Spiritual Abuse, Pastor Ken Garrett, Spiritual Abuse in the church: A Guide to Recognition and Recovery *** As I was reading through Ken Garrett's dissertation, I had to stop and soak up what I had just read. It took time to process and I felt like if I continued reading, I might miss something. It… Continue reading New Blog Series: Spiritual Abuse in the Church: A Guide to Recognition and Recovery by Pastor Ken Garrett
Category: Leaving the Church
Spiritual Abuse in the Church: A Guide to Recognition and Recovery
Spiritual Abuse, Recovery, Pastor Ken Garrett Now this is a great story! Some long-time readers will probably remember how I met Pastor Ken Garrett, a good friend of mine and of SSB. After I got sued by my pastor in 2012, I received an email from another pastor in Portland. This guy was… Continue reading Spiritual Abuse in the Church: A Guide to Recognition and Recovery
A Father Shares the Fallout His Family is Facing after Being in a High-Controlling Church
Spiritual abuse, children, mental health, high-controlling church, NAR, New Apostolic Reformation *** Special note: I am in Chicago until 11/5 and would love to get together with survivors or those interested in helping survivors. If you would like to meet up, please contact me and let's see if we can arrange a gathering. spiritualsb@gmail.com … Continue reading A Father Shares the Fallout His Family is Facing after Being in a High-Controlling Church
Help! My Family Member or Close Friend is Trapped in a High-Controlling Church or Cult. How Can I Encourage Them to Leave?
How to help a family member or friend leave a high-controlling church group or cult: spiritual abuse, trapped, thought reform, mind control, freedom “Mind control is the process by which individual or collective freedom of choice and action is compromised by agents or agencies that modify or distort perception, motivation, affect, cognition and/or behavioral… Continue reading Help! My Family Member or Close Friend is Trapped in a High-Controlling Church or Cult. How Can I Encourage Them to Leave?
The Gift of Standing in the Trenches with a Survivor
https://youtu.be/UIt3dx4an9c *** “Being heard is so close to being loved that for the average person, they are almost indistinguishable.” ― David Augsburger The other day, a spiritual abuse survivor and friend I met last year in Moscow, Idaho, posted the following quote by Dr. Diane Langberg on her Facebook wall. Please read it… Continue reading The Gift of Standing in the Trenches with a Survivor
If Being Hurt by the Church Causes You to Lose Faith in God . . .
This meme was posted on Facebook. For those who have been harmed by church leaders/people, what does this message say to you? I'd love to read your first impressions of this meme. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1030079060400810&set=a.657459694329417.1073741837.100001961781470&type=3
Personal Story: Feeling Stuck after Spiritual Abuse
*** Mark is new to the blog and left a comment on another post yesterday and I have decided to make it into its own post so we can focus on these issues. Maybe some of you have experienced some of what he is going through and can share how you dealt with these issues.… Continue reading Personal Story: Feeling Stuck after Spiritual Abuse
Tullian Tchividjian and Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church Discussion: “He demanded that people be loyal to him.”
Pastor Tullian Tchividjian, Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, Willow Creek, Liberate Network, Clergy Sex Abuse, Spiritual Abuse, Repentance, Grace Hey friends (and welcome to new readers), I am going to do something a little bit different. I suspect many are chomping at the bit to discuss the situation regarding Tullian Tchividjian, so I am… Continue reading Tullian Tchividjian and Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church Discussion: “He demanded that people be loyal to him.”
New commenter: having difficulty with religious “systems” and wants advice
*** A first-time commenter left a great comment that I'd like to open up for discussion: Hi everyone This is my first time posting on this site and I apologize in advance for its being off topic. I could use some help from some of you who have been through what I’m going through right… Continue reading New commenter: having difficulty with religious “systems” and wants advice
Personal Story: Bruised with No Visible Marks
Domestic Violence without Bruising: Emotional, Spiritual, Verbal Abuse Emotionally battered wives can live in turmoil for years. Many times they are not believed. They are told it is not real abuse like physical abuse. Some pastors do not believe any kind of abuse is justification for divorce. Instead, wives are sometimes counseled to love better, submit… Continue reading Personal Story: Bruised with No Visible Marks
Four Primary Conditions that Result in People Leaving Abusive Churches and Cults
Spiritual Abuse: Leaving Abusive Cults and High-Controlling Churches I have been very moved by many of your stories of abuse in the recent article, Spiritual Abuse: What Was the Last Straw That Caused You to Leave Your Abusive Church? Spiritual abuse is obviously not isolated. It's happening all over and crosses denominational lines. Several people have said… Continue reading Four Primary Conditions that Result in People Leaving Abusive Churches and Cults
Spiritual Abuse: What Was the Last Straw That Caused You to Leave Your Abusive Church?
Spiritual Abuse - What finally made you realize you had to leave your church? *** *** I had already told my husband that I had to leave BGBC, with or without him, but I was hoping that he would come to the same conclusion without my influence. That finally happened after our close friend who was… Continue reading Spiritual Abuse: What Was the Last Straw That Caused You to Leave Your Abusive Church?
Domestic Violence, Jim and Doug Wilson, and Damaging Pastoral Response to Abuse in Marriages
Christ Church's Pastor Doug Wilson, Jim Wilson, Domestic Violence, Pastoral Response to Abuse, Marriage October, Domestic Violence Awareness Month, is wrapping up. In my research on Pastor Doug Wilson and the abuses connected with Christ Church and New Saint Andrews College, I ran across a video with Doug Wilson and his father, Jim Wilson, discussing marriage.… Continue reading Domestic Violence, Jim and Doug Wilson, and Damaging Pastoral Response to Abuse in Marriages
Pastor Chuck O’Neal of Beaverton Grace Bible Church Taught Parents to Spank Adult Children
Pastor Chuck O'Neal of Beaverton Grace Bible Church Taught Parents to Spank Adult Children One of the more challenging aspects about abuse is the recurring triggers, even years after abuse. In the strictest sense of the term, trigger is used to refer to experiences that “re-trigger” trauma in the form of flashbacks or… Continue reading Pastor Chuck O’Neal of Beaverton Grace Bible Church Taught Parents to Spank Adult Children
Doug Wilson Series: Introduction, Christ Church Celebrates 40 years and Background
Doug Wilson, Christ Church, CREC, Greyfriars Hall, Association of Classical & Christian Schools, Canon Press, New Saint Andrews, Steven Sitler, Jamin Wight ** To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it. ~G.K. Chesterton Last night, I returned home after a 1-1/2 day trip… Continue reading Doug Wilson Series: Introduction, Christ Church Celebrates 40 years and Background
Insidious Behavior at The Village Church Regarding a Pedophile and His Former Wife
*** Horrific story of spiritual abuse, mishandling of sex abuse, church membership, Matt Chandler, The Village Church, Jordan Root, pedophile, child pornography *** I woke up late this morning and checked my Twitter feed to find that many of my Twitter friends were shocked and appalled at the treatment of Karen Hinkley (formerly Karen Root)… Continue reading Insidious Behavior at The Village Church Regarding a Pedophile and His Former Wife
Questionning the Morality and Ethics of Samuel James and His Recent Article
*** Samuel James, ERLC, watchdog blogs, abuse, and the church *** Merriam-Webster defines the following: Morality beliefs about what is right behavior and what is wrong behavior the degree to which something is right and good : the moral goodness or badness of something Ethics rules of behavior based on ideas about what is morally good… Continue reading Questionning the Morality and Ethics of Samuel James and His Recent Article
Flashback: This Week At the Shepherds’ Conference with Pastor Chuck O’Neal Three Years Ago
*** Three years ago, I was sued by my ex-pastor, Chuck O'Neal, pastor of Beaverton Grace Bible Church, for speaking out on social media about the abuse we and other families incurred. *** The Shepherds' Conference is going on right now in Southern California, and as I see tweets using the hashtags #shepconf and #shepconf2015,… Continue reading Flashback: This Week At the Shepherds’ Conference with Pastor Chuck O’Neal Three Years Ago
Dissecting Gracealone1’s Comment
*** Sometimes we have commenters here who like to challenge us. Sometimes the language and tone used seem familiar to what we experienced in our abusive churches. Commenter "gracealone1" has been engaging SSB readers on the comments in this article, JD Hall of Pulpit and Pen Launches Voice in the Wilderness Radio, and one of his comments in… Continue reading Dissecting Gracealone1’s Comment
The Lingering Pain of Spiritual Abuse
The pain of her leaving caused me to go deep and question the character of God which was being tainted by a man and his crude ideas, perpetuating a church of hate and discord against anyone who didn’t agree with him and his pure doctrine ideologies.
Spiritual Sounding Board 