[Tell It Right]

I, too, try to be open to the facts. It could be any of multiple reasons for a false allegation (angry teen, angry mom, misunderstanding, etc.). And I certainly don't want to knee-jerkingly help Satan and his Dim minions destroy the Church before we know the facts.

But the article says he admitted it: Rodgers’ arrest citation says he admitted to the allegations during an interview with police.

[cyclotic]

Not saying this guy is innocent, just sharing a recent event where the suspect truly is innocent.

I checked out the church website. I think they’re handling it well. They changed the site to be password protected for members and have a very good, well-crafted statement right up front on the site.

This has the power to destroy a church if handled improperly. If handled properly, it’s a really big shard speed bump.

Churches and their individual ministries have a solemn duty to their members and families to protect them. Background checks, robust youth protection training for all individuals who work with kids and transparency in operations are critically important.

We’re currently searching for a new church. One of the reasons is that they rely on legal protections after the fact rather than pre-emptively protecting children. They don’t do background checks on volunteers, they allow a single adult to be with kids. The Sunday school rooms have solid doors with no windows and no visibility. They have no formal security team instead prefer to maintain the veneer of friendly openness. These are all things I’ve complained about over several years.

I work with a youth program that has strong background checks, robust youth protection and a strict policy of never being alone with a youth. We also teach the youth what their responsibilities are. Buddy system etc.