People are leaving the church and pastors wonder why. They are speaking the truth, right? It might have to do with the words they use and the tone in which they speak their words.

I join Christy Boulware on her podcast to kick off her new series on “Resilience in the Pews: Tackling Anxiety and Church Wounds. In this post I answer a few of the questions that she posed to me about spiritual abuse.

Many people suffer from spiritual abuse in toxic churches. But they often struggle to leave. Why is that? Here are ten reasons why people fail to leave a toxic church.

When God brought people out of a time of trouble and suffering, he often gave them a double blessing. Are you able to let God bless you?

When everything has been stripped from your life and you stand alone and “naked” what do you do? Where do you find your worth? What can you learn about yourself? Facing your nakedness can be a turning point for you.

Oswald Chambers spoke of a “discipline of darkness.” This means that God teaches us things during dark times that we will never learn in the light. What might God be teaching you during your season of loss or hardship?

Healing and recovery from spiritual abuse is often elusive. But you can find your way back to a full life and meaningful spirituality. This post outlines a new five part video series on how to recover and heal from spiritual abuse.

Susan Cain’s new book, Bittersweet, looks at the longing that we have in moments of beauty and even sadness. C.S. Lewis said this longing points us to God but Susan isn’t so sure. This post reflects on agnosticism and the love of not knowing.

I have rarely told the story of Jesus’ resurrection on Easter. That confuses some but it’s very intentional on my part. The resurrection of Jesus isn’t meant to be a nice story. It’s meant to change your life.

Too often we left our emotions or the words of others define our value. But God’s love for us should be what determines our value in this world.

This is part three of a a three part series on Generosity and Jesus. This post looks at the fears that make us selfish.

Greed is the opposite of generosity. Greed fills you with darkness while generosity draws you close to God. These are some of the thoughts Jesus spoke about in his Sermon on the Mount.

So much of what is called Christianity today poorly represents Jesus. It’s just bad religion. Jesus didn’t come to give us more of the same. He came to exchange something new for the old… something alive and life-changing. His resurrection was proof that his way will last.

There are a lot of reasons to give up on church. The church has failed many people in many ways. But the church is the hope of the world if you engage in it.

If toxic pastors are so bad, why are they so rarely confronted? Here are ten reasons people fail at confronting a pastor. See if you can relate.

In my encounters with people who struggle finding God, five themes regularly surface.

You are a leader in your church and spiritual abuse has just been exposed. What do you do? How do you “clean house” and get your church back on track? This post offers you a guide for the process.

You hear about spiritual abuse, church abuse, and religious abuse more and more in the news. But what is spiritual abuse? Learn what spiritual abuse is here.

The church is supposed to be a blessing to the world. A pastor should be the greatest champion of grace and truth. There is nothing more perverse and distorted than a toxic pastor. Learn how to confront an abusive pastor.