Bøker av Christa Brown

It began with just wanting to tell the truth. But truth-telling has a way of snowballing.When Christa Brown first spoke out about the sexual abuse she endured in her Texas childhood church, she never imagined it would expose the ethical chasm at the core of the Southern Baptist Convention: male religious leaders so focused on institutional protection that they sacrifice the safety of children.A book about speaking out and speaking up, Baptistland weaves together Christa's revealing story of hope amid Southern patriarchy and religious fundamentalism. You'll meet the young Christa who endures family dysfunction, the trauma of bodily desecration, and the death blows of a gaslighting church and faith community. Then you'll meet the Christa who finds her voice and rises above the limited expectations of her given culture, taking tiny step after tiny step toward a life filled with goodness.Ultimately, Christa Brown transforms into a vivid tree of life, rooted in love, individuality, and beauty. But it was unrelenting honesty, to herself and others, that guided her to this ordinary paradise. Baptistland speaks to the power of truth-telling-for ourselves, our relationships, and our institutions.

As a child, in Farmers Branch, Texas, Christa Brown was preyed upon by her youth minister. Then her church community, people she thought were her friends, betrayed her. She was treated as a seductress while, in their eyes, he remained a good, God-honoring man. Trusted authority figures told her to pray for forgiveness and keep quiet.Years later, having a teenage daughter of her own made Christa realize that what she'd always thought of as an "affair" was actually something much more sinister-abuse.Christa spent decades suffering from the repercussions of her childhood trauma before deciding to break her silence. The story shared in this book is a call for accountability within the Southern Baptist Convention. It highlights the denomination's alarming inaction and downright punishing of victims. Brown's fight for justice casts the Church's widespread culture of denial, the negligence of denominational leaders, and the harmful impact of their "do-nothingness" in stark relief.This is not just about one man's crime, but about an institutional failure affecting thousands.In the fifteen years since its initial publication, the need for institutional reform remains pressing, as Southern Baptist leaders continue to evade meaningful action. This Little Light is both a call to action and a testament to the enduring power of truth.Brown is also the author of Baptistland: A Memoir of Abuse, Betrayal and Transformation.