Understanding Sexual Abuse

A Guide for Ministry Leaders and Survivors

Tim Hein

• Publisher: IVP
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN: 9780830841356
• eBook ISBN: 9780830881048
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Ministry

"It is said that the true test of a society is how it treats its most vulnerable members."As many as one in four girls and one in six boys experience sexual abuse during childhood, and it's estimated that as many as half of the incidents are never reported. This means that countless millions in our societies, both children and adults, carry this complex, often hidden pain. What does the path to healing look like for survivors? And how can ministry leaders, pastors, and counselors best help them as they walk this difficult road? Drawing on both his own experience and his wife's experience as survivors of childhood sexual abuse, minister and lecturer Tim Hein offers his expertise, practical guidance, and empathy—both for ministry leaders and for survivors themselves. How can we best respond when a survivor shares their secret with us? Where can survivors turn for encouragement when the road to recovery seems so long and lonely? Hein presents clinical data and resources alongside pastoral wisdom and care, addressing both psychological and spiritual aspects of sexual abuse.Both for those who have suffered sexual abuse and those in a position to help them, this book is a rich resource. Filled with both sober truths and the hope of Christ, it calls survivors to take courage and walk unafraid down the road of healing.

InterVarsity Press
P.O. Box 1400, Downers Grove, IL 60515-1426
ivpress.com
[email protected]

©2018 by Timothy Hein

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from InterVarsity Press.

InterVarsity Press® is the book-publishing division of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA®, a movement of students and faculty active on campus at hundreds of universities, colleges, and schools of nursing in the United States of America, and a member movement of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students. For information about local and regional activities, visit intervarsity.org.

Scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Content in chapter 4 from pages 56-57 of The Courage to Heal: A Guide for Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse, third edition, revised and updated, by Ellen Bass and Laura Davis. Copyright © 1994 by Ellen Bass and Laura S. Davis Trust. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers.

While any stories in this book are true, some names and identifying information may have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals.

Cover design: David Fassett
Cover image: water droplet background: © Maslovpapa/iStockphoto watercolor background: © larisa_zorina/iStockphoto

ISBN 978-0-8308-8104-8 (digital)
ISBN 978-0-8308-4135-6 (print)

Table of Contents

1. Cover
2. Title Page
3. Dedication
4. Contents
5. Foreword by Debra Hirsch
6. Introduction
   1. Defining Sexual Abuse
   2. Before I Share My Story
   3. The Church and Abuse by Clergy
   4. My Story Begins
   5. Where My Story Leads
7. O...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Foreword by Debra Hirsch
• Introduction
• ONE: A Safe Place
• TWO: Why Abuse Hurts
• THREE: Breaking the Power of Secrets
• FOUR: What Does Recovery Look Like?
• FIVE: Justice, Anger, and the Question of Forgiveness
• SIX: Where Is God?
• SEVEN: A Broken Hallelujah
• EIGHT: Choosing Life
• Acknowledgments
• Notes
• Praise for Understanding Sexual Abuse
• About the Author
• IVP Praxis
• More Titles from InterVarsity Press
• Copyright