Interview: Forgiveness First, Restoration Later: Pastor Responds to Recanted Hair-Cutting Account

By amazon Wednesday, October 2, 2019 Comment Edit

The incident is a chance for students to demonstrate gospel reconciliation and for leaders to take a deeper look at racial dynamics among the diverse student body.

Last week Immanuel Christian School in Springfield, Virginia, found itself in the national news for all the wrong reasons. Amari Allen, a sixth grade student, claimed that three of her classmates attacked her on the playground, held her down, called her names, and cut her hair.

Then she recanted her story, acknowledging that she fabricated the story, though she says she has been bullied at school. In a statement released to the Washington Post, Allen’s grandparents said, “To those young boys and their parents, we sincerely apologize for the pain and anxiety these allegations have caused.”

With the retraction, the K-10 school, whose student body is nearly half (48%) nonwhite, has mostly faded from the national spotlight. But now, the school is working to address any bullying that may have taken place despite its zero-tolerance policy toward such behavior and to explore what could have led one of their own to fabricate such an account.

In the words of Immanuel Christian’s principal, “We recognize that we now enter what will be a long season of healing. This ordeal has revealed that we as a school family are not immune from the effects of deep racial wounds in our society.”

Immanuel Christian School is a ministry of Immanuel Bible Church and shares facilities with the Baptist congregation. About a third of the families enrolled in the school are church members. CT spoke with Jesse Johnson, the church’s lead teaching pastor, about how the incident has offered the student body an opportunity to express forgiveness, work towards restoration, and deepen gospel discussions around race and racism.

In your view as a pastor, what does healing look like in this situation?

Healing begins with repentance ...