Article on role of apology in forgiveness and restitution published

November 2, 2007
Contact: Paul K. Logsdon, Director of Public Relations and Publications, (417) 865-2815 ext. 7292

Springfield, Mo. — An article about the role of apology in forgiveness and restitution, co-written by Eloise Thomas and Dr. Geoffrey Sutton, will be published in the Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health.

“Religious leadership failure: Forgiveness, apology, and restitution” will be published in Vol. 10 (4) in 2008.

When leaders fail to meet expectations, they often issue apologies. When such events occur within a religious community such as a church, congregants respond in diverse ways. The authors reviewed the recent research on forgiveness with a focus on apologies.

“Surprisingly, although there are many writers who have opinions about apologies, there are few studies to define what constitutes an effective apology,” said Sutton. “Not surprisingly, the few studies that exist show that people are more willing to forgive when leaders apologize.”

The evidence is not clear on how effective it is to make an offer of restitution or even what may constitute an adequate restitution, added Sutton.

Both Thomas and Sutton are alumni of Evangel University.

Thomas earned a master’s degree in clinical psychology from Evangel in 2006. She was recently hired as a full-time faculty member in psychology at Ozarks Technical Community College while completing a second master’s degree in marriage and family counseling at the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary.

Sutton, a licensed psychologist with 30 years of experience in psychology and counseling, is a 1972 Evangel graduate. He earned his Ph.D. in psychology from Missouri University-Columbia in 1981 and has taught at Evangel University since 2001. His current research interests focus on relationships in faith communities, including concepts of forgiveness and restoration. He provides seminars and workshops to faith-based organizations.

The reference for their manuscript follows:

Thomas, E. & Sutton, G. W. (2008) Religious leadership failure: Forgiveness, apology, and restitution. Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health, 10 (4). The link to the journal’s web site http://www.haworthpress.com/store/product.asp?sku=J515

For additional information, contact Eloise Thomas at (417) 343-9884 or Dr. Geoffrey Sutton at (417) 865-2815 ext. 8610.