Rev. Steven Lange
Tuesday, Jan 24
3:15 – 4:30 pm
Compassion, Care, and Christ
As many as one in four women and one in six men have experienced sexual abuse. That means that survivors of sexual abuse are sitting next to us in our pews, teaching our children in our classrooms, and preaching to us from our pulpits. They often suffer silently and unseen, carrying deep spiritual and emotional wounds, overwhelmed by shame, and wondering if any safe place exists for them to tell their story and find healing.
This session will help called workers, ministry leaders, and lay members understand how they can be the safe place that survivors need. It will also provide a safe place for survivors of sexual abuse to come, know they’re not alone, and be assured that there is healing in Jesus. We will explore how to care for survivors with theological clarity and Christlike gentleness so that they feel safe, seen, and valued. We’ll discuss collaborating with mental health professionals to support survivors on their healing journey. Above all, we will focus on the good news we have to share with survivors: What happened to them does not define them. Jesus defines them. In Jesus, they are whole, loved, redeemed, and never alone.
Rev. Steven Lange is a child of God; husband to Krista; father to three grown children; pastor of Hope in Louisville, Ky.; and a survivor of childhood sexual abuse. He is in the fifth year of his journey of healing from the devastating effects of that abuse. He knows what it is to suffer in silence, and he knows the healing that comes from finding his identity in Jesus. He continues to live the struggle day by day, grateful that in Jesus he is safe and he is enough. He has worked with Freedom for the Captives, a WELS ministry that provides child abuse prevention resources and support for survivors of abuse. He is the author of Free from Shame: A Biblical Study of Human Sexuality, an upcoming Bible study and book from Northwestern Publishing House.
