*** Both Jeff Owens and his wife Sarah recently sent out a thread of tweets regarding a recent experience they had at their former (unidentified) Sovereign Grace church. I think these tweets deserve a wider audience. What you will read is not healthy at all, and people need to understand the dismissive and bullying behavior… Continue reading Sovereign Grace Church Leaders Remove Wife from Women’s Small Group Leader Position after Couple Asks Questions
Category: Church Governance or Policy Issues
Former Florida Megachurch Pastor Bob Coy Allegedly Sexually Abused 4-yr-old Child
Bob Coy, Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale, Pedophile, Sex Abuse *** Miami New Times investigative reporter, Tim Elfrink, did a stellar job investigating the shocking story of fallen Calvary Chapel megachurch pastor, Bob Coy. Some long-time readers may remember I posted about Bob Coy's moral failure in a blog post dated April 8, 2014: You may… Continue reading Former Florida Megachurch Pastor Bob Coy Allegedly Sexually Abused 4-yr-old Child
A “Systems Approach” and Some Historical Background on Dealing with Abuse and Violence
To deal with "systemic abuse," we must understand systems, victimization, and what makes individuals and institutions vulnerable. Guest post by Brad Sargent, with input from Julie Anne Smith. Cross-posted at futuristguy. * * * * * * * How will our church serve those who’ve suffered the harm of childhood sexual abuse, and seek to… Continue reading A “Systems Approach” and Some Historical Background on Dealing with Abuse and Violence
Book Review: The Child Safeguarding Policy Guide, by Boz Tchividjian and Shira Berkovits
Key component in a system of resources on child sexual abuse for policy makers, survivors, educators, and advocates. Guest post by Brad Sargent, with input from Julie Anne Smith. Cross-posted at futuristguy. * * * * * * * Spiritual Sounding Board was invited to participate in the Litfuse "blog tour" for the recently released… Continue reading Book Review: The Child Safeguarding Policy Guide, by Boz Tchividjian and Shira Berkovits
Blog Series: Spiritual Abuse in the Church: A Guide to Recognition and Recovery by Pastor Ken Garrett, Wk 2
Spiritual Abuse, Pastor Ken Garrett, Spiritual Abuse in the church: A Guide to Recognition and Recovery *** Ok, here we go, plowing through Pastor Ken Garret's dissertation about spiritual abuse. I used the word plowing intentionally. For some of us, it will be work. It is not enjoyable to be reminded about difficult experiences. However,… Continue reading Blog Series: Spiritual Abuse in the Church: A Guide to Recognition and Recovery by Pastor Ken Garrett, Wk 2
Church Member Responsibility and Church Discipline at Pastor Eric Davis’ Church
Church membership, church discipline, Pastor Eric Davis, Cornerstone Church *** Church Member Responsibility and Church Discipline According to the Cornerstone Church By-laws -by Kathi I recently wrote about how Julie Anne and I dared to comment on an article at The Cripplegate which subsequently caused our comments to be deleted and comments to be closed.… Continue reading Church Member Responsibility and Church Discipline at Pastor Eric Davis’ Church
Comments Closed and Removed at The Cripplegate
Pastor Eric Davis of The Cornerstone Church (WY) Decides to Remove Two Comments from Women and Closes Further Commenting -by Kathi Thanks to Boston Lady, I looked up a blog post that was linked in a comment on this blog's previous post. Eric Davis wrote, "Reasons We Miss Church (But May Not Need To)" which… Continue reading Comments Closed and Removed at The Cripplegate
Practical Guidelines for Teaching Complementarity
Ligon Duncan, CBMW, Complementarianism, Egalitarian, headship Practical Guidelines for Teaching Complementarity by Kathi Ligon Duncan stresses that if pastors do not regularly teach complementarity, then "we lose on this issue." In April, Ligon Duncan addressed pastors at the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW) pre-conference of the 2016 T4G… Continue reading Practical Guidelines for Teaching Complementarity
Ex-Wife of Pedophile Speaks out about The Village Church and Josh Duggar Sex Scandals
*** Ex-Wife of a pedophile shares from her heart about mishandling of sex abuse cases at The Village Church and Josh Duggar *** My friend, Brenda, is the ex-wife of a pedophile. With the recent events of Karen Hinkley, who is now in church discipline at The Village Church because she annulled her marriage without… Continue reading Ex-Wife of Pedophile Speaks out about The Village Church and Josh Duggar Sex Scandals
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
Kevin DeYoung Pushes Church Memberships and Making Vows
Church Membership, Pastor Kevin DeYoung, Making Vows, The Gospel Coalition, here we go again! *** At The Gospel Coalition website, Pastor Kevin DeYoung has a new article on church membership, 6 Reasons Why Membership Matters. The title is not correct. It should be: "6 Reasons Why Church Membership Matters to Controlling Pastors." *** As long… Continue reading Kevin DeYoung Pushes Church Memberships and Making Vows
Whose Rights are Protected in The Gospel Coalition’s Article on Churches and Current Legal Culture?
Church Membership is being pushed in The Gospel Coalition's recent article. Whose rights are protected? Christina Holcomb, litigation counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, wrote an article for The Gospel Coalition (TGC), 5 Actions Churches Should Take in a Changing Legal Culture, which was published today. I can't help but perk up and take notice when I… Continue reading Whose Rights are Protected in The Gospel Coalition’s Article on Churches and Current Legal Culture?
Mark Dever’s New Book and Pastors Who Use Language to Control Their Members to Not Connect with Others Outside of Church-Approved Groups
Mark Dever, 9Marks, and other pastors using language to control and coerce members to not engage in outside activities without church endorsement Mark Dever's parachurch organization, 9Marks, is advertising a new book written by Mark Dever and Jamie Dunlop. The book entitled, The Compelling Community: Where God's Power Makes a Church Attractive (9Marks), is due to be released… Continue reading Mark Dever’s New Book and Pastors Who Use Language to Control Their Members to Not Connect with Others Outside of Church-Approved Groups
Recent Twittering on Joining or Submitting to Churches
Agree? Disagree? Whatcha think?Late addition. I should have looked further
The Privilege of Church Membership
Church Membership Today's post is written by long-time reader, Kathi (whom some may recognize as "kb," moderator on the SSB Facebook page). Kathi, found the former BGBCSurvivor blog after hearing about my defamation lawsuit in the local news. It turns out, Kathi and I lived in the same town for years, but our paths never crossed.… Continue reading The Privilege of Church Membership
Fallen Patriarchy Leader Doug Phillips Leaves Former Church and Becomes Member of New Church without “Letter of Transfer”
*** Vision Forum's fallen patriarchal leader, Doug Phillips, has become a member of another church without obtaining the required "letter of transfer" from the church he established and formerly led, Boerne Christian Assembly I've been hearing about this news for quite some time, but now it is official. Boerne Christian Assembly (BCA), the family-integrated church which… Continue reading Fallen Patriarchy Leader Doug Phillips Leaves Former Church and Becomes Member of New Church without “Letter of Transfer”
The Family-Integrated Church Movement is Getting Some Much-Needed Heat from Critics
*** The Family-Integrated Church movement is getting some heat by critic, Pastor Shawn Mathis. Pastor Kevin Swanson is forced to make a choice: OPC or National Center for Family-Integrated Churches (NCFIC) *** by Julie Anne The National Center for Family-Integrated Churches NCFIC began as an off-shoot from the Doug Phillips' now defunct "ministry," Vision Forum (I cannot… Continue reading The Family-Integrated Church Movement is Getting Some Much-Needed Heat from Critics
Pastoral Confidentiality: Does it Still Apply after Church Member Resigns?
*** What is the responsibility of pastors for those they deem have "gone astray?" Do pastoral confidentiality rules apply even when someone resigns their church membership? *** *** The other day, I read an article, Stabbed in the Back by a Cult Leader and it left me feeling sad and angry. "Sheldon" is a… Continue reading Pastoral Confidentiality: Does it Still Apply after Church Member Resigns?
Learn to Discern: Church Membership Accountability and Discipline of Children
* * * Learn to discern church websites, church discipline procedures, membership rules and accountability, attendance, and tithe requirements before joining a new church. A lot of information can be found on church websites. * * * * * * The other day,… Continue reading Learn to Discern: Church Membership Accountability and Discipline of Children
Learn to Discern: Doctrinal Statements and Spiritual Authority
* * * We can learn a lot about the spiritual health of a church and how they function by reading their church governance bylaws and doctrinal statements of faith. * * * There were many people, after my lawsuit became very public, who went to my… Continue reading Learn to Discern: Doctrinal Statements and Spiritual Authority
Spiritual Sounding Board 