UR 137: Sexual Abuse in the Church — Boz Tchividjian

Tray and Melody are joined by Boz Tchividjian to discuss sexual abuse in the Church, grace and how we can assist in creating cultures of healing. God placed on his heart to take what you learn to train and equip his church to be the safest place for those who have been hurt to heal and for those that are doing the hurting. Boz, Tray and Mel discuss a topic that many people don’t want too discuss because it is messy and the victim has to live with the trauma for the rest of their lives.   Boz reflects back on how he ended up doing what it is he is doing and how after going to law school he wanted to be a prosecutor, but God really put the feeling of compassion for those who suffered from sexual abuse and through many experiences and situations he has found a passion at equipping the church to handle these issues head on.    Professor Boz Tchividjian is a former child abuse prosecutor who teaches Child Abuse and the Law and several other courses at Liberty Law. As a prosecutor for more than eight years, he created the first “Crimes Against Children” division at the office off the State attorney in the 7th Judicial Circuit of Florida. As a division chief, he was personally responsible for prosecuting hundreds of cases of child sexual abuse. He has spent in excess of 17 years using what he learned as a prosecutor to train and equip prosecutors, investigators, social workers, and medical personnel in handling various aspects of child sexual abuse cases.    Tchividjian is the founder and executive director of GRACE (Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment), an organization that educates and equips faith communities to correctly respond to sexual abuse disclosures, while providing practical guidance on how to protect children and serve survivors.   He was a columnist for Religion News Service serving as an expert on issues related to child abuse and child protection. His weekly column was focused on the intersection of abuse and faith communities. His columns can now be found at www.netgrace.org/blog   He has also written a mini book entitled, Protecting Children from Abuse at Church: Steps to Prevent and Respond. As well he has authored numerous law journal articles related to the issue of child sexual abuse. His article titled, “Catching American Sex Offenders Overseas: A Proposal for a Federal International Mandated Reporting Law,” was published in the spring 2015 edition of the University of Missouri-Kansas City Law Review.   He is the third eldest grandchild of Reverend Billy Graham and is the co-author of a book titled, Thank you, Billy.