Is Bethlehem Baptist Safe for Abuse Victims?

The Roys Report

Julie Roys

Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, Society & Culture, Christianity

4.6 • 714 Ratings

🗓️ 1 September 2021

⏱️ 58 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Guest Bios Show Transcript Natalie Hoffman spent more than 10 years at Bethlehem Baptist Church—the church where John Piper pastored for over 30 years. During that time, she says she was stuck in an abusive marriage. Yet rather than helping her, she says Bethlehem blamed and shamed her, and left her suicidal. On this edition of The Roys Report, Natalie Hoffman joins Julie to tell her story—an account that’s extremely relevant, given current events at Bethlehem.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Natalie Hoffman spent more than 10 years at Bethlehem Baptist Church, the church where John
0:04.7	Piper pastored for over 30 years. During that time, she said she was also stuck in an abusive
0:10.4	marriage, yet rather than helping her, she says Bethlehem blamed and shamed her and left her suicidal.
0:17.9	Welcome to the Roy's Report, a podcast dedicated to reporting the truth and restoring the
0:22.5	church. I'm Julie Roy's. And today, Natalie Hoffman joins me to tell her story, a story that's
0:28.4	extremely relevant given what's happening at Bethlehem right now. As you may know, three pastors
0:33.9	have resigned from the church, including Jason Meyer, the successor to John Piper.
0:38.8	About 10% of the church membership have left as well, and while the issues surrounding the exodus and upheaval at Bethlehem are complex,
0:46.7	one issue is consistently mentioned above the rest, a toxic culture that perpetuates and enables abuse.
0:54.4	The current abuse complaints surround a prominent professor at Bethlehem College and Seminary
0:58.9	and an elder at Bethlehem Baptist Church, Andy Nasselli.
1:03.2	If you've read my articles, you're aware that rather than commission an independent investigation
1:07.7	into the allegations of spiritual abuse concerning Andy, Bethlehem
1:11.7	College and Seminary conducted an internal investigation, and not surprisingly, they found
1:17.3	Andy innocent of the charges, a similar scenario played out at Bethlehem Baptist Church.
1:23.2	And now, those who say they've been wounded and abused at Bethlehem are crying foul. And that's why I think
1:28.7	Natalie's story is so eye-opening. It spans many years and reveals a truly shocking pattern of
1:34.9	behavior involving pastors, elders, and counselors at Bethlehem. And this isn't just any church.
1:41.3	This is a church and seminary that trains pastors and influences churches
1:45.9	worldwide. So I think this is a very important podcast, and I'm very much looking forward to
1:51.4	my conversation with Natalie. Also, according to Natalie, one out of three married women sitting
1:57.6	in an average conservative Christian church is in a confusing and painful marriage.
	...

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