Yesterday, one of the members of our A-Team asked me what I thought about the news article of the 13 year old autistic teen who was “kicked out of church!” This event occurred over a year ago, but it is still within the court system. He asked me what I thought about how the media handled this situation, and what would we do as we have a somewhat similar situation within our own church. Though our child is currently 10.
I feel the church offered many options and they said the restraining order was a last resort. What do you do when you have a child/teen/adult who is a threat to the other children/people who attend your church?
Our A-team member said, “You would have to handle that very tenderly.”
This is an issue that the church body needs to address. We are a small congregation with limited resources. I came from a very large church with great resources including a class called “The Friendship class” which is geared towards children/adults with special needs. However, they too have their limits when it comes to the safety of the other people within the church.
We work hard to protect our children from harm due to predators, machinery, and automobiles in the parking lot. How do we protect them from a child whose impulses are to punch, bite, kick, swear, or yell at them?
How do you bring the message of the Gospel to that particular individual while maintaining an environment for other people to receive the same message?
Tough questions that need wise answers.
