1.1 Safeguarding as shepherding and holy duty

Safeguarding is one of the practical ways a shepherd “keeps watch”. It is not separate from ministry; it is one of the ways ministry remains ministry.

A shepherd does not only feed the sheep. A shepherd also does these things:

• notices who is limping, fearful, isolated, or being driven away
• refuses to ignore wolves simply because they are charming
• refuses to leave the vulnerable to fend for themselves
• acts before the situation becomes catastrophic
• stays accountable to the flock’s true owner (God), not to human fear or human praise

A recurring temptation in ministry is to treat safeguarding as something “administrative” that interrupts “real spiritual work”. This is a false division. It usually ends with the vulnerable paying the cost of the Church’s comfort.

Safeguarding is part of holiness because it is part of love. Love is not sentimental. Love protects. Love tells the truth. Love refuses complicity. Love does not trade a person’s safety for a leader’s reputation.

A Church that safeguards well becomes a place where:

• disclosure is met with calm seriousness
• the vulnerable are not treated as troublemakers
• leaders are not placed above accountability
• truth is honoured even when it is costly
• prevention is valued, not mocked as “lack of faith”
• justice and mercy are held together rather than set against each other

A Church that safeguards poorly becomes a place where:

• victims/survivors learn that silence is safer than truth
• offenders learn that charm and status are shields
• witnesses learn that speaking up is punished
• the community becomes trained in denial
• the vulnerable are spiritually harmed twice: first by abuse, then by betrayal

Safeguarding is therefore part of the Church’s witness. It is also part of the Church’s repentance.