Currently writing "The Gospel of Goodbye: what death teaches us about holding on, letting go, and everything in between
Featured: NPR, PBS, WaPo, NYT, Cosmopolitian, & more! Featured on NPR's Morning Edition, PBS News Hour, WaPo, NYT, Fort Worth Star Telegram, Dallas Morning News, D Magazine, Houston Chronicle - Abuse of Faith, Cosmopolitan and many other local news and radio. Anne Marie Miller i
s a registered nurse, public speaker and the author of several books on the topics of sexuality, health, addiction, and leadership. She and her daughter live in the Dallas/Fort-Worth metroplex where Anne is pursuing a degree in psychiatric nursing and her daughter is pursuing memorizing all 50 states while mastering the monkey bars at a nearby park. Anne Marie Miller is an American public speaker and author who writes on topics such as trauma and PTSD, faith, sexuality, and psychology and is pursuing a degree in psychiatric nursing. Miller released her book Mad Church Disease – Overcoming the Burnout Epidemic(Zondervan) in February 2009. She contributed to a number of magazines and blogs, and she was a Compassion International advocate. In December 2009, author Seth Godin released an eBook titled What Matters Now in which Anne was a contributor. Permission to Speak Freely: Essays and Art on Fear, Confession and Grace, published by Thomas Nelson, in 2010. In 2014, she re-released Mad Church Disease: Healing from Church Burnout and Beating Burnout: A 30 Day Guide to Hope and Health. Her fourth book, Lean on Me: Finding Intentional, Vulnerable and Consistent Community, published October 7, 2014, by Thomas Nelson. Her fifth book, 5 Things Every Parent Needs to Know About Their Kids and Sex released May 17, 2016, with Baker Publishing. Her sixth book, Healing Together: A Guide to Supporting Sex Abuse Survivors published on October 15, 2019, with Zondervan/HarperCollins. Miller is presently attending Texas Tech University Health and Sciences Center pursuing an Advanced Practice Primary Mental Health Specialist (PMHNP) or a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner in Forensic Nursing. She is a clinic coordinator and quality improvement graduate within a local hospital system in the Dallas area.[3] Miller and her daughter live in Fort Worth, Texas
SEXUAL ABUSE ADVOCACY AND CRIMINAL CASE
In 1996, Miller was sexually assaulted by Southern Baptist seminary student Mark Aderholt at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary at the age of 16, though she did not recognize or report the abuse until in her twenties due to guidance of untrained biblical counselors in her home SBC church. Miller's public report was key in the Southern Baptist Convention and International Mission Board investigating and updating of their policies on sexual abuse and misconduct. The IMB originally covered up the abuse by not reporting it to the authorities in 2007, when they determined Aderholt "more likely than not" abused Miller and that he was "not truthful" with the IMB, Miller, or to his family. Aderholt resigned from the IMB with no consequence and was allowed to pastor in large churches until he became an executive with the South Carolina Baptist Convention which oversees 2000 churches. Aderholt volunteered with children during this time and was financially supported by local churches to lead mission trips, some alone, to rural parts of Asia with no direct oversight. On July 2, 2018, Aderholt was arrested at his home by US Marshalls where he was extradited to Texas and charged with three felonies including sexual assault of a child under 17 in Tarrant County, Texas. On December 19, 2018, Aderholt was indicted on three counts of indecency with a child under 17 by contact and sexual assault of a child under 17 due to the Grand Jury finding more evidence of crime and therefore adding a fourth charge. The Tarrant County's District Attorney was preparing for trial when a plea deal was proposed by the defense at the final docket before the motion to set a trial date was established. After extensive consideration, the District Attorney's office, with Miller's input, agreed to allow the deal proposed by the defense. Aderholt pleaded guilty to a fifth and lesser charge of Assault Causing Bodily Injury on July 2, 2019. He faced maximum sentencing, though, after 24 months of successful deferred adjudication, his record was expunged. He was sentenced to 30 days in jail (plus additional time served previously on his arrest), a $4000 fine, and 2 years probation with a no-contact order protecting Miller and her daughter. Miller has since communicated that she somewhat regrets her decision to accept the deal and would have preferred to go to trial in the end. Miller states, "While I think we all can agree that Mr. Aderholt is not facing the criminal penalty he should be, the DA’s office asked for my input and wishes during plea negotiations. This included taking into consideration the emotionally charged prospect of a jury trial, facing a relentless and brutal cross-examination by his defense attorney and the impact of a trial on my family." According to the Fort Worth Star Telegram, who originally broke the story of Miller's abuse and cover-up by the Southern Baptist Convention, Samantha Jordan, the communications officer in the Office of Tarrant County Criminal District confirmed that Miller read a "passionate" victim impact statement as she faced Aderholt at his sentencing and Miller wanted was to "hear him say that he was guilty, which she was able to do as he said guilty twice, due to his first inaudible attempt." The article also reported that "Miller also told Aderholt that she had forgiven him and was moving forward with her life. Other than pleading guilty in the hearing, Aderholt made no other statements. He was very flushed but he didn't show any emotion at any time," Jordan said. Anne Marie Miller was named one of the 10 women who are changing the Southern Baptist response to abuse by Christianity Today.
