Color Me Butterfly

It should come as no surprise that Domestic Violence is one of the most silenced issues in our society.  We don’t talk about it in our families, we ignore it in our schools, we’re too embarrassed to discuss it in the workplace, we pacify it in our judicial system, and we shun it in the most high place – a place where we should be able to discuss and address almost anything -- Our Churches!

The foundation of all major human rights, women’s rights, and children’s rights began at the pulpit.  If we are ever going to put a dent in the severity of domestic violence and someday eradicate it all together, we must address it in the place where the highest number of people commune and congregate and have the power to move mountains.  The fact that there is this unsaid rule about discussing certain serious matters in the church in order to avoid upheaval is limiting our ability for healing and growth.

I’m sure we all have come across a news story or two where some church or pastor or member was involved in a domestic violence dispute.  Clearly if domestic violence is a force to be reckoned with within our churches, then we can no longer afford the nicety of ignoring that IT exists.  We must break the chains of silence in the pulpit!  And the only way to do this is to have an ‘open door policy’ at the pulpit.  We must begin to embrace it like we’ve never embraced anything else.

Did you know that nearly four women are murdered everyday as a result of domestic violence?  Meaning everyday some poor women is stripped from her family because of an enraged boyfriend or husband.  And the ironic thing is that these women are memorialized in our churches, and I can’t fathom the idea that when a church funeralizes a victim, that some uproar doesn’t occur that sends that church knocking for justice.  We can no longer just preach at the pulpit on the day of the funeral then turn a blind eye.  If four women are murdered everyday in the U.S. alone, then somebody in the church has to stand up and say NO MORE!

When I write, I come from a place of personal experience.  A place where my family has endured 60+ years, starting in the early 1940’s until now; and still I can’t believe that we, as a society, is still wrestling with a phenomenon that kills women and children; that we still have not addressed this issue in the masses.  I personally believe, that if we are ever going to make a difference and put a dent in domestic violence, we must – we are behooved – to start in a place that will make all the difference – a place of worship and cause – Our Churches!