Since 2018, hashtags and stories of sexual violence have appeared in all sectors of life from Hollywood to the Olympics; from politics to religion; from universities to seminaries; and among pentecostals. But amidst all these stories of sexual abuse and assaults, one may wonder if any stories of healing from sexual violence exist. If so, what does healing look like, particularly among pentecostals who believe in divine healing? Is it a single prayer of faith or a conglomeration of healing factors?
I am excited to announce the future release of the book See My Body, See Me: A Pentecostal Perspective on Healing from Sexual Violence from Pickwick Publications that addresses this very question. Some of you may recall that I previously made public (see posts on March 8, 2022 & March 18, 2021) my embarking on a research project for which I requested potential participants for a qualitative study. I am pleased to inform you that the manuscript for this project is now complete and has been submitted to the publisher. If you are a Christian, be it clergy, faculty, counselor, church leader, or lay person, who desires to companion with survivors and/or help provide a safe place for survivors to heal within our churches, this book may be for you.
With a foreword from Classical Pentecostal scholar Kimberly Ervin Alexander, See My Body, See Me systematically examines the healing stories of eight pentecostal survivors and the experiences of five pentecostal licensed counselors. It then combines these experiences (of both males and females) with Scripture (1 Corinthians), theology, psychology, and culture to provide a pentecostal perspective on healing from sexual violence. This practical theological volume, which may be classified as a genuine pentecostal work, is divided into two parts, both of which contain the threads of story, body, and healing. The first section describes four qualities of the healing journey of pentecostal survivors, including the impact of trauma and the importance of the survivor to tell the story. The second offers three historical pentecostal healing praxes of listening, waiting, and learning.
See My Body, See Me is an invitation for pentecostals to participate in Christ’s healing ministry to see, hear, and believe survivors. God sees, hears, and believes survivors. Let us, as Christ’s body, participate, in God’s ministry to survivors by seeing, hearing, and believing them.
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