Sheep will not remain still and get rest in the presence of a predator. When watchmen fail to remove the possibility of contact with a known predator, how can a survivor sit still, learn, heal, grow? Short answer, they won’t. Families, Churches, and Youth organizations need to know this and put good watchmen in place to protect those who are vulnerable in their midst.

Psalm 23

1The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.^a
3He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness^b
for his name’s sake.

4Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,^c
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

5You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6Surely^d goodness and mercy^e shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell^f in the house of the LORD
forever.^g

The best watchman found in scripture is the Lord himself (John 10). Looking at the first three verses of Psalm 23 one can see that the shepherd shows care for the sheep before anything concerning or questionable. In verse four it depicts the shepherd leading the sheep through a concerning place with the shepherd comforting the sheep on the journey through it. Then in verses five and six care is conveyed again.

When in the presence of a known predator, survivors are re-victimized. The predator and their flying monkeys go to work defending the indefensible. This is used to make those who take issue with the predator appear to be unreasonable.  This is a combination of techniques used by predators:  gaslighting, smear campaign, and the flying monkey. We need good watchmen to stand in the way of these practices. By doing so the watchman is giving the survivor green pasture and still waters, where they can rest, learn, heal, and grow. Does your family have good watchmen? Your church? If so great, are they training more?

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM). The theme each year is coordinated by the National Sexual Violence Research Center, and this year’s theme is, “Engaging new voices”.  The idea being that the more who are involved, the more powerful the movement to end sexual violence. We couldn’t agree more with this year’s theme.

The Ezekiel 33 Project continues to work to bring awareness and action to families dealing with the sexual abuse of children. Each family that takes a stand is a new voice engaged. We believe that the appropriate adjustment of attitude towards these crimes begins with individual families, and then those families impact their extended family, churches and the community organizations they are involved with. When a family makes the determination to learn about the tools that child molesters use, and the techniques that the molesters and their advocates employ to avoid prosecution, you have a family of good watchmen. That family will then impact other families and the organizations that they are affiliated with in a positive way.

To weed sexual abuse out of our communities, churches, and social circles we need to engage new voices. One way of, “Engaging new voices”, is to train more watchmen. We need those who are responsible, are willing to inconvenience self and others, and pay attention to the details. Consider what you are doing to put an end to sexual abuse in your circle of influence, and make the decision that you will be the good watchman.