"They taught me that sometimes the exit door of an abusive church is held open by the gracious hands of friends who have nothing to do with church, or even with Christianity, but who simply would never turn their back on a friend."
Tag: Spiritual Abuse
Harvest Bible Chapel’s Pastor James MacDonald is OUT; the Painful Personal Stories Left in the Wake
Well, he finally did enough damage that even his elders cannot cover this up. James MacDonald was caught saying despicable and cruel things on a recording which was aired by Chicago-area radio personality and former Harvest Bible Chapel congregant, "Mancow" Muller. on WLS/AM 890. And he was fired!
Book Review Series – “The Excellent Wife” by Martha Peace – Chapter 2: Carefully Placing Wives in a Box
Book Review Series, The Excellent Wife, Martha Peace, Complementarianism -by Kathi This is a book review series of The Excellent Wife by Martha Peace. If you are just joining us, you may click on previous chapter reviews if you’d like to catch up. Chapter One **** Chapter Two - A Wife's Understanding of God: God's Protective Authority Peace… Continue reading Book Review Series – “The Excellent Wife” by Martha Peace – Chapter 2: Carefully Placing Wives in a Box
Spiritual Abuse: Stop Being so Bitter
Spiritual Abuse, ReputationJonathan Hollingsworth This is the fifth blog post referring to an article by Jonathan Hollingsworth, What Not to Say to Someone Who’s Been Hurt by the Church. The article resonated with a lot of people, so I thought it might be a good idea to discuss these unhelpful statements one by one here, and give… Continue reading Spiritual Abuse: Stop Being so Bitter
Spiritual Abuse: What Are Nonbelievers Going to Think?
Spiritual Abuse, ReputationJonathan Hollingsworth This is the fourth blog post referring to an article by Jonathan Hollingsworth, What Not to Say to Someone Who’s Been Hurt by the Church. The article resonated with a lot of people, so I thought it might be a good idea to discuss these unhelpful statements one by one here, and give… Continue reading Spiritual Abuse: What Are Nonbelievers Going to Think?
Caution: Children and Predestination
Predestination and Children My friend, Ryan Stollar, posted this on his Facebook wall, and I was struck at how damaging Predestination can be to children, especially vulnerable children. Shoot, I think it could scare adults, too! Special thanks to Ryan for writing about this and giving me permission to share it. ~ja First off, what… Continue reading Caution: Children and Predestination
Naghmeh Panahi, Ex-Wife of Former Iranian Prisoner, “Pastor” Saeed Abedini, Posts Public Statement on Facebook
It's been a while since I have posted about Saeed Abedini or his ex-wife, Naghmeh. Naghmeh Panahi posted a public note on Facebook yesterday. You may recall that after Saeed Abedini was released from prison in Iran, Naghmeh filed for separation because Saeed would not get help for his abusive behavior in the marriage. Saeed… Continue reading Naghmeh Panahi, Ex-Wife of Former Iranian Prisoner, “Pastor” Saeed Abedini, Posts Public Statement on Facebook
Spiritual Abuse: Lori Alexander Says Working Women with Disabled Husbands Should Know Where They Belong
-by Kathi We haven't looked at Lori Alexander's "older woman" teachings for a while because not much has changed. Yesterday's doodle stood out to me, though, and offered another prime example of how Lori continues to pile on spiritual abuse. Text reads: Many women want to continually discredit God's clear commands to them. "My husband… Continue reading Spiritual Abuse: Lori Alexander Says Working Women with Disabled Husbands Should Know Where They Belong
Spiritual Abuse: It’s Not Gossip to Talk about Abuse!
Spiritual Abuse, Gossip, Jonathan Hollingsworth This is the third blog post referring to an article by Jonathan Hollingsworth, What Not to Say to Someone Who’s Been Hurt by the Church. The article resonated with a lot of people, so I thought it might be a good idea to discuss these unhelpful statements one by one here,… Continue reading Spiritual Abuse: It’s Not Gossip to Talk about Abuse!
Spiritual Abuse: When People Ask You, “Are You Working Toward Reconciliation?”
Spiritual Abuse, What Not to Say, Jonathan Hollingsworth, Reconciliation This is the second blog post referring to an article by Jonathan Hollingsworth, What Not to Say to Someone Who’s Been Hurt by the Church. The article resonated with a lot of people, so I thought it might be a good idea to discuss these unhelpful statements… Continue reading Spiritual Abuse: When People Ask You, “Are You Working Toward Reconciliation?”
Spiritual Abuse: When People Tell You, “No Church is Perfect”
Spiritual Abuse, What Not to Say, Jonathan Hollingsworth Being hurt at church is tough, and sometimes it's a lonely journey. You may have experienced something that other congregants have not experienced. Some people may have good intentions, but say things that are not helpful, and in fact, may be hurtful. This can lead to… Continue reading Spiritual Abuse: When People Tell You, “No Church is Perfect”
Negative Google Reviews are Still Keeping People Away from My Spiritually Abusive Church 6 Years after Lawsuit
Chuck O'Neal, Beaverton Grace Bible Church, Spiritual Abuse, Negative Google Reviews, Defamation Lawsuit The other day, I got a call from my good friend, Michelle, who used to attend the cult/church we attended. Her husband used to be on staff at the church (Beaverton Grace Bible Church) and was fired. That led to… Continue reading Negative Google Reviews are Still Keeping People Away from My Spiritually Abusive Church 6 Years after Lawsuit
Woman Feels Spiritually Trapped after Having Grown up in a Conservative Reformed Christian Homeschool Family
I found Ann's comment (below) in moderation, but felt it deserved a wider audience than where it was intended to be posted. Ann's story most certainly is not unique. Her struggle goes along with the previous two posts on abuse in marriage, but is compounded with a childhood of teachings that have been harmful to… Continue reading Woman Feels Spiritually Trapped after Having Grown up in a Conservative Reformed Christian Homeschool Family
What Does Responding Biblically Really Mean?
*** This will be short and sweet. I'm in the final crunch of school with only 2-1/2 weeks until graduation (woohoo!!). Responding Biblically seems to be thrown around a lot. I just tweeted this because I was thinking about a recent debate on Twitter (which I will write about when I get more time). ***… Continue reading What Does Responding Biblically Really Mean?
Sovereign Grace Church Leaders Remove Wife from Women’s Small Group Leader Position after Couple Asks Questions
*** 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
Personal Story: What Did the Church Teach You about Yourself?
Spiritual abuse, sex abuse, patriarchy, domestic violence, Sovereign Grace, Desiring God, CJ Mahaney, John Piper, Mental Health *** *** Part of recovery from abusive churches is coming to grips with what you were taught and how it affected you. Sometimes, and very appropriately, the ability to see this clearly results in anger. Jennifer Michelle posted… Continue reading Personal Story: What Did the Church Teach You about Yourself?
From a Bill Gothard Survivor to Other Survivors: Free Yourselves
Bill Gothard, IBLP, ATI, Institutes in Basic Life Principles, Spiritual Abuse, Sexual Abuse *** The following was written by David Shere, who has been reading here for some time. He wanted to share his thoughts and advice as a Bill Gothard survivor. This was written after the news that the plaintiffs had dismissed the lawsuit… Continue reading From a Bill Gothard Survivor to Other Survivors: Free Yourselves
Spiritual Abuse, PTSD, and the Aftermath
Spiritual Abuse, PTSD, Recovery, Beaverton Grace Bible Church, Chuck O'Neal *** When someone deals with spiritual abuse, it can have lasting consequences. One popular response is making the decision to no longer go an institutional church. I get that. I'm pretty sure I relayed the story either in a post, or in comments, that one… Continue reading Spiritual Abuse, PTSD, and the Aftermath
Tullian Tchividjian and Mark Driscoll are Baaaack
Mark Driscoll, Tullian Tchividjian, Spiritual abuse, clergy sexual misconduct *** Tullian Tchividjian and Mark Driscoll are Baaaack Today was a really difficult day with the shootings in Las Vegas. As of this writing, 59 people have died, and over 500 injured. What a horrible, senseless tragedy, with so many people harmed. As I was reeling… Continue reading Tullian Tchividjian and Mark Driscoll are Baaaack
Guest Post: If “Jane” from TMU were to seek “Biblical counseling” #DoYouSeeUs
Biblical Counseling, Nouthetic Counseling, "Jane" #DoYouSeeUs, John MacArthur, The Master's University Rebecca Davis, who writes at Here's the Joy blog, has graciously allowed me to post her new article here. She has been a long-time friend of SSB. I really appreciate this article because in it, Rebecca describes the nouthetic, aka "Biblical counseling," process that… Continue reading Guest Post: If “Jane” from TMU were to seek “Biblical counseling” #DoYouSeeUs
Spiritual Sounding Board 