It's All About the Image, Shunning

Walk the Talk!

Countdown:  3 days until court hearing.  Drawn by Resident Artist, Age 9 This is a fairly new blog, but there are a lot of new readers recently and I would like to welcome you! Never in my life would I have imagined this. But as my new pastor told me: it is what it is… Continue reading Walk the Talk!

BGBC Lawsuit, Crazy Things Church Leaders Say & Do, Dictators, It's All About the Image, Leaving the Church, Meetings with the Pastor, Narcissistic Pastors, No-Talk Rule, Shunning, Spiritual Abuse, Spiritual Bullies

"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

Abuse Systems and Transformation Tools, BGBC Google Reviews, BGBC Lawsuit, Crazy Things Church Leaders Say & Do, LAWSUITS, Sexual Abuse/Assault and Churches, Spiritual Bullies

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

Crazy Things Church Leaders Say & Do, Media Interviews with Julie Anne, Mental Health and the Church, Personal Stories, Resident Artist Drawings, Spiritual Abuse, Spiritual Bullies, SURVIVOR STORIES

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

ABUSERS & THEIR TACTICS, BGBC Google Reviews, BGBC Lawsuit, BLOG INFORMATION, Bloggers and Freedom of Speech, Grace Community Church, Media Interviews with Julie Anne, Phil Johnson, Spiritual Bullies

A Few Notes from Julie Anne

*** Countdown:  5 days till court date,  drawn by JA's 9-yr old *** Just a few things to share before a "regular" blog post coming up as my 9-yr old is busy with his drawing for the post. Phil Johnson from Grace Community Church (John MacArthur's church) reached out to me yesterday and we had… Continue reading A Few Notes from Julie Anne

BGBC Google Reviews, BGBC Lawsuit, Bloggers and Freedom of Speech, Crazy Things Church Leaders Say & Do, Grace Community Church, John MacArthur, Phil Johnson, Spiritual Abuse, Spiritual Bullies

Anticipation

Six More Days Until Court Hearing There are a number of Christian bloggers keeping up with our story.  Yesterday, two popular bloggers posted articles about our situation and I wanted to give more information so you can see how things fit together. I'll give a little background.  This is the original Google review that was… Continue reading Anticipation

BGBC Lawsuit, Shunning, Spiritual Abuse

Protector: Make the Choice!!

7 days until court date! Yeah, we've gone viral. Average amount of blog hits before news media attention:  250-400 hits.    Today, I have over 18,000 hits.  (Did you just hear that loud thump as Julie Anne fell off the couch?) Evidently, people have been trying to leave comments, but have been unable to.  Sorry, please… Continue reading Protector: Make the Choice!!

Julie Anne's Personal Stories, Legalism, Meetings with the Pastor, Shunning, Spiritual Abuse, Stories of Hope

In Honor of Hannah

*     *     * Today, I'd like to honor someone very special to me - my eldest daughter, Hannah. When Hannah told me she was leaving home so abruptly that very sad day, she told me that she couldn't set one more foot in that church.  It was killing her.  She knew… Continue reading In Honor of Hannah

Meetings with the Pastor, Spiritual Abuse

Counselors in the Church

 I've been thinking about the topic of counseling after reading the following comments: Just curious, does anyone know of any Bible passages that were used to establish the "evil" of getting counseling? Or was this another extra-Biblical add on AnonymousMay 9, 2012 4:25 PMI don't necessarily remember a specific scripture. Someone else might though. I think… Continue reading Counselors in the Church

BGBC Lawsuit, Crazy Things Church Leaders Say & Do, Shunning, Spiritual Abuse, Spiritual Bullies, SURVIVOR STORIES

Note to Chuck O’Neal from Former Church Member

XXX This post was found in the comment section from Anonymous.  How can one not feel the pain in this note?  Chuck, Why don't you love people? 1 John says if you say you love God but don't love people you are lying and the Truth isn't in you.   Don't you know you have… Continue reading Note to Chuck O’Neal from Former Church Member

Extra-Biblical Nonsense, Leaving the Church, Meetings with the Pastor, No-Talk Rule, Shunning, Spiritual Abuse, Spiritual Bullies

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

BGBC Lawsuit, It's All About the Image, Spiritual Abuse, Spiritual Bullies

More Damage Control on BGBC Website?

*     *     *  People may be pure in their own eyes,     but the Lord examines their motives.  Proverbs 16:2 *     *     *   I have been notified of even more updates at the Beaverton Grace Bible Church website which "coincidentally" occurred less than 2 days after the… Continue reading More Damage Control on BGBC Website?

ABUSERS & THEIR TACTICS, BGBC Google Reviews, BGBC Lawsuit, Extra-Biblical Nonsense, It's All About the Image, Misuse of Scripture, Narcissistic Pastors, No-Talk Rule, Shunning, Spiritual Bullies

Guest Poster: Twisting Scripture to Legitimize Lawsuit

*     *     *   My readers continue to provide excellent dialogue on the topic of the defamation lawsuit and whether the Bible condones lawsuits among Christians.  This one was worth a blog post.   Thank you, Anonymous!   To new readers:  Chuck O'Neal and Beaverton Grace Bible Church filed a defamation lawsuit against… Continue reading Guest Poster: Twisting Scripture to Legitimize Lawsuit

BGBC Lawsuit, Shunning, Spiritual Abuse

Lawsuit Update: New Information!!

*** Earlier, I was notified that Chuck O'Neal/Beaverton Grace Bible Church amended the lawsuit on Friday.   He added one more person to the lawsuit, so in total five people are being sued.  Additionally, in his suit against me, he added a handful of quotes from my blog as "defamation". I would like to remind my… Continue reading Lawsuit Update: New Information!!

BGBC Google Reviews, BGBC Lawsuit, Crazy Things Church Leaders Say & Do, It's All About the Image, Narcissistic Pastors, Spiritual Abuse, Spiritual Bullies, Street Evangelism

Damage Control – How Do I Look?

*     *     * I love the interaction on this blog in the comment section.  There are some very insightful people reading this blog and time and again, they help steer the direction of the blog posts as it stirs something in my mind.  (Hint:  if you want me to cover a… Continue reading Damage Control – How Do I Look?

ABUSERS & THEIR TACTICS, BGBC Google Reviews, BGBC Lawsuit, Bloggers and Freedom of Speech, Crazy Things Church Leaders Say & Do, It's All About the Image, Narcissistic Pastors, No-Talk Rule, Shunning, Spiritual Abuse, Spiritual Bullies

Manipulating Reviews Yet Again

*     *     * Look how fast the BGBC elves went to work.  It was brought to my attention that a new review up at the DexKnows review site, but it was shoved down so far that you have to click on "See All Reviews" in order to see it.  They appear… Continue reading Manipulating Reviews Yet Again

Crazy Things Church Leaders Say & Do, It's All About the Image, Narcissistic Pastors, No-Talk Rule, Shunning, Spiritual Abuse, Spiritual Bullies

Evangelize When it Looks Good

Beaverton Grace Bible Church is a church with a very strong emphasis on evangelism.  It is one of the primary reasons why my husband wanted to start attending.  We had evangelism classes for two hours each Sunday at "Grace Bible Institute".  Groups of people went out evangelizing on Friday nights to malls, canvassing neighborhoods, Portland… Continue reading Evangelize When it Looks Good

ABUSERS & THEIR TACTICS, BGBC Google Reviews, BGBC Lawsuit, Bloggers and Freedom of Speech, Spiritual Abuse, Spiritual Bullies

For Real?

**   I try to live life as normal - do the homeschool mom thing, volunteer daily at the high school as accompanist and "choir mom", laundry, cooking, connect with my FB buddies, taxi mom - you know the busy mom gig. Every once in a while, I get this flash in my mind:  you… Continue reading For Real?

ABUSE & VIOLENCE IN THE CHURCH, Authoritative Preaching, Dictators, Julie Anne's Personal Stories, Meetings with the Pastor, Misuse of Scripture, Resident Artist Drawings, Spiritual Abuse, Spiritual Bullies

The Bully Pulpit

*     *     * "Pulpit", from the eyes of my 9-yr old son *     *     * According to Wikipedia.org, a bully pulpit is:  "An older term within the U.S. Government, a bully pulpit is a public office or other position of authority of sufficiently high rank that provides… Continue reading The Bully Pulpit

Crazy Things Church Leaders Say & Do, Extra-Biblical Nonsense, Resident Artist Drawings, Spiritual Abuse, Spiritual Bullies

Is Your Pastor Acting as Your Holy Spirit?

*** ** Someone referred to an article in the comment's section of this post:  You Just Can't Make This Stuff Up, Part 2.   As I read the original article, this paragraph struck me.  From the article, 'Authoritarianism in The Church" by Steve Martin Sadly, in too many congregations today, sheep are driven by a man… Continue reading Is Your Pastor Acting as Your Holy Spirit?