The Devil Inside: How My Minister Father Molested Kids In Our Home And Church For Decades And How I Finally Stopped Him

by Jimmy Hinton

When Jimmy Hinton's sister confided in him that their own father had sexually abused her, Jimmy was both dismayed and spurred into action. His father, a respected minister in the community, was a predator who used his role behind the pulpit to secretly molest and abuse countless victims. Turning his father over to the police, Jimmy became a tireless advocate and voice for the victims. His pursuit of justice would eventually result in his father's confession and subsequent conviction.



Haunted by the discovery of his father's grotesque acts against children, Jimmy, also a pastor, worked to restore the very church where his dad had perpetrated such sickening acts. He was determined to protect others and nurture an environment of healing in the aftermath of abuse. Today he relentlessly studies and exposes the deception techniques that predators like his father used to molest, harm, abuse, and terrorize children. 



The Devil Inside is, hands down, the absolute must-read for every seminarian, seminary instructor, and church leader and volunteer out there...Hinton addresses head-on theological problems of redemption and forgiveness and care for others exactly as Jesus would have him do. He cares deeply for the abused and wounded, makes space for the truly repentant, and offers a chilling description of the wolf in sheep's clothing. 



--Christine Fox Paker, MA, MACM, President/Executive Director, PorchSwing Ministries, Inc.



In his book, The Devil Inside, Jimmy pulls no punches. He lays bare his soul and puts in black & white precisely why we should and how we can better defend children from sexual predators.



--Dave Pittman, Executive Director, Together We Heal

Child Safeguarding Trainer, GRACE



I recommend this compelling story of a minister's family forced to make a painful choice - protect their father or protect children from their father? 



--Abbie Fitzgerald Schaub, storyteller in "The Keepers" documentary 



The Devil Inside serves as a wake-up call for the church and seminaries - understanding abuse, how it happens, and prevention must be an integral thread in the church's fabric...This book is a must for every pastor, ministry leader, and seminary student.



--Joe Harvey-Hall, KeepSAfe Director, The Salvation Army



Jimmy writes about what he knows. And what he writes, you need to know for it may save those you love. Had I had this information years ago, my own family might have been spared the horror that destroyed us. This is a book that needs to be read by church leaders and church members alike!



--Les Ferguson Jr., Minister and author of Still Faith Renewed Through Brokenness

Genres: Religion, Leadership

146 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 16, 2021

Reviews

[Sara Fukuda · Rating 5 out of 5]

If it’s not obvious, this book would be extremely triggering.

BUT.

Very, very important content. Synopsis: author comes from an 11 kid family. Idolizes his father who is a preacher. Has an idyllic childhood, grows up and becomes preacher just like his father. And his whole world comes crashing down when his tearful adult sister slowly slides a letter to him across his desk at work one day. A letter detailing how their father abused her their entire childhood.
After that, the author reports his father to law enforcement. It turns out there are dozens and dozens of victims. After the fathers life sentence, the author becomes an abuse advocate and educator for churches, and continues to talk to his father, asking him HOW. How did he do such heinous things, and nobody knew? How did he keep up his pastor facade and gain access to countless little girls? How did he hide it? How did he pick kids who would never tell? How did he abuse in their own home? And then he takes those answers and that’s the point of this book.

He never gets super explicit about details of abuse, so it’s different from many other books on abuse in that way. But it’s such a HELPFUL book. He explains why he thinks a better word for “grooming” is actually “testing” and then he explains what that usually looks like. He explains some of the WHY churches need really clear cut policies about known sex offenders in the congregation, and his stance is controversial but he makes an excellent case for it. He had a whole chapter on deception, and it was very, very excellent.

I know I get eye rolls sometimes for how many abuse books I read and I seem to insist everyone needs to read every single one, but I definitely think this one is worth the time. (And it’s short.) it IS so lovely to read a book about someone who did the right thing even though it was SO hard (report his idol, his father to law enforcement) and who dug in when it was hard instead of leaving. I understand why so many who are abused in the church leave, because they were failed by the institution. But as someone who has stayed in the church, I appreciate stories that are like mine, and I hope we can help change bad church cultures and become the safest place for survivors, and the hardest place for pedophiles to find victims. Sadly, statistically right now churches are the easiest place for pedophiles to flourish, and most churches are very unsafe and unsupportive to survivors. I count myself extraordinarily lucky to be in a church that does the right thing with disclosures of abuse, but it was not always so.

[Suzanne Noakes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every pastor needs to read

Jimmy Hinton, speaking from experience, is showing how it's done. Unflinching. Stark. Unvarnished. Indespensible.

Churches who are just starting out or want to tune up their child protection policies can start here.

[Aaron Battey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book. Half of the book is about bringing awareness to the reality of abuse in the church. It is much more common than people let on or are cognizant of. Hinton explains that one of the main reasons for this is that abusers are already trusted members of our family or community, besides being wicked deceivers. The second to last chapter of his book talks about Theology and abuse. This was especially thought provoking. He details how many church leaders are aware of abusers in their own congregations but do not inform the membership of who those individuals are or that they even exist. I would encourage all members of the church to read this book and especially leaders.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every pastor and church leader needs to read this book.

When I attended seminary, we spent a lot of time learning Greek and Hebrew. We also practiced giving sermons and studied theology and church history. Now, I love reading theology and I think this all is valuable stuff (though, I’ve admittedly forgotten most of the Greek and Hebrew). Yet, in retrospect, it’s ironic we never discussed practical things such as how to spot predators, how to keep kids safe and what it means to be a mandated reporter.

Unfortunately, these issues were not on the radar twenty years ago in the way they are now. Hinton speaks of the same deficiency in his theological education. It was something he never really thought about until after he discovered his father, a preacher for decades, had molested dozens of children .

In this book, Hinton tells that tragic story. From this story, he goes on to talk about things pastors should look for and argues for how absolutely vital it is for church’s to make it a priority to keep kids safe. Too many churches think “it can’t happen here.” He even shares anecdotes of pastors telling him they keep secret the registered sex offenders who are at their church so such people won’t be ostracized. In all of this, Hinton asks why we sacrifice the safety of our children.

Its a short book that any and every pastor would benefit from reading.

[Martha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Important reading for all..

When this man discovered his family member was a child molester, he went to the police. It wasn’t easy. It wasn’t revenge. It was not unforgiving. Instead, he goes step by step, showing how to battle against child abuse, how to stop the cover up of abuse, even though the pain of it is horrific. This author is a brave man, willing to lay his personal story out for us, to help us learn from it.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could not put this book down!

I appreciate Jimmy Hinton and his stand.for.truth, righteousness, and justice. I listen to his podcast as well, but the book did a great.job of concisely explaining some of how abusers profile and what we as a church can do about it.


I hope.he writes another one!

[Kirsten stracke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whoa. Terrifying, heart-wrenching and desperately needed. This is the most comprehensive book out there on child sex abuse and the church. It is so rampant, and yet almost everyone is undereducated on the topic. Not just every parent or every pastor, but every church member should read this book.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative and eye-opening book that covers a very serious and difficult subject.

[Lynell Nissley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not exactly a fun read, but a very compelling and vitally important one. Jimmy also has some excellent videos on his website that are “must watches” for anyone who cares about children’s safety.

[Karen Wondercheck · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Must-Read for any Church Leader and for all Christians interested in the same mission as Jesus.

This book was excellent in attempting to understand why the current checklists are not good enough in seeking the safety of all children in churches from sexual abusers that prey on the nativity of Christians.

For someone that was hurt by the church, it is very validating on clarifying where theology gets so skewed, when Gods foundation is not filtered through justice and righteousness. Anyone can say they are a Christian, but the Bible warns there are wolves in the church that are only there to deceive, manipulate and gratify their own desires. It is imperative to know the difference and to be wise and extremely aware of this.

Jimmy shares glimpse of how abusers have good qualities as well which is why Jesus warned his disciples before sending them out to be as wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Jesus could see who was pretending to have genuine faith and repentance and who was only pretending.

When Jimmy cried out after venting to God about how He could allow the abuse to happen, he received an answer that serves as his mission today: “Where Were My People?” It should be all of those in the church’s mission, to protect the innocent and be aware of deceivers in the church and church community. Jesus was not naive and we don’t need to be either.

His last chapter on Hope was so good I re-read it several times. Jesus never invited oppressive abusers into his community of followers. His message was clear: righteousness and justice were the plumb-line for peace and order.

[Diana Hoekstra · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an important book this is. Every parent, church goer and pastor/elder should read this book. Abel and Harlow study revealed that 93% of sex offenders describe themselves as “religious” and that this category of offender may be the most dangerous. And because churches encourage grace and trust, they are essentially a predator’s playground. Jimmy is honest about dealing with the revelation that his father, a pastor, sexually abused some of his siblings and many, many other children in the church. As shaken to the core as he was to learn his hero was using his position of trust to sexually abuse children, Jimmy reported his father to police. He has lived this nightmare with his family and his church after learning his dad is a predator. He has lived this nightmare with his family and his church after learning his dad is a predator. Jimmy has dedicated his life to learning how pedophiles target victims and how to stop them. He has worked hard to learn predator tactics and what makes us vulnerable. Powerful knowledge comes from his unique position and access to an abuser. We would be wise to learn from his experience. Let’s protect our children and ourselves from these wolves. Again, everyone will benefit from this book!

[Joel Selby · Rating 5 out of 5]

A critical must-read

After a tragic abuse hit way too close to home last year, I discovered how staggering child abuse statistics are, and I heard a surprising amount of stories from family and church members about their own abuse stories. I’m dumbfounded by how seldom child abuse gets talked about, especially in our current age of growing advocacy. This is a critical issue that transcends issues of economics, race, and gender. I’m so happy to see Jimmy doing this work, and I only hope that this story galvanizes more people to do more for kids. I know it has for me.

[Denise Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're unfamilair with Jimmy Hinton, this is a great place to start (but don't let it end there, he has a website & a podcast that are fantastic).

The book takes you through his childhood, setting the stage so you could see that although his dad was abusing young children, his profile was a kind and fun-loving father, minister in the community. It is setting the stage so you can really understand how totally deceived he had everyone.

When Jimmy and his mother Clara reported him to the police, they didn't know what would happen. They just did what what right in order to protect other children, and try to see if the law would act justly. The fact that his dad received a sentence was right, but Jimmy dooesn't shy away from showing a piece of the hell his family went through because of it. They paid a steep price, even thought it was right.

But the bread and butter of this book is starts in Chapter 9, where he asks "Where Were You God"? The meat of the book then delves into why we (especially as Christians, but all of us adults) are called to be wise, learn the deception techniques of abusers. He asked how he could identify an abuser *before* they abused. He gives solid advice (and ways to learn more) for spotting them, being aware, so that we can protect our children, our grandchildren, our neighbors children. THIS is why you need this book.

I cannot recommend this highly enough. Bravo, Jimmy. And thank you.

[Catherine Brusk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. This was one intense read, and I can’t recommend it enough. I’m hoping for a second book following up on some of the subjects in Hinton’s podcast — How to spot an abuser, How to protect our children, Questions to ask, etc. Definitely appreciate the podcasts, but it would be awesome to be able to go back and remind myself of highlights instead of re-listening to the whole podcast.

Loved all the references to scripture that pastors so often skip over. I wish everyone in ministry would read this with an open mind and get Hinton’s training. What a world of difference it would make.

[Cassidy DeJong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Think sexual abuse doesn’t happen in the church? Then read this book. A heartbreaking account of the brokenness of people, and the hope that lies within. It is a short read, so you don’t need to dwell on this subject forever if you find it hard to read in terms of content, but it is so full of eye opening words. It also is not graphic at all which makes it much safer to read and think about.

He then goes on to give starting practical insight in how and why abusers do what they do, how they often get away with it and what the church should do.

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

We need more pastors like Jimmy Hinton

The Devil Inside was a powerful story about how the author not only reported his own father for molestation, but spent hours talking to him about how he found his victims. He shares some of how predators can be identified and most importantly, in my mind, why the church needs to be supporting the victims and not the predators.

I would recommend this as good reading for parents and for church leadership.

[Janice Hoffman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Worth the read

This book is worth the read. The author sets the tone by describing his happy childhood and then shared the painful revelation that all was not as it seemed to be. The information shared in the last part of the book is chilling yet such needed insight. I sincerely appreciate his stance on the need for churches to minister to the wounded sheep and completely cut off wolves instead of continuing to allow their deception and destruction.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone tasked with keeping a child safe should be required to read this book. Pastors, teachers, coaches, parents, youth leaders, etc. There’s not a lot of material out there explaining HOW predators gain access to children and abuse them. And it’s not the way the average person thinks it happens. This book exposes their camouflage. Especially in religious communities. A valuable resource.

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aspects of abuse rarely talked about

Learn how to protect innocent people in your churches and home by learning some of the deceptive and manipulative techniques of predators that can lurk among us. Dispel myths and denial and learn how to take action from someone that has learned from his own predator father.

[Christen Jeschke · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Devil Inside is a valuable, must-read for every parent, pastor, or leader. Jimmy Hinton writes with incredible strength and clarity in a powerful true story about protecting victims of abuse while driving out the wolves in our midst.

[Laurie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insightful

I learned so much. My heart breaks for victims that have been hurt by the the way the church handles these situations. I pray that there is a change happening as we better educate ourselves to the tactics of abusers.

[Emma Grace Blumer]

This was hard to read, yet full of truth and the sure hope that God is righteous and just. One of the things that will stick with me was God’s answer when Jimmy asked God, “Where were you?” …”Where were my people?”

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a perspective!

This book is definitely a shift in thinking and really makes you look at your theology and view of Jesus.

[Suzrocks · Rating 5 out of 5]

must read!

Every church goer and church leader should read. Just that in and of itself would decrease sexual abuse in the church by multitudes.