Is Your Pastor "The Voice of God" to You?

The recent upheaval in Daystar Ministries has caused people to question how we hear the voice of God and the role of spiritual oversight. In this post I offer an alternative view to what is often too quickly accepted as truth.

Creating a Positive Church Culture: The Power of Words

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.

Christianity, church, faith, religion and spiritualityF. Remy DiederichOctober 31, 2024words, church, encouragement, pastor, churchculture, toxicfaithComment

Church Hurt Podcast with Christy Boulware

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.

Christianity, church, religion and spiritualityF. Remy DiederichFebruary 22, 2024christyboulware, churchhurt, churchabuse, toxicfaith, abusivepastor, spiritualabuseComment

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.

faith, religion and spiritualityF. Remy DiederichMay 26, 2023gossip, spiritualabuse, church, abusivepastor, churchhurt, churchabuse, toxicfaithComment

Bad Religion and the Resurrection of Jesus, by F. Remy Diederich

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.

church, Easter, Bible, Christianity, faith, God, religion and spirituality, JesusF. Remy DiederichApril 7, 2018resurrection, badreligion, toxicfaith, churchabuse, church Comment

Choosing to Not Give Up On Church or God

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.

Christianity, church, faith, GodF. Remy DiederichJanuary 2, 2018quittingchurch, givinguponchurch, badreligion, toxicfaith, churchhurt, churchabuse Comment

Five Things I Learned from Spiritual Abuse Survivors

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.

abuse, churchF. Remy DiederichSeptember 9, 2017ptsd, spiritualabuse, toxicfaith, booksonspiritualabuse, churchhurt, churchabuseComment

Survivors of Spiritual Abuse: Five Ways to Offer Your Support

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.

abuse, faith, religion and spiritualityF. Remy DiederichMay 13, 2017recovery, Spiritual abuse, toxic church, toxic faith, books on spiritual abuse, spiritualabuse, toxicchurch, toxicfaith, confrontingpastors, booksonspiritualabuse, survivorsofspiritualabuse, churchabuse, churchhurtComment

Churches That Abuse: Six Warning Signs

Churches that spiritually abuse people have common characteristics. Here are six traits from the book, Churches that Abuse.

spiritual abuse, religion and spiritualityF. Remy DiederichFebruary 20, 2017churchesthatabuse, churchhurt, churchabuse, spiritualabuse, toxicfaith, booksonspiritualabuse, spiritualabusebooks Comment

Spiritual Abuse: the Fruit of Toxic Faith

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.

religion and spirituality, abuseF. Remy DiederichJanuary 3, 2017grace, spiritualabuse, toxicfaith, bestbooksonspiritualabuseComment

I Left My Toxic Church...Now What?

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.

abuse, toxic churchF. Remy DiederichFebruary 20, 2016spiritualabuse, toxicfaith, abusivepastor, churchhurt, churchabuse, toxicchurch Comments

How to Reclaim Your Church from Spiritual Abuse

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.

abuse, Christianity, religion and spiritualityF. Remy DiederichMarch 14, 2015church, confronting toxic pastors, marshillchurch, spiritualabuse, churchhurt, churchabuse, abusivepastor, toxicchurch, toxicfaith, confrontingchurchpastors, howtoconfrontyourpastorComment

You Can Smell Spiritual Abuse

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.

religion and spirituality, faithF. Remy DiederichMarch 11, 2015spiritualabuse, toxicfaith, churchhurt, churchabuse, abusivepastor, religioushurtComment

How to Recover From Spiritual Abuse, by F. Remy Diederich

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.

abuse, faith, religion and spiritualityF. Remy DiederichMarch 5, 2015churchesthatabuse, spiritualabuse, churchhurt, churchabuse, toxicfaith, booksonspiritualabuse, abusivepastorComment

Seven Steps to Confronting Toxic Church People

Toxic people can ruin any church event with their personal agenda, bad theology, or conspiracy theory. This post gives seven practical steps to address the toxic church member.

church, pastors, religion and spiritualityF. Remy DiederichFebruary 12, 2015toxic church members, toxicpeople, toxicchurchpeople, howtoconfronttoxicchurchpeople, toxicchurchmembers, toxicfaith Comments

The Toxic World of the Insecure Pastor

Insecurity drives many people into leadership, including the ministry. What are the toxic characteristics of an insecure pastor. This article mentions twelve of them.

insecurity, ministry, pastors, shameF. Remy DiederichOctober 29, 2014insecure, insecurity, pastor, shame, toxic, abusivepastor, churchhurt, toxicfaith, spiritualabuse Comment

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