Day 7: When Speaking on Behalf of God is Risky
Josh Dowton, Executive Pastor at Northside Baptist Church, shares how being in church leadership is risky if it becomes a form of control and coercion.
Where all are safe.
Working together for God’s vision made present.
GERSHON NIMBALKER
For far too many of us, the horror of coercive control in domestic and family violence hits close to home. We have felt its devastating impact on our friends, family or in our own homes. It’s heart wrenching that despite all the progress in modern Australia, the problem remains prolific.
At Common Grace, we yearn for a world free from the scourge of violence. We believe that all people, and all creation flourish when relationships reflect the love and wholeness God intends for them. This flourishing arises not just from our interpersonal relationships, but our relationship with communities including church and government, as well as our relationship to creation and God. When we are in right relationship, injustice fades while peace, safety and joy blossom. (Genesis 1, Proverbs 31:8, Luke 10:25-37, Galatians 5:13-26, Acts 2:42-7).
Within the household, our relationships should be the place where our most intimate needs are met, where we feel safe and loved, and where we are supported to learn and grow. Domestic violence is a terrible shattering of this ideal. But its presence and prevalence can be impacted not just by relationships at home, but also by the relationships between ourselves and the communities around us, including with church and government. Churches at their worst, can amplify the risks and extend the length of abuse, and at their best can be powerful places of protection and prevention. Likewise, governments can create systems that increase the likelihood of violence, or they can act to protect women from perpetrators, provide pathways to safety and work to shape a culture that is centred on dignity and respect.
As a movement of Christians then, we have the power to move the needle towards an Australia that is free from domestic violence. We can personally embody the love, gentleness and self-control that Jesus calls us to while acting to see our churches become places of safety and our governments agents of progress.
A recent example of people working together to make a difference, comes from the work of Anne Summers. Her research revealed that 60% of single mothers are survivors of domestic violence and that one of the greatest barriers to leaving violent relationships is the prospect of poverty. A broad coalition advocated around her findings and the government responded by increasing access to the single parenting payment, ensuring more financial support was available to mothers who had a child under the age of 14 and providing 57,000 more people access to this support straight away. This change means fewer women now must choose between violence and poverty.
Though each and every instance of domestic violence is a tragedy, there is much to celebrate in the progress that is being made. Since 1980, the rate of women falling victim to intimate partner homicide has decreased by a massive 70%—a hopeful reminder that the last few decades have seen enormous progress on this issue.
Graph: Female victims of intimate partner homicide, 1989–90 to 2022–23
Source: Family, Domestic and Sexual Violence from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
Tremendous change is possible, in fact it is already happening.
We can join together, and work alongside God to realise God’s vision of a world where all are safe. Join us at Common Grace as we work to see this vision realised today.
Go Deeper
Where in your relationships have you experienced justice blossom?
How might you go about pursuing the safety and flourishing of people in your home and community?
Would you prayerfully consider joining Common Grace to work towards calling on our national government to bring further progress towards ending domestic violence?
Please support Common Grace's Domestic and Family Violence Justice work.
Gershon Nimbalker joined Common Grace as the National Director in June 2022. He is well known and deeply respected across the Christian social justice and aid sector in Australia, having worked for more than 15 years in advocacy, policy and research, as well as leading and growing grassroots movements to campaign on issues of social justice. During his time as the Advocacy Manager for Baptist World Aid Gershon helped lead the development of Baptist World Aid's Ethical Fashion Report and the Electronic Industry Trends Report. Gershon has also more recently been founder and Managing Director of Sojourners Social Change Consultants, working with numerous Christian development organisations both in Australia and overseas.
About the series
Confronting Coercive Control is Common Grace's daily blog series during 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, 25 November to 10 December 2024.
Encourage your friends, family and faith community to sign up here.
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The following Domestic and Family Violence support services are available:
- 1800 RESPECT National Helpline: 1800 737 732
- Women’s Crisis Line: 1800 811 811
- Men’s Referral Service: 1300 766 491
- Lifeline (24 hour crisis line): 131 114
- 13 YARN (Aboriginal Mob): 13 92 76
- Emergency: 000
