arena, there are no words to give an appropriate description of its failure to protect its members, In this area, the church is cautioned by the bible about shepherds who fail to protect their flocks. God will cast out the abusers and hold accountable those who turned away from the problem. in the end, God will toss the offending player out of the game. But will there be consequences for organizations that foster neglect of the abused?

These are the topics of my next series of podcasts. Out of the game! Unsafe at any speed! Safe Place! Home Plate!