We hope that you find these resources below helpful:
Telios Teaches: Investigation Training
Allegations of misconduct can create liability and destroy relationships. But a misconduct allegation handled well protects the innocent. To learn more about our manager-level training for how to steer your organization through an investigation, check out our training at Telios Teaches.
Investigations are complicated and messy, because they involve human behavior—both in the allegations and the investigative process. Here are some common questions about how the messiness plays out.
Our Book: Handling Allegations in a Ministry
When misconduct allegations arise, ministries must respond with wisdom and integrity. This guide helps pastors and leaders navigate investigations, protect victims, and uphold trust. Learn how to respond wisely, ensure safety, and preserve your ministry’s reputation.
More Resources and Blogs:
Theresa Sidebotham on Ministry Investigations: A TableTalk Podcast
In a TableTalk podcast hosted by the Hendricks Center, Kymberli Cook and Theresa Lynn Sidebotham discuss best practices for conducting investigations within churches and ministries, common mistakes to avoid, and how to ensure integrity and fairness throughout the process. Listen or watch here!
Investigations and Fair Process
Learn why fair and well-conducted investigations are crucial for maintaining trust and upholding core values in your organization.
Maintaining Complaint and Investigation Records: Best Practices and Legal Obligations
Strong document retention policies are essential, especially for workplace investigations and misconduct allegations. Get tips to protect your organization and those it serves.
Surviving A Crisis: Six Mistakes that Cost Lives (And How to Prevent Them)
Crisis management isn’t just about reacting—it’s about preventing disaster. Learn the six critical mistakes organizations make that cost lives and how you can avoid them. From natural disasters to workplace risks, get expert insights on proactive planning, employee safety, and risk management. Read more now.
Investigating Workplace Allegations: Why It's Important
Do you really need that workplace investigation? In many cases, the answer is absolutely “yes”…it may even be legally required. Read on to find examples of when “Yes, you should have an investigation!”
Being Prepared for Misconduct Allegations
When abuse or misconduct allegations hit, ministry leaders can be caught off guard. This op-ed emphasizes the need for proactive preparation, detailing essential steps like quick triage, safety plans, pastoral support, and clear communication to handle these crises effectively and maintain community trust.
Back to Basics: Preventing Child Sexual Abuse after #MeToo and Larry Nassar
Sexual harassment and abuse create tragic stories for individuals and organizations. How do we prevent abusive or harassing behavior by basic best practices?
Challenges for Third Culture Kids
Here’s a quick diagnostic—“Where are you from?” Can you answer that question without hesitation? There are 220 million people who live in countries that are not their own, many of whom are children. Those children are third culture kids (TCK). It’s called third culture because their culture is not the parent’s culture and it’s not the country’s culture. The term was coined in the 1950s and is as relevant today as ever. With globalization increasing and cultural barriers decreasing, the number of TCKs will continue to grow.
This excellent article by Mr. Sebastian Modak discusses the tendency of TCKs to observe and quickly adapt to local cultures, while never staying long enough in one place to belong. For TCKs, this leads to challenges including unresolved grief, questions about identity, rootlessness, and restlessness. Many of these traits and feelings continue throughout TCKs’ lives. Mr. Modak suggests that for TCKs, people are more important than the places they’ve lived, and that traveling to unfamiliar places often feels like home. To read this article in its entirety, click here.
Opening a Can of Worms: Investigations, Whistle-Blowing and Retaliation
Retaliation or whistle-blower lawsuits are the hottest thing in employment litigation, and missions should be aware of this. Good policies are important. Missions should encourage internal reporting of the violation of these policies, and have a well-defined investigation process. Leaders should also know how to avoid issues with retaliation, including how to deal with troublemakers.
Employee Discipline and Termination: Investigating After Dismissal
Allegations about a former employee could be completely new, or they may revisit allegations that were raised earlier. The principles that apply to other investigations are still used, though in a slightly different way...
Alleged Offenders Strike Back: Avoiding Defamation Claims in Sexual Misconduct Investigations
In the sexual assault or child sexual abuse arena, the alleged victim typically sues the organization for claims such as negligent supervision. Recently, we have seen more lawsuits by the alleged offenders. These lawsuits give some helpful principles for organizations to follow, and perhaps needed warnings.
Initial Concerns in Setting up an Investigation
A good investigation requires many complex skills that include managing the investigation, doing interviews, and making credibility determinations. A credibility determination requires the investigative team to analyze the facts and decide the truth of the matter, sometimes with conflicting evidence. The investigation must be done skillfully and must consider legal issues.
Practical Approaches and Consequences in Ambiguous Situations
As part of a dialogue between Theresa Sidebotham, Esq. and Dr. Brent Lindquist: "Brent, you propose two ways that an abuse investigation may not be clear-cut. The first is that you are not able to gather evidence. The second is that the evidence may be conflicting."
Handling an Allegation of Leadership Misconduct
"Although allegations of leadership misconduct are one of the hardest things for ministries to handle, they offer a great opportunity to seek truth and justice and to minister to people." ...from the official publication of the Christian Legal Society, The Christian Lawyer, Summer 2015 Issue
Case Exposes 12 Reasons to Have an Adequate Investigative Process
Recently, a court has allowed to go forward most of a case against the Roman Catholic Archbishop of San Francisco. The case alleges that the school did not investigate, refused to apply the ministerial exception defense, and did not find any formal religious decision-making process. What lessons can be learned here?
What Your Mission Needs to Know About Internal Investigations: Wrapping up the Investigation
Part Three of this three-part series on employment investigations for religious organizations addresses how to best handle the wrap-up of an investigation, including reporting the findings and taking remedial action.
Missteps in Internal Employment Investigation Prove Costly for Employer
This post cautions about what not to do in an internal employment investigation and provides four helpful tips to avoid mishandling a complaint of sexual harassment.
Listen to Bonus: #MeToo with Ashley Judd, Ronan Farrow, and Tarana Burke from WorkLife with Adam Grant in Podcasts
Listen to Adam Grant in this podcast as they discuss the #metoo movement with Ashley Judd, Ronan Farrow, and Tarana Burke. It underscores the idea of having a healthy organizational culture.
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