Beyond Abuse in the Christian Home: Raising Voices for Change

Book review by William David Spencer

Beyond Abuse in the Christian Home is a landmark book/manual/resource directory whose mission is the complete equipping of counselors, caretakers, clergy, church workers, family members, and friends working with or concerned about those who are being abused.

The topic is one not normally discussed in Christian circles. Consequently, the manuscript made the rounds of several publishers who declined it as too much to handle before it was wisely published by Wipf & Stock and, after publication, enthusiastically embraced by its House of Prisca and Aquila line, whose mission is to produce egalitarian books with a high view of Scripture. The result is an important book that is only too much to handle for evangelical Christians who wish to act as though abuse is not a reality in conservative circles.

As a book, this multi-author volume includes a wide range of helpful, thought-provoking chapters, including first-person accounts by veterans of abuse who have personally overcome their situations, batterers who have altered their behavior, analyses of the roles of regret, forgiveness, hope, faith-based empowerment, empathy letters and other consciousness-raising techniques, theological reflections, and many other helpful sections.

As a manual, the book contains hands-on discussions detailing what domestic violence is and is not, advice on how to identify abusers and how to detect, counsel, rescue, and empower those in abusive situations, statistics profiling the age, ethnicity, education level, alcohol use, etc., of abusers, the differences in perception between victims and abusers (particularly in one excellent section of chapter 7, “Understanding Male Batterers Accounts of their Behavior”), how ignorance in child-rearing can lead to abuse, what to expect in court, in batterers’ groups, in therapy, and an illuminating chapter entitled, “What I Wish Pastors had Known When I was Looking for Help,” that contains advice eye-opening to anyone in a position of power.

 As a resource, the book contains extensive bibliographic references and discusses various organizations addressing domestic abuse and other related issues inside and outside the United States (e.g., Faithlink, the Rave Project, COSA, COSLAA, S-Anon, Al Anon, Faithful and True Ministries [which addresses sexual addictions], United States Agency One Program, and many others).

 One of the most attractive aspects is how uniformly this volume is well-written, fluid, and accessible.  The editors, being both professors and journal editors, have drawn from years of experience to do the hard work of polishing the text. The result is a treasury from which a wealth of fresh and unexpected insights emerges. For example, chapter 10 targets the acronym J.O.Y. (“Jesus, Others, and You”), counseling, “I maintain that this song and other teachings like it has created generations of Christians who have difficulty with self-care and end up in abusive or addictive relationships” (143). Chapter 1 objects, “Domestic violence is not an anger problem. Therefore the commonly prescribed ‘anger management’ classes for the abuser will not help. In fact, longitudinal research shows that abusers can be just as violent (or even more violent!) when they are calm” (17). As one can see, this book is well thought out and grounded on professional research and experience.

 Does this valuable resource lack anything? Yes, an index is sorely needed to sift through and locate so much helpful information. Hopefully, it will be added in a future edition. 

The book has one more dimension that sets it apart. It is a festschrift; that is, a tribute volume to the “life and work” (vii) of Dr. Catherine Kroeger, principal founder of both Christians for Biblical Equality (CBE) and Peace and Safety in the Christian Home (PASCH).  Cathie’s legacy through research, such as books as this one, the continuing contribution of her organizations, and her individual impact on countless lives has revealed her to be one of the outstanding evangelical statespersons of the mid-twentieth to early twenty-first centuries. Appropriately, her tribute volume is powerful, deeply moving, and enormously helpful to anyone who cares for those who may be struggling with the silent terror—domestic abuse.  This book should be available in every Christian home, church, and parachurch organization.

Rev. Dr. William David Spencer is editor of Priscilla Papers, the academic journal of Christians for Biblical Equality (CBE), the author or editor of ten books, including Global Voices in Biblical Equality: Women and Men Serving Together in the Church (Wipf & Stock, House of Prisca and Aquila Series, 2008) and the forthcoming Marriage at the Crossroad (IVP, 2009), founding pastor of encouragement at Pilgrim Church, Beverly, MA, and an adjunct associate professor of theology and director of the Athanasian Scholars program and co-director of the Africanus Ph.D. Research Guild for Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary’s Center for Urban Ministerial Education (CUME) on its Boston Campus.