Nathan Eshelman recently penned this very helpful review article of a newly published book on spiritual abuse in the church. This is a must read. While there are certainly autocratic bullies in the Church, there are also dangerous, manipulative abusers in the pew who–if not held to simple, biblical and presbyterian standards for conflict resolution–can create tremendous harm.
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If you stumbled into a rabbit hole you may find several things that intrigue you. There may be keys and playing cards or caterpillars—and maybe even a rabbit. But just because you find keys, playing cards, and caterpillars does not mean that you’ve entered the world of the Red Queen and the hookah-smoking caterpillar. Sometimes it takes more. Jefferson Airplane said it like this:
“One pill makes you larger
And one pill makes you small
And the ones that mother gives you
Don’t do anything at all
Go ask Alice
When she’s ten feet tall…”
I am working on a writing project that has taken me into various books on church relationships and communication. In the midst of that project, a beloved former professor of mine and churchmen has resigned from the ministry, in part, because of what is currently being called “spiritual abuse.” The idea of spiritual abuse is everywhere right now.
West Port Experiment 