"If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. 7 Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but… Continue reading I Like the Red Sox and I Like Your Hat
Category: ABUSIVE FAITH & PRACTICE
How Did Pastor Edwin Young Treat Women?
An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. Proverbs 31:10Ok ladies and gentlemen, I found another video at SpiritualAbuse.org. It was very difficult to listen to the first videos I posted earlier. Here is another recording from Pastor Edwin Young abruptly resigned from Faith Tabernacle in Junction City, Kansas a short… Continue reading How Did Pastor Edwin Young Treat Women?
Chuck O’Neal of Beaverton Grace Bible Church Issues Press Release
Sheep-Dog, a regular reader here, wanted to see the original press release from our former pastor. The link to the original "press release" is no longer working at The Wartburg Watch and the document was apparently removed from the BGBC website. A reader sent O'Neal an e-mail and this press release was included in O'Neal's… Continue reading Chuck O’Neal of Beaverton Grace Bible Church Issues Press Release
The Pressure to Serve in a Controlling Church
* * * A common trait of a controlling church is that you may be kept so busy, there is little time for anything outside of church. I'm going to use SQ's comment below to springboard two posts. This first post will discuss the pressure to serve. The second will… Continue reading The Pressure to Serve in a Controlling Church
How Can Spiritual Abuse or a Controlling Pastor Destroy a Marriage?
I've been having discussions about how spiritual abuse affects marriages. The abuse can occur in a somewhat direct fashion (such as Paul's story) or indirectly. When I did a quick Google search on spiritual abuse and divorce, there was very little on the topic. Yet since publishing Paul's story, I've had more people send their… Continue reading How Can Spiritual Abuse or a Controlling Pastor Destroy a Marriage?
Can Spiritual Abuse Destroy a Marriage? Paul’s Story
* * * From time to time, I will be posting select personal spiritual abuse stories here. There are a number of reasons to post stories of abuse. We can learn from them to try to prevent it from happening again. We can offer support. Looking at someone's story might identify… Continue reading Can Spiritual Abuse Destroy a Marriage? Paul’s Story
The World is Watching Us
*** One of the key signs of a healthy person and a healthy church is looking at the fruit they exhibit. What kind of love do they show? How do they model Christ to the world? The world is watching and judging. I read some words yesterday that were shocking to me on many levels.… Continue reading The World is Watching Us
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
Independent Churches = Recipe for Spiritual Abuse?
** We were taught submission at our former church: children to parents, wives to husbands, husbands to Christ, congregants to pastor/elders, civilians to governmental authorities. Most churches have a check and balance system in place to ensure that there are no abuses going on in church. Here is part the doctrinal statement from our former… Continue reading Independent Churches = Recipe for Spiritual Abuse?
Outside Family Members: Why Are They Shunned?
After this busy weekend with the court case (no ruling yet), spending wonderful time with my friends and a little birthday celebration, I woke up in a funk. Two e-mails were pressing on my mind and then I realized, no, there were actually three e-mails that arrived over the weekend that described the destruction… Continue reading Outside Family Members: Why Are They Shunned?
False Teachers Who Mark and Avoid Church Members
I received an e-mail from a missionary today who was involved in a church whose pastor used similar tactics with church members as my former pastor. He sent me a link to look at and I realized I could easily replace his pastor's name with my former pastor's name; he said the same thing… Continue reading False Teachers Who Mark and Avoid Church Members
The Big Elephant: Contend for the Faith or Not!
Note to Fred Butler: My husband and I discussed this post at length, gave me his approval, and also said that if you want to call him, he knows you have our number. Here is the big reveal. What is the big elephant in the middle of the room that so many pastors and… Continue reading The Big Elephant: Contend for the Faith or Not!
Godly Pastor? What Does That Mean?
* * * I looked up "godly" on public domain images and this image showed up in my search - lol! * * * I copied this May 31 comment into my file of "draft" posts. For some reason, it was overlooked in the comments section on… Continue reading Godly Pastor? What Does That Mean?
All Smoothies are Good, Sermons Suck
** Admin note: This is part of a series of posts that are a bit, well, unconventional. To fully grasp the message and emotions of the series, please be sure to read from the beginning: It's the Same Message No Matter How you Mix it!. *** We like a lot of smoothies in our home. … Continue reading All Smoothies are Good, Sermons Suck
Hyper Modesty in the Church, Part 3
* * * Personal Note to the Young Adults and Conclusion I know some of the young adults from my former church are reading this blog. First off, I want to say that I care deeply for you and this message is sent from my heart. You are part of the… Continue reading Hyper Modesty in the Church, Part 3
Hyper-Modesty in the Church, Part 2
Does Hyper-Modesty Lead to Lust? Yesterday's post dealt with the subject of hyper-modesty with regard to how we dressed, the preoccupation of not showing cleavage, not accentuating a woman's figure, diverting eyes when seeing female joggers on the road, staying away from public swim areas and areas where people are dressed immodestly, etc. I also… Continue reading Hyper-Modesty in the Church, Part 2
Hyper-Modesty in the Church, Part 1
Do You Have Modesty Police in Your Church? Before we came to the church, our family had general guidelines on modesty. It wasn't a big deal. There were no rules, but I shared with my daughters to generally try to wear clothes that didn't draw attention to female body parts or cause distraction. I tried… Continue reading Hyper-Modesty in the Church, Part 1
Do I have an unforgiving heart?
David, a blog reader, has been having dialogue with me and others in the comments section on previous posts and I wanted to highlight some of his comments and address them publicly. We were discussing his thoughts that focusing on my personal stories shows a lack of forgiveness. I asked David what forgiveness looks like… Continue reading Do I have an unforgiving heart?
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
Legalism: Do Not Expose Your Thighs!
* * * And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. Matthew 15:9 My family didn’t have too many problems with modesty. Prior to coming to Beaverton Grace Bible Church, we didn’t have any “formal” teaching on modesty. It was a natural and seemingly obvious… Continue reading Legalism: Do Not Expose Your Thighs!
Spiritual Sounding Board 