What Does Reconciliation Mean for Sexual Abuse Survivors? (Rachael and Jacob Denhollander)

Episode Summary

This week, Rachael and Jacob Denhollander joined the podcast to discuss what reconciliation and restoration can look like following horrific abuse. Rachael Denhollander, a lawyer and former gymnast, rose to international prominence in 2016 when she became the first woman to publicly denounce and pursue criminal charges against former USA Gymnastics’ team doctor Larry Nassar, who sexually abused more than 500 girls and women. Rachael authored What Is a Girl Worth?, which explores her story in depth.

In cases of abuse and sexual misconduct within the church, Christians can become fixated on forgiving and forgetting, and fear what will happen if the church gets bad press. But God will continue preserving His church, hence our job is not to protect the church from critique; it is to pursue justice. Failure to do so systemically enables sexual abuse. Justice and reconciliation must go hand in hand.

Chapters

    • 0:26 Is forgiveness necessary for reconciliation?

    • 6:41 Returning to a proper understanding of God’s justice

    • 11:49 There’s a cost to caring

    • 17:32 The spirit of humility

    • 20:25 Sexual violence and the church

    • 27:04 God’s justice

    • 31:40 How do we restore what was broken?

    • 34:11 Complicit organizations—can you forgive an organization?

Tweetable: “The church has an obligation to pursue justice because that’s who God is.”

Transcripts are AI generated and are not guaranteed to correctly reflect the content of the podcast.
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Rachael and Jacob Denhollander

Rachael Denhollander is an attorney, author, advocate, and educator who is recognized as a leading voice on the topic of sexual abuse. She became known internationally in 2016 as the first woman to pursue criminal charges and speak publicly against USA Gymnastics’ team doctor Larry Nassar, one of the most prolific sexual abusers in recorded history. In 2019 she published an autobiographical account of her experience entitled, What is a Girl Worth?: My Story of Breaking the Silence and Exposing the Truth about Larry Nassar and USA Gymnastics.For her work as an advocate and educator on sexual assault, Rachael was named one of TIME Magazine’s “100 Most Influential People in the World” and one of Glamour Magazine’s “Women of the Year” in 2018. Additionally, she received the “Inspiration of the Year” award from Sports Illustrated, was a joint recipient of ESPN’s “Arthur Ashe Courage Award,” and was named a “Michiganian of the Year” by the Detroit News, along numerous other awards and recommendations.Rachael lives in Louisville, Kentucky with her husband Jacob and their four young children.Jacob Denhollander is a member of Reformed Baptist Church of Louisville, where he is the only member who watches hockey. Jacob is also a PhD student in Systematic Theology at Southern Seminary, and intends to return to Western Canada upon the completion of his degree.

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