Does Your Church Demand Obedience or Empower Growth?
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.
Church Abuse Recovery... a basic roadmap for overcoming loss
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.
Set Boundaries to Prevent Spiritual Abuse
People can easily find themselves caught in the web of a spiritually abusive church. How does that happen? And how can you prevent that from happening again? This post offers practical steps that you can take to protect yourself by setting boundaries.
When GOSSIP Becomes A Spiritually Weaponized Accusation
Spiritually toxic leaders often weaponize the accusation of gossip to shut down complaints. But what does the Bible say about gossip? Accusing someone of gossip is often a tactic of spiritual abuse.
Obedience Is A Trigger Word
The word, “obedience” triggers an adverse reaction for many reasons, one of them being the thought of spiritual abuse. But could it be that obedience to Jesus should trigger joy?
Abusive Pastors, Understanding Why They Do What They
It seems to be a mystery why a pastor would ever abuse a member of their congregation. But abusive pastors exist throughout the church. This post discusses the reason why some pastors might be abusive and what you can do about it.
Toxic Pastors and Why They Are Not Confronted
If toxic pastors are so harmful, why are they so rarely confronted? Here are ten common reasons people avoid confronting an abusive pastor — read through them and see which ones resonate with your experience.
I Left My Toxic Church...Now What?
After experiencing spiritual abuse, some people decide to give up on church altogether, while others quickly throw themselves into searching for a new congregation. Before you step back into church life, there are a few important things to consider to protect your healing and ensure a healthier, safer spiritual environment.
Spiritual Abuse Checklist, by F. Remy Diederich
Sometimes a checklist is necessary to confirm what we suspect is true. Here is a concise 20-point spiritual abuse checklist to help you identify whether you are involved in a spiritually abusive church or organization.
What is Spiritual Abuse?
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 in this series of posts.
The Toxic World of the Insecure Pastor
Insecurity often serves as a hidden motivator that drives many individuals to seek positions of leadership, including roles within the ministry. But what are some of the toxic characteristics that commonly appear in pastors struggling with insecurity? This article highlights twelve key traits that can negatively impact their leadership and the health of their congregations.
How Did I Get Here? - Day One
There are many reasons for winding up in exile: divorce, betrayal, financial loss, etc. In this post I mention five ways I ended up in exile, mostly due to bad church experiences.