How it all began … “Unfortunately, my story is not very unusual. No explicit sensational descriptions distinguish my experiences of sexual abuse as more or less than someone else’s. I am a survivor, perhaps like you. It is a tragic reality. But I have come to understand this: I am more than the abuse. It has scarred me, but I am more. I despise what I had to work though to come to that conclusion, but I am glad I know it.” “The sexual abuse I experienced as a child launched me on a journey - a quest to move beyond what was done to me. The surprising destination was a life altering encounter with God… surprising because I wanted nothing to do with him. My abuser used God in order to use me. In my confusion, I held God responsible for my abuse. I despised church. I despised people. I despised God. In many ways, my spirit was as damaged as the rest of me. I became dark and overwhelmed - so much so that I thought suicide was the only way to find relief.” “But God placed an obstacle in my way and interrupted my plans for self destruction. As if a curtain was drawn back to expose the lies I believed, I began to separate the acts of an abuser from the acts of God. I found a place of understanding. I found a Savior who, like me, carried shame that was not his own. I found an Activist willing to march through darkness to show me light. Ultimately, I found freedom. In turn, that quest for freedom eventually led to the development of Committed to Freedom Ministries for survivors of childhood sexual abuse.”

Sallie Culbreth is the founder and executive director of Committed to Freedom Ministries, which offers retreats, seminars, and resources for survivors of childhood/adolescent sexual abuse. She has written the story of her childhood abuse in a book entitled Despising the Shame. She has also written The Uncaged Project - Soul Stategies to Rise Above a Wounded Childhood, and several other resources.

She holds a bachelor's degree in Pastoral Ministries from Southwestern University and has formally studied the issues of sexual abuse at a graduate level. She is an ordained minister, member of the American Association of Christian Counselors (AACC), was a national faculty member for Tuning Point, and is trained as a Critical Incident Stress Management Counselor.

She married her husband, Tim Culbreth, in 1973. He is the Executive Director of Teen Challenge of Arkansas. Working with her husband, she authored Committed to Freedom Curriculum for Teen Challenge International, which has been translated into several languages. She and Tim have two adult children and one grandchild.