Resources

Here are some resources that have been collected:

Books

Something's Not Right by Wade Mullen - Book on how corrupt organizations operate
Wolves Among Lambs: My Story of Sexual Abuse & Cover-ups In The Church

Articles

"Opinion when gossip is not" - https://julieroys.com/opinion-when-gossip-is-not/
"Why is it sinful for a church to cover up abuse?" - https://www.gotquestions.org/church-abuse-cover-up.html
"Tactics of Manipulators" - https://thecultishshow.com/blog/tactics-of-manipulators-guide

Podcasts

Rise & Fall of Mars Hill - Strikingly similar to the culture of Vision.
Decoding the Tactics of Abuse - Perfect description of VBM culture

Cult Recovery Resources

Parallel Stories

"There is no temptation, but such as is common to man..." and the culture of VBM is by no means uncommon, unfortunately. While VBM is a small organization, with relatively few people involved (which makes the number of people that have spoken out more shocking), more popular leaders and organizations have have their stories told in great detail.

Familiarity with these similar stories can help flesh out these types of cultures for a reader who may not have first-hand experience with the sly practices of these types of leaders.

SBC Sexual Abuse Investigative report - Very similar response to VBM's handling of things.

“Our investigation revealed that, for many years, a few senior EC leaders, along with outside counsel, largely controlled the EC’s response to these reports of abuse ... and were singularly focused on avoiding liability for the SBC,” the report said.

“In service of this goal, survivors and others who reported abuse were ignored, disbelieved, or met with the constant refrain that the SBC could take no action due to its polity regarding church autonomy – even if it meant that convicted molesters continued in ministry with no notice or warning to their current church or congregation,” the report added.

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