This is Spiritual Abuse Awareness month and I wanted to share a story by Caleigh, a friend and blogger at The Profligate Truth who attended a church from CJ Mahaney's family of churches, Sovereign Grace Ministries (SGM). Her church was Covenant Life Church (CLC) in Maryland which recently voted to sever ties with SGM amidst a current… Continue reading Spiritual Abuse Recovery: Caleigh’s Story, “Cross Obsession”
Category: ABUSE RECOVERY PROCESS-PROBLEMS
Detailing Events and Discerning the Times: Part Two
Detailing Events and Discerning the Times: Part Two © Brad Sargent (brad/futuristguy), November 2012 5. Individual and Crowd-Sourced Snapshots for a Viable Video In Part One, I explained why I felt it was worth spending a day analyzing a Covenant Life Church (CLC) Members Meeting, despite my being an outsider to… Continue reading Detailing Events and Discerning the Times: Part Two
Detailing Events and Discerning the Times: Part One
Detailing Events and Discerning the Times: Part One © Brad Sargent (brad/futuristguy), November 2012 After I wrote my analysis piece on Sovereign Grace Ministries in the previous post, I was asked two questions and invited to share more detail on: Why evaluating a Members Meeting that happened at Covenant Life Church (CLC) over a year… Continue reading Detailing Events and Discerning the Times: Part One
Sovereign Grace Ministries: Analysis of CLC Members Meeting
Analysis of CLC Members Meeting of August 17, 2011INTRODUCTIONThe following analysis was produced by Brad Sargent. He is more known by his online handle of “brad/futuristguy,” and he often writes about recovery from spiritual abuse and how to prevent toxic organizations. For this article, Brad used a transcript of the Covenant Life Church (CLC) members’ meeting of August… Continue reading Sovereign Grace Ministries: Analysis of CLC Members Meeting
When You Don’t Want to "Go" to Church
Yes, this is the church and the people in divorce court.So many people are leaving the church. Why? Because they are experiencing emotional abuse, psychological abuse, spiritual abuse, and intellectual abuse. And neglect. More and more people are becoming post church people. David Hayward of nakedpastor.comFor some reason, this week I've heard from a number… Continue reading When You Don’t Want to "Go" to Church
Spiritual Abuse: Friends Left Behind and Moving Forward
There were people who warned me that my former church was not a healthy place. They were concerned by what they heard when they listened to recorded sermons. They were alarmed when they visited the church. One friend had gone to a high school graduation ceremony for a few homeschool graduates. The pastor spoke and… Continue reading Spiritual Abuse: Friends Left Behind and Moving Forward
Hannah’s Personal Story in Her Own Words
Readers: I've had this post in my "draft posts" for quite some time, but the time to post it is now and I will explain more about that very soon. You'll see why it is important to hear from her own words. I shared my perspective of Hannah's story in the most popular blog post,… Continue reading Hannah’s Personal Story in Her Own Words
"Justice" Responds
* * * FrederickaMay 17, 2012 11:07 AM I must confess myself mystified as to the nature of 'Justice's' complaint, which seems to be lacking in a certain, shall we say, precision. What exactly is it that he or she is alleging was done to him or her? AnonymousMay… Continue reading "Justice" Responds
Julie Anne’s Musings
Countdown: 4 more days until court hearing, drawn by 9-yr old Resident Artist I have been inundated with requests to set up a Legal Defense fund. That blesses my socks off. Thank you for your support in this practical way. * * * * * * * * * * * * * *… Continue reading Julie Anne’s Musings
Justice: Becoming Free
"Flying Free" by 9-yr old Resident Artist Now, on to much lovelier topics. I really want you to read this . . . I want to share a story with you about a person named Justice. Justice is not this person's real name and you'll have to pardon the awkwardness of pronouns in this article… Continue reading Justice: Becoming Free
Spiritual Abuse: Memories and Flashbacks
*** *** I want to touch on a controversial subject. What comes to mind when I mention the words: counselors or mental health? Many at BGBC don't want to touch that subject. Mental health professionals were talked down as if they were evil and would brainwash you. Even Biblical Christian counseling was not… Continue reading Spiritual Abuse: Memories and Flashbacks
Dare to Leave: One Family’s Tragic Account
* * * A couple of the earliest posts on this blog discussed how difficult it is to leave the church well. Meaning, it is nearly impossible to leave the church and remain in the local area without repercussions (church discipline, shunning, etc). Here are the links to those early posts: Leaving… Continue reading Dare to Leave: One Family’s Tragic Account
One Month and I Feel Good
** It's been one month since this blog was created. After noticing my Google reviews on Beaverton Grace Bible Church were being removed from the Google review website without any explanation, I began this blog to share my story because I felt my voice was being taken from me. I don't get this idea of… Continue reading One Month and I Feel Good
Yesterday’s Comment
Last night "Anonymous" left the following comment and I felt it was worthy of a whole blog post. The snippets of paragraphs come from the article entitled, "When Should a Christian Leave a Church" at the Battered Sheep website (also noted in this blog's sidebar). The entire comment is indented and italicized; my comments will… Continue reading Yesterday’s Comment
List of Cultic Tendencies
Charles Lester wrote a list of cultic tendencies (originally posted Oct. 1991 in Spiritual Counterfeits Project newsletter) which can be viewed in full online at the Battered Sheep website. The entire list can be found here. Below are the items that hit a nerve with me. Is your pastor fully accountable to a board of… Continue reading List of Cultic Tendencies
You Won’t Find a Better Church
** Proverbs 27:2 Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth; A stranger, and not your own lips. Isaiah 5:21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight. Throughout our time at BGBC, we came across this message on a consistent basis: you won't find… Continue reading You Won’t Find a Better Church
How Dare You Leave Our Church!
Below is an excerpt from Exposing Spiritual Abuse by Mike Fehlauer: Painful Exit In a controlling church, it is impossible to leave on good terms. Because the pastor’s sense of worth is usually based on the control he is able to exert over the congregation, when someone leaves, this insecure leader considers it an affront… Continue reading How Dare You Leave Our Church!
Leaving a Church
My husband and I met at church when we were single and in college and have been going to church together as a family for all of our married life. Prior to that, we were regular church attenders all of our childhood. This church thing is nothing new to us. When my husband was active… Continue reading Leaving a Church
Spiritual Sounding Board 