CAM Molestation Issue

[joshuabgood]

That statement is a good start. Good for them.

[Josh]

One thing I like in this statement is that it does not scapegoat the two executives, but rather makes it clear they were good men, but they made an extremely serious error.

This gives me hope our culture and community can eventually change how it thinks about this stuff.

[hillperson]

But why would you even want to salvage an institution that is corrupt at the highest level of oversight?

This statement (and others like it that I am reading) makes me think that you don't know CAM, its ministry, or its people at all.

Regarding CAM, I think a few well-meaning but naive & misguided and very human leaders made a horrible choice a while ago to believe that repentance and marriage and maturity and spiritual healing and church discipline somehow changed a depraved mind. And perhaps there was something in the culture that elevated these fellows too high for their own good. They gave a predator access to those they were committed to serve. I know they are suffering deeply for their error, and they'll bear it the rest of their days. Why and how this happened needs to be investigated - and changes need to happen for sure. But to call CAM leadership "corrupt at the highest level of oversight" just doesn't line up at all with my 30 year experience with CAM as a donor, fellow mission worker in Haiti, and a brief time as a CAM mission worker in the 90s. You don't know CAM's people.

This is a great big tragic mess - no question. It hurts us all in the Conservative Mennonite community deeply and we will do some serious soul searching for sure. But what I am seriously beginning to struggle with is the cynicism, the conspiracy mongering, and the disenfranchised griping that I am hearing that is attempting to take the acts of a depraved heart (which we all universally condemn) and the leadership failure of a few CAM executives, and transform it into a sweeping condemnation of the Conservative Anabaptist community. Yes, a few of us have fallen - give us a hand up. Don't spit on us while we're down.

Well said Dan.

[temporal1]

CAM Board has just produced a statement stating that two executives know about Jeriah's abuse of minors since 2013. These two (Eli Weaver & Paul Weaver) have admitted their error in judgement. They have been placed on administrative leave pending the investigation.

Good start. I am sure their lawyers are boiling mad over this. No lawyer would ever let a statement like this see the light of day.

It is obvious that the next step will be to look at their procedures, candidate selection and management training. These areas are likely where the failures really occurred. Assuming CAM survives this, it may well be a better organization than we see today.
J.M.

i respectfully disagree with your generalization about lawyers.
i’m sorry you regret one experience, and, i am quite critical of (esp criminal defense lawyers) and our increasingly-faulty justice system, HOWEVER, respectable and competent lawyers can be found who have a moral compass.

i pray CAM has chosen wisely. reading this gives hope they have.

it will require months and years of vigilance to truly regain trust, including response to victims that goes beyond whatever court-ordered settlement, actions.

because i believe most are innocents harmed by a few, i am hopeful CAM will not only recover, but be greatly improved in the process. i pray the victims be restored. (the boys, and the indirect victims.)

God allows “not fair!” to happen, in order to draw us closer to Him.

He has 1 goal: to draw us close to Him.

(He wants attorneys, too.)
Jesus reached out to the Roman soldier in His most excruciating pain.

“greatly improved” is the offer Jesus makes for those who accept Him and rebuke sin.

[joshuabgood]

Just a few more words...I have leaned on CAM hard. And also encouraged others I know who I thought had influence to lean on them. To get a shift from CAM regarding the contents of their earlier statement.

And I now want to say again publicly. That I think this statement represents a significant shift. I am happy that none of the Board members knew. And happy that they have admitted that key leaders did know. And that those leaders, while not being scapegoated, as Josh R said, are being held accountable.

It goes a long way toward beginning restoration. Good for them again.

I would yet encourage them to invite GRACE or some similar service to lead the full investigation...

[Hats Off]

One thing I like in this statement is that it does not scapegoat the two executives, but rather makes it clear they were good men, but they made an extremely serious error.

This gives me hope our culture and community can eventually change how it thinks about this stuff.

I continue to hope and trust we can change in these critical areas as well. I thought there was more openness the past 10 - 15 years but change still is slower than we would have hoped for.

[steve-in-kville]

I just popped in here for a few minutes, bouncing from one thread to the next... where did I read that Trudy is getting death threats? Where are we getting this from? Its not immediately obvious on her blog.

Anyone?

[Bootstrap]

I would like to read what you have to say on this.

Looks like someone else has beat me to it.

Asher Witmer writes: https://www.asherwitmer.com/when-christ ... x-scandal/
"Millennials are all about fighting for causes, and right now the trendy cause is sexual abuse victims. Sometimes I wonder, however, if those of us joining the bandwagon of bringing to surface hidden sexual abuse scandals truly care about restoring people in their connection with Jesus?
Because simply blasting these types of stories without a Gospel-centered framework through which to sort through this kind of atrocity coming from people who claim to be spreading the Gospel can cause someone to stumble in their faith.
I’m not suggesting sitting back and doing nothing. That has already caused many to stumble (and fall) in their faith.
Neither am I proposing simply extending grace to perpetrators and withholding consequences. Such crimes must be punished and properly dealt with!
We need deep transformation in the church.
...
What I long to see are conservative Anabaptist churches where victims can share their stories and the community grieves with them, believes them, and does whatever it takes to help them experience safety and find healing.
I long to see conservative Anabaptist churches where perpetrators are confronted, forced to reckon with the consequences of their actions, and surrounded with a group of people committed to gently helping them find the freedom and wholeness they also need."

Very well said.

But that freedom and wholeness may always involve guard rails. Repentance and restoration does not eliminate this need.

Many churches would not want me, as an adult male, to spend unsupervised time alone with attractive young women, building one on one relationships with them. The same kinds of safeguards they use to protect against normal heterosexual desire might be needed in many more places for some people. Those safeguards may always hurt and serve as a reminder of past issues. But ... they are needed.

[Grace]

I just popped in here for a few minutes, bouncing from one thread to the next... where did I read that Trudy is getting death threats? Where are we getting this from? Its not immediately obvious on her blog.

Anyone?

You might be referring to this statement in her blog:

So Haiti will need to navigate this criminal mess against one of the largest USA Christian relief work organizations – making the Forbes top 100 Charity list numerous times. It is not an easy thing to enter a legal battle. And it is even worse when you are up against religious people who are lawyered up.

And while they hire lawyers and avoid Haiti law — even while stating publicly they are cooperating with the law — some of the victims in Haiti are receiving death threats. There really is no justice among ‘God’s people’ when this is how they respond.

Some people, myself included, questioned whether she was referring to "God's people" at CAM, and the death threats. She later edited her blog and brought more clarification to her statement.

[Hats Off]

I just popped in here for a few minutes, bouncing from one thread to the next... where did I read that Trudy is getting death threats? Where are we getting this from? Its not immediately obvious on her blog.

Anyone?

Hey Steve, just a little bit of paranoia plus reading too fast can produce wrong results. (it may even result in new gossip)