S. Stutzman claims 67% of Anabaptist women have been sexually abused

[KingdomBuilder]

Huh?

The purpose of this thread was to discuss what he said and his claim, since many people listen to him.

I think the confusion came from you simply posting the quote without any commentary or subsequent post. I too was confused as to where you stood before others got the thread active.

[Martin]

Define sexual abuse, please.

If its defined like the company I work for, who has a very strict abuse/harassment policy, I could look at a woman the wrong way and if she feels uncomfortable, I'm in trouble.

I'd really like you folks to define abuse in the claim.

You must be in a #MeToo movement company. I do wonder if Steve's definition of abuse is broader than what I am familiar with.

Also, what are Steve's credentials? I thought he and his family were singers.

[ohio jones]

The purpose of this thread was to discuss what he said and his claim, since many people listen to him.

Maybe many do, though it's evident from this thread that many don't. Without supporting research, however vague or questionable, the claim has only the authority of the person making the claim to uphold it. In that respect the "who is this guy" question is quite relevant.

[Judas Maccabeus]

Define sexual abuse, please.

If its defined like the company I work for, who has a very strict abuse/harassment policy, I could look at a woman the wrong way and if she feels uncomfortable, I'm in trouble.

I'd really like you folks to define abuse in the claim.

You must be in a #MeToo movement company. I do wonder if Steve's definition of abuse is broader than what I am familiar with.

Also, what are Steve's credentials? I thought he and his family were singers.

If the only tool you have and know how to use is a hammer, than every problem begins to look like a nail.

I suspect that is why some see it everywhere.

In the secular world of work, it is very much in the eye of the beholder. One really does need to exercise extreme caution.

J.M.

[Judas Maccabeus]

No, Steve Stutzman is not the Mission to Amish guy- Steve is highly respected & counsels the hurting-

He sure writes for them.

http://www.mapministry.org/authors/steve-stutzman

J.M.

MAP posted 2 articles by Steve Stutzman-
The FIRST article posted was not written for MAP- MAP said:

"This article was reprinted by permission from Door of Hope, Lynn NC"

Joe may have asked Steve to write the 2nd article and their paths undoubtedly cross- but Steve Stutzman is Mennonite-
Joe Keim is Baptist- they don't actually serve together-there were Beachy Amish/Mennonite who also wrote for MAP Ministries- and both serve in ministries and are familiar with the situation first hand that Steve Stutzman is very concerned about within the communities-

I think that more is coming out because of some of these counseling ministries that many Anabaptists turn to, such as Steve's "Strait Paths", Door of Hope, & others that are there to serve the hurting-and help with healing. Our area of Holmes County OH, the largest Amish & Mennonite community in the world- have utilized these counseling ministries for a variety of reasons-
Apparently, in reading Steve's comments- a counselor in Holmes County contributed to the belief that there was more of this in conservative communities than others- personally I have heard of it from those who actually grew up in these communities- it is not a rare occurance although I'd like to believe the % is smaller than what others like Steve seems to believe it is- I think that many on Mennonet that are MB's realize this is a problem- this isn't the first time it has come up-a poster from Mennodiscuss pm'd me during one of the discussions of this problem- said that this is why he left the Mennonites- he did not go into detail- but when women are not 'believed' it makes it more difficult for those who have been hurt to come forward to get help (and as Perigrino pointed out, it is not only the 'girls' , boys have been to and I know one personally who has this ugly memory from childhood-)
Some of these ministries cross paths with each other as they are all serving to help the hurting-

Steve is trying, apparentyl, to understand why this is- and he is praying to that end- again- he is Mennonite so not an outsider. It would be nice to doubt him but what I am reading from MB's who commented to him, they are not doubting him- he is looking to God for help & answers.

Without the evidence, or any factual base, the claims he makes are air. "Show me the beef."

I took a glance at his board, no mention of church membership for any of them. I have serious doubts that he could be considered "conservative" mennonite. Are they entertainers that have counseling as a side job?

http://www.straitpaths.com/Stutzman-Fam ... -Page.html

J.M.

[Neto]

This is not a comment in regards to Steve, although I have heard him speak on several occasions. That said, it is way to easy to become "a respected preacher/teacher/counselor/etc." in conservative circles. This is a different case entirely, but just this morning after our services I was telling someone about a man we met in Brazil back in 1985. He was an American "vagrant preacher" - travelling around from city to city trying to get Christian people to gather into small isolated communities in the back-water areas of Brazil, so that they could "survive the coming Tribulation Period". He showed up at the Wesleyan congregation where we attended during language school (Fortelaza, Ceara, Brasil) one Sunday morning, and that evening he was invited to preach. I remember how surprised I was that someone could just show up out of no where and be invited to speak. That is an extreme example, but in circles like ours where educational credentials are not expected or required in order to be considered an "authority" on a given subject, we are entirely too ready to accept whoever appears in our meetings (as long as they are from conservative Mennonite background themselves....).

[Soloist]

I cannot personally comment on him from first hand talking with him, but I know he's not in Conservative Mennonite circles. He does pop around Amish, Pentecostals and the lesser conservative groups. He is positively frowned on in my church. I'd personally like to know if his specific teachings came from somewhere older... I like the idea of looking at history to determine if its a good teaching or not. I've gone to the first night of one of his teachings but the cost of his seminars are prohibitive and they will not lower it because they think people will not value it unless they pay hefty prices.
I know the churches he frequents would not even openly call themselves Mennonites and tend to hold a position of no standards in the church. A youtube clip I saw that his daughter took gives the impression that they only head cover when going to certain churches.

[ragpicker]

I cannot personally comment on him from first hand talking with him, but I know he's not in Conservative Mennonite circles. He does pop around Amish, Pentecostals and the lesser conservative groups. He is positively frowned on in my church. I'd personally like to know if his specific teachings came from somewhere older... I like the idea of looking at history to determine if its a good teaching or not. I've gone to the first night of one of his teachings but the cost of his seminars are prohibitive and they will not lower it because they think people will not value it unless they pay hefty prices.
I know the churches he frequents would not even openly call themselves Mennonites and tend to hold a position of no standards in the church. A youtube clip I saw that his daughter took gives the impression that they only head cover when going to certain churches.

You certainly "know" a lot that isn't so. No skin off my back, just wanted it on the record for any readers that your post isn't necessarily accurate.

[ragpicker]

What I am reading seems odd in the light of what I have observed and heard to the effect that Conservative Mennonite groups are fairly careful in terms of standards of propriety as between adult men and women.

But I think that a point of vulnerability, especially with large families, may come with the generally less supervised interaction of teen and pre-teen children. Without that supervision, I suspect that a culture of sexual abuse can arise all on its own and be perpetuated without the presence of any predatory adult.

Beneath the veneer is mind-boggling levels of all kinds of sexual perversion. Sexual molestation, homosexuality, bestiality, fornication, adultery, patronizing sex related commercial establishments, use of pornography, etc.

What is surreal to me is to listen to people who I know for a fact were part of this perversion deny that it has much of a presence.

[ragpicker]

I don’t agree that he’s “highly respected”. When somebody told me to go to him for counselling, the situation of what he did with me would best be described as spiritual abuse.

He is also not licensed to give counselling and certainly not to do so over the phone with people he hasn’t met.

You went to him for counseling?