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.

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.

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?

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?

PTSD is a common result of spiritual abuse. Take your abuse seriously and get the help you need.

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.

Survivors of spiritual abuse are so often misunderstood and mistreated. This post will give you practical advice on how to treat survivors of spiritual abuse.

Churches that spiritually abuse people often share several common characteristics. This post lists six key traits outlined in the book, Churches that Abuse, which will help you to identify these harmful patterns.

Toxic faith and spiritual abuse are related but distinct. Spiritual abuse grows out of wrong thinking about God by both the abuse and the abused.

After being abused spiritually, some people give up on church. Others dive right back into church. Before you return to church there are a few things to consider.

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.

When a church can admit that they have been abusive, they need to eradicate it from the roots. Any remaining scent of abuse will be quickly picked up by people who have experienced an abusive church.

When you’ve experienced spiritual abuse, it can be so devastating you may not feel like you will ever recover. But God is faithful. He can renew your spirit if you give him the opportunity. This post will give you some direction to let that happen.

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.