Too often church pastors want to control the thoughts and behaviors of their church members. This undermines God’s desire to develop a relationship with people individually. The Bible tells us that we are meant to make our own choices.

When you’ve experienced church abuse, or any significant loss, it’s easy to get stuck in a form of exile where you feel lost and disoriented. This post offers a brief roadmap to help people find the path to recovery.

In Scot McKnight’s latest book, Invisible Jesus, he looks at the recent Deconstruction movement and helps people to navigate this journey. Find out his main points and if this books is worth your read.

In this post I relate my experience traveling to Chile (Antofagasta and Calama) to encourage two churches in their efforts to serve the poor.

This is my second post with some of the questions and answers from when I was interviewed by Christy Boulware for her podcast. We looked at spiritual abuse and women in ministry.

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.

If your sermons lack the impact and appeal that you’d like, these ten essential sermon tips may be just what you are looking for.

Pastors, like politicians, have a base of supporters. How they treat their base can cause their followers to grow or decline. This post gives practical ideas on how to affirm your base and include newcomers.

I’m heading back to Mexico to speak to pastors about spiritual abuse. I’m also releasing the Spanish edition of my book Broken Trust (Una Confianza Rota) for free on Kindle.

The early church was serious about obeying Jesus’ teachings on issues of character and service. But through the years, obeying Jesus has fallen by the wayside. What can we do to change that?

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.

Why are Boomers leaving the church today? Here are seven suggestions to consider. See if you agree.

How do you create a culture that genuinely attracts people to your church community? This post delves into the essential elements—the “secret sauce”—that encourages individuals not only to visit but also to feel welcomed and motivated to return regularly.

Deconstructing faith. It seems to be what people are doing a lot these days. Is it wrong? Is it dangerous?

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.

When you leave a spiritually abusive church or organization, you are leaving behind friends as well. How do you handle that?

Survivors of spiritual abuse are often misunderstood and mistreated. The book, Broken Trust, was written with this in mind and incorporated the input of many survivors.

Francis Chan left his mega church to start We Are Church. Will it succeed? Here are some reflections on the house church movement.

The book, “Broken Trust” by F. Remy Diederich was ranked as the best book on spiritual abuse by one expert.