Part 3: The Broken and Beautiful Church | Comfort For the wounded
“He Binds Up The Brokenhearted” Print by Paige Payne Creations
(This article is part 3 of a series titled "The Broken and Beautiful Church.” You read parts 1 and 2 here: Part 1: Something Isn’t Right and Part 2: A Call To Leaders).
It was a beautiful day in South Carolina. Clear blue skies stretched overhead. The sun shining through the windows cast rays of light across the floor of my designated exercise spot. I put in my favorite yoga DVD–Rodney Yee's Power Yoga for Strength and Flexibility. I transitioned through each movement, as I had done many times before, slowly and methodically moving from downward dog to upward dog to plank to side arm plank. As I moved into the side arm plank, I lost my balance and fell over. I remember thinking, "That's weird. That's never happened before." Nevertheless, I shook it off and returned to position, finishing the rest of the DVD without incident.
Later that day, I felt a little swimmy-headed. It passed almost as quickly as it came on. Once again, I dismissed it and carried on with my day. But then it happened again. And again. The recurring sensation was disorienting. Although I felt fine otherwise, these random moments of dizziness were concerning. Each time, I would let the moment pass, collect myself, and then continue with whatever I had been doing. Eventually, these episodes became so frequent that I could no longer ignore them. After a few days, I decided to go to the doctor, who diagnosed me with vertigo.
I had never even heard of vertigo before. All indications were that I was perfectly healthy. But my body was telling me something different. It was a messenger alerting me that something was off and needed attention.
Looking back, I realize my body was speaking a truth my mind wasn't yet aware of. My mind perceived that all was well, but my body told a different story. This experience holds a valuable lesson about trusting our intuition and listening to our bodies—one that, decades later, I am finally beginning to understand: Our bodies are truth-tellers. They tell us when we need food or rest. They alert us to danger. And they tell us when something isn’t right.
Toxic church culture can feel a little like my first experience with vertigo. You notice something feels off. But you shake it off. Then it happens again. “That felt weird,” you think. Once again, you dismiss it, concluding, “Maybe it’s just me. Maybe I am overreacting.”
When we experience something unsettling in church settings, we may do exactly what I did with my vertigo: rationalize it and move on. Our respect for spiritual authority can lead us to ignore the signs our bodies are giving us. Our reticence is understandable. The Bible does call us to bear with one another, forgive offenses, and, if at all possible, to live at peace with everyone (Colossians 3:13, Romans 12:18). Therefore, when we see brokenness in our shepherds, we are quick to extend grace. However, the Bible does not call us to make excuses for actions and attitudes that are unbecoming of a shepherd.
As believers, we rightly expect shepherds to live according to God's word, building the body by loving and nurturing God’s people. We expect those who lead us, first and foremost, to be followers of Christ and to reflect his likeness. Therefore, when we observe a spiritual leader acting in ways that contradict the role of a shepherd, we experience cognitive dissonance. This dissonance makes it difficult to reconcile our seemingly opposing experiences and perceptions. Our beliefs (e.g., “Church leaders are supposed to model Jesus’ love”) and our experience (e.g., “I am being mocked and demeaned by my pastor”) are in conflict, so our brain scrambles to make sense of it.
For example, imagine sitting in a church meeting where the pastor publicly humiliates a volunteer, using harsh words or sarcasm. Your mind struggles to reconcile their actions with Scripture's description of a shepherd. You might think, “Surely he was just teasing.” Or you hear them speak negatively or cast a narrative that is uncharacteristic of another believer you know well. But you give them the benefit of the doubt, assuming they know something you don’t.
These mental gymnastics represent your brain's attempt to resolve the confusing gap between your understanding of pastoral care and the behavior you witnessed. Our desire to resolve the dissonance and alleviate our discomfort can lead us to dismiss or downplay concerning behaviors in our spiritual leaders. We attribute it to their unique personality: “That’s just how he is.” We choose to believe the best about those in charge: “She’s been under a lot of stress lately.” All the while, our bodies are attempting to get our attention.
When you experience toxic spiritual leadership, your body and mind sound alarm bells. Exposure to toxic spiritual leadership can even mimic physical symptoms associated with abuse and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and be indicative of severe emotional distress.
Physical Responses:
Tight chest
Hypertension
Insomnia
Headaches
Fatigue
Sleep disturbances
Digestive/stomach issues
Changes in eating habits
Inability to focus
These physical symptoms are designed to capture our attention, alerting us that something is not right. Likewise, uncharacteristic mental and emotional symptoms may also serve as indicators that something is wrong long before we become cognitively aware of a problem.
Emotional Responses
Dread before church gatherings or staff meetings
Avoidance of church leadership
Persistent anxiety
Feelings of isolation
Overwhelming shame
Unrelenting insecurity
Hypervigilance in church settings
Confusion about your experience
Apathy/Lack of motivation in spiritual matters
Ambiguous grief (a profound sense of loss and sadness without a death or closure)
While the presence of these physical and emotional symptoms does not always mean that you are in a toxic spiritual environment or an abusive situation, they do deserve curiosity and care. What is your body responding to, and what does it need in this situation?
As believers, we’ve been taught that the heart is desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9-10). Sin has corrupted every aspect of our beings. Therefore, we cannot trust what we think or feel. However, God not only created us; he has also redeemed and is renewing us—mind, body, and soul. He has given his Spirit to discern (Romans 12:2; James 1:5). Rather than dismissing physical and emotional responses as coincidences or our own personal weaknesses, we can be curious about what they, in accordance with the Spirit, may be attempting to communicate to us.
Many of us have been in toxic environments—whether jobs, families, or friend groups—without the same effect. So why do these symptoms affect us so profoundly in church contexts? The reason is that, as followers of Christ, we are part of a new family. Christ has knit us together in a bond often deeper than that of our own families of origin. Vulnerability and trust, within the context of this new family, are essential parts of our spiritual formation. We are united not by our strengths, but by our weaknesses and needs. My church family has access to the most intimate places in my heart—its fears and temptations, longings and pains—in ways the rest of the world doesn’t.
Wounds from our families of origin hurt and shape us in profound ways. But because of the intimacy and vulnerability experienced within the church, wounds from our spiritual families are especially devastating. The church is meant to be our refuge, a place where we can find safety in a world that is anything but safe. When it becomes a source of harm, it is deeply disorienting. However, it is especially harmful when shepherds—those we view as our spiritual fathers and mothers—inflict the harm.
Shepherds are God’s representatives in the church. They help shape our understanding of God’s posture toward us and our identity in Christ. Because of this unique role, their actions can distort our understanding and experience of God. When toxic leaders mock, control, or isolate members, these physical and emotional responses we experience signal a threat to our well-being, sense of belonging, and place in God’s family. There is a mismatch between their role as a shepherd and how they are living. And our brains do not know how to resolve this incongruence.
Navigating the confusion and complexity of spiritual harm requires both courage and wisdom. Many who have spoken about their experience have been met with well-intentioned, but sometimes misguided direction. Statements like “All churches are broken” or “No pastor is perfect” are true, but can inadvertently silence those who have experienced harm. Others who have spoken about their experiences have been shamed or accused of slander, gossip, taking up offenses, or creating division within the body of Christ. Whether they’ve been silenced or shamed, those who have experienced spiritual abuse are often isolated and left to navigate their experience alone.
Because Jesus warned us against judging others, we are called to examine the log in our own eyes before pointing out the speck in another person’s (Matthew 7:1-5). This is right and good. However, toxic spiritual leaders can use this to turn the tables on those they lead. When this is the case, the person experiencing harm may attribute it to their own personal sin. Perhaps, they are too sensitive, insecure, or overreacting. So they work ever more diligently to overcome some unknown sin or weakness in their own spiritual lives, all the while dismissing the clear sin in their leader’s life.
All of this makes identifying and healing from spiritual harm incredibly difficult. If you suspect you are in a toxic spiritual environment or if you have experienced spiritual abuse, what steps can you take toward healing?
1. Seek counsel from other believers outside of your context.
American novelist and essayist, David Foster Wallace, began his famous Kenyon Commencement address with an oft-quoted parable:
“There are these two young fish swimming along, and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and says, ‘Morning, boys. How’s the water?’ And the two young fish swim on for a bit, and then eventually one of them looks over at the other and goes, ‘What the hell is water?’”
Wallace goes on to say, “The point of the fish story is merely that the most obvious, important realities are often the ones that are hardest to see and talk about.”¹
This is especially true in the case of spiritual abuse. Just as the fish aren’t aware they are in water, those immersed in potentially abusive church environments may not recognize harmful patterns that might be clear to someone outside their context. If you suspect that something doesn’t feel right, believers from outside your context—whether trusted friends, counselors, or spiritual leaders from different church communities—can often help you understand if something is normal or not.
Spiritual abuse is a loaded term. It’s hard for me to even write the words without wanting to provide caveats and nuance. It makes sense that the idea doesn’t sit well with us. Dr. Diane Langberg, a counselor who specializes in trauma and spiritual abuse, says the term “spiritual abuse” should be an oxymoron.
“The word spiritual refers to something affecting a human spirit or soul. Abuse means to mistreat another, to deceive or do harm. When we use the word spiritual to describe abuse, we are talking about using that which is sacred—including God’s Word—to control, misuse, deceive, or damage a person created in his image. I think we can safely say the pairing of those two words is diabolical.”²
In his book, Bully Pulpit, Dr. Michael Kruger defines spiritual abuse as when “a spiritual leader—such as a pastor, elder, or head of a Christian organization—wields his position of spiritual authority in such a way that he manipulates, domineers, bullies, and intimidates those under him as a means of maintaining his own power and control, even if he is convinced he is seeking biblical and kingdom-related goals.”³
Here, a distinction must be made. Spiritual abuse is not the same thing as hurt. Hurt is inevitable. It happens in the healthiest of churches. We are broken people interacting with broken people. We will hurt one another. We will have conflict. We will disappoint one another. There is no spiritual utopia on this side of eternity.
We may feel hurt when a friend or pastor challenges us or tells us something we might not want to hear—even if they do it in a loving and humble way. Scripture reminds us that the wounds of a friend who corrects out of love and concern are faithful, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful (Proverbs 27:6). We need people who love us enough to ask questions and speak into our lives, offering guidance and support.
At other times, we might feel hurt if we are not included or invited to participate in something, or if someone fails to show up for us during a difficult time. We might feel hurt because our pastor disagreed with us or seemed disinterested in something we felt passionate about. These things will happen. This is all part of life together.
There is a difference between hurt and harm. Harm is not one incident; it is a pattern. Harm is repeated patterns of control, humiliation, mocking, gaslighting, silencing, or shaming. It can be overt. Or it can be gradual and subtle, which makes it harder to detect.
Many of the voices shaping the conversation around spiritual abuse note that people don’t knowingly join spiritually abusive churches. In fact, in many cases, a person’s initial experience with the church and its leadership might be overwhelmingly positive. It is the slow, gradual shift over time that makes abuse very hard to see and name.
Many factors make it challenging to identify abusive dynamics. First, similar to those who have experienced sexual abuse, people who have experienced spiritual abuse often blame themselves. They question their experience and discernment, as if they have misunderstood or made a big deal out of nothing. They may even be tempted to think that it was their fault, and that if they had acted differently, it would not have occurred—a message that may even be reinforced by those in authority over them.
We’ve been taught to respect and obey our spiritual leaders. We trust that they are following God. We may even see them as more knowledgeable and more spiritual. Therefore, when someone is in a spiritually abusive environment, they may attribute their experience to their own sin or weakness.
Similarly, because those in pastoral roles are seen as God’s representatives, their words carry significant weight. This is especially true in churches that place a high value on spiritual authority. When pastors are elevated to god-like status, this creates an environment where individual members question their own discernment, become overly deferential, or automatically believe that whatever the pastor says about them must be fundamentally true.
For instance, if a pastor suggests you are insecure or overly sensitive while discussing a conflict, you may later dismiss your own perspectives, attributing future issues to your own perceived character flaws. Similarly, if a concerning issue arises, you might silence yourself, fearing accusations of being divisive or disrespectful. When a person has been taught to submit to spiritual authority without question, the body of Christ has been muzzled, and abuse festers in isolation.
How do you determine if someone has experienced spiritual abuse? Is it simply a matter of taking the person’s word for it? Things like sexual abuse or physical abuse are more tangible, more easily defined. In comparison, things like emotional or spiritual abuse are more difficult to discern and define.
While some may wrongly accuse leaders of spiritual trauma, occurrences of that appear to be limited. People who speak out about spiritual abuse have little to gain. In fact, according to Dr. Kruger, they often pay an enormous price,
“Typically, they are not believed, they have their character attacked and tarnished, and often are driven out of the churches they love. What would motivate them to lie about the charges? What would they have to gain? Often, they have everything to lose.”⁴
Dr. Kruger goes on to say that most people who have either witnessed or experienced spiritual abuse choose to stay quiet, an observation also affirmed by Dr. Langberg.
This is why perspective from outside your immediate church context is crucial. A reputable, Christian trauma-trained counselor can name what you might not have words for, validate experiences you've been taught to dismiss, and help you discern if what you are experiencing is spiritual abuse.
If you are trying to discern if what you have experienced is spiritual abuse, here are two helpful questionnaires: the Spiritual Abuse Assessment or the Spiritual Abuse Questionnaire.
2. Be gentle with yourself.
Healing of any kind is messy. It is rarely a linear process. Healing from spiritual abuse is especially complicated. Spiritual abuse is destructive. It strikes at the core foundations of your faith, skewing your perspective of yourself, the church, and God.
Spiritual abuse leaves carnage in its wake. It knots the soul. It can be challenging to separate who God is from what those who represent him do. Some who have experienced harm at the hands of church leaders walk away from the church. Others walk away from the faith altogether.
Healing is a process of untangling your soul, knot by knot. It takes time to unravel the threads and understand the full context of what you’ve experienced. Grief comes in waves and at unexpected times. During this time of untangling, it is essential to be gentle with yourself.
You may not be able to stop crying.
You may not be able to go to church for a while.
You may not be able to read your Bible.
You may not be able to attend the same kind of church.
You may not be able to listen to the same style of preacher.
You may not be able to function like you used to.
You may not be able to listen to the same kind of worship music.
You may feel guarded around friends who are still at your old church.
You may wonder what is true.
You may feel crazy.
You may avoid familiar places or faces.
You may swing between feelings of anger at them and feelings of self-doubt.
You may want to sleep a lot.
You may have recurrent dreams or nightmares.
You may feel suspicious of the church and spiritual leaders.
You may feel the need to limit who you share your story with.
You may feel isolated and alone.
If you have experienced spiritual abuse, it is ok to connect with God in another way while you heal. Maybe a church service doesn’t feel safe, but you connect with God in your garden. Perhaps you find it difficult to read the Bible as you used to, but you feel God drawing near through the Psalms or music. Or maybe you've found a new church, but you’re not sure yet if you're ready to join or serve. This does not mean your faith is weak or flagging. It is part of the fallout of spiritual abuse.
When thoughts and feelings arise or when you notice your body tensing up, practice being curious rather than condemning or dismissing your reaction. What is my heart, mind, or body sensing right now? What does it want to communicate to me? How might God be leading me to another aspect of my story that he wants to bring healing to? What could it look like to allow God to care for me in this moment?
3. Name the loss, the pain, and the ways you were sinned against.
Many of those I have counseled desire to honor Jesus and his church. Their language is typically generous, measured, and vague. They do not want to disparage or create division.
This makes healing from spiritual abuse particularly challenging.
You cannot grieve what you cannot name. To begin the grieving process, you have to be honest and specific about what you lost and the ways you were sinned against. And herein lies the challenge. In many situations, the pastor or shepherd has been an important and influential figure in the person’s life. To speak honestly feels like betrayal. They would rather dismiss, rationalize, or justify ungodly behavior than dishonor someone who has been an important part of their faith.
This is again an issue of incongruence. Our brains struggle to comprehend how two seemingly opposing experiences can be equally true at the same time. Your small group leader can have helped you grow spiritually, and also made you feel small, silenced, or shamed.
It is possible to honor your spiritual leaders while, at the same time, being honest about the impact of their sin on your life. It isn’t easy. You will not do it perfectly. But being honest with yourself, God, and a few trusted others about your experience is a vital step in the healing process.
However, not everyone is entitled to your story. Some will want to know out of sheer curiosity. Others may reach out because they genuinely care about you. And some may be feeling you out, seeing if you are a safe person to begin discussing their own experiences. It requires wisdom and discernment to know who to share your story with and how much to say.
Initially, you may find it difficult to fully grasp what you’ve experienced. It is unlikely you will be able to name all of the losses or ways you were sinned against immediately. It takes time for your heart, mind, and body to unwind.
Some losses you may be able to name immediately, others take time to surface, and can even catch you off guard.
Loss of self-trust—doubting your own discernment, feelings, decision-making, or sanity
Loss of a felt sense of safety
Loss of peace – internal angst, anxiety, nightmares, intrusive memories, or unrepaired relationships
Loss of spiritual mentors or spiritual children
Loss of community
Loss of a place of belonging and purpose
Loss of shared history—knowing and being known by others
Loss of ministry opportunities
Loss of reputation—due to false narratives being shared about you
Loss of trust in God or his church
Loss of the ability to relax and find refuge in spiritual environments
Loss of connection to spiritual practices
Loss of friendships
Loss of job/career/ministry if you were on staff
The losses are numerous, which is why it hurts so much.
But naming what you experienced is only the first step; you don’t stop here. It is possible to name all the ways you have been sinned against and yet still be imprisoned by it. Lament is a crucial next step in the healing process.
4. Lament.
Those who have experienced spiritual abuse have frequently been silenced, which is why it is so important to express what you have experienced to God.
In its simplest form, lament is grief. It is an expression of deep emotional pain, often followed by a cry for God's intervention or comfort. Crying out to God puts you in a position to receive his comfort.
An important element of a biblical lament is remembering God’s faithfulness and what he has done. That can be hard to do when you are in crisis. But you can and will get there, because you have a Good Shepherd who will comfort and care for you amid your distress.
The losses associated with spiritual abuse often feel like a death, but without the sense of closure that death brings. Some experts refer to this as ambiguous loss or ambiguous grief. Ambiguous grief occurs when:
You have experienced a significant relationship loss, and your loved one is still living.
You have hope that your lost loved one will return to you as they once were or that the relationship will be restored to what it once was.
You find that memories of the relationship or the loss of it occupy your thoughts.
You feel disconnected from yourself or others because of the loss.
You feel that this loss has made it difficult for you to move forward in your life.⁶
The effects of spiritual harm aren’t only personal; they are communal. As you begin to name the losses, you will likely recognize that many, if not most, are relational. Many of those relationships remain fractured and without repair, which makes healing even more complicated.
The psalms of lament can be a helpful resource. They model trust amid trauma, faith amid fear, and devotion amid doubt. Through the Psalms, we learn what Eugene Peterson calls the language of the soul.
Through the Psalms, God invites us into an intimate relationship—one where we can share the breadth and depth of our emotional lives. He can handle the weight of your experience. His shoulders are big enough to bear your raw and unfiltered anger, fears, pain, and doubts. And as we bring our sorrows and sufferings to him, we place ourselves in the hands of the Good Shepherd, where we can receive care, compassion, and comfort.
So what does it look like to receive comfort from God when those who represented him were the ones who hurt you? Or to seek solace in the Scriptures when someone used them to silence or shame you? What does God think about what you experienced?
Passages like Ezekiel 34 provide insight into what God thinks about the mistreatment and neglect of his people. During the time of the priest Ezekiel, Israel was in exile in Babylon as part of God’s judgment for their idolatry and injustice. In the twelfth year of their exile, the city of Jerusalem falls to Babylon, and the temple is destroyed.
It looks as if all hope is lost. But amidst the rubble, a new hope emerges. At the beginning of chapter 34, the Lord delivered a stern message for Israel’s shepherds.
“Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep” (vs. 2b-3).
Then in verse 4, the Lord laid out his case with precision:
The weak you have not strengthened.
The sick you have not healed.
The injured you have not bound up.
The strayed you have not brought back.
The lost you have not sought.
You have ruled them with force and harshness.
The Lord was incensed, “My sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with none to search or seek for them” (vs. 6b). God’s children were scattered because there was no shepherd to care for them. They wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. As a result, they became prey, food for all the wild beasts.
Ezekiel 34 builds in heart-pounding intensity, rising like a thunderous musical score of an epic film as the Lord continues to lay out his case:
“Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: Thus says the Lord God, Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require my sheep at their hand and put a stop to their feeding the sheep” (vs. 9-10a).
God is frustrated with the mistreatment and neglect of his sheep, and he has determined to do something about it. Here, God’s focus turns to his sheep: “No longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, that they may not be food for them” (vs. 10b).
I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out (v 11).
I will seek out my sheep (v 12a).
I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness (v 12b).
I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries (v 13a).
I will bring them into their own land (v 13b).
I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country (v 13c).
I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land (v 14).
I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep (v 15a).
I myself will make them lie down (v 15b).
I will seek the lost (v 16).
I will bring back the strayed (v 16).
I will bind up the injured (v 16).
I will strengthen the weak (v 16).
The fat and the strong I will destroy (v 16).
I will feed them in justice (v 16).
Amidst the suffering of exile, these words held out comfort and hope to God’s people. Israel would no longer languish at the hands of ungodly shepherds. God himself would be their shepherd.
But what about now? Can those who have experienced mistreatment and neglect also find comfort in these words? In verses 23-24, “God promised to raise up a new David, a future messianic king, who is going to be the kind of leader that Israel needed but never got.”⁵ This ancient promise has been fulfilled. In John 10, Jesus proclaimed that he is the Good Shepherd. Rather than mistreating and neglecting the sheep, Jesus laid his life down for them. He is the one who has and will ultimately fulfill all of God’s promises to bring back the strayed, bind up the injured, seek out the lost, and strengthen the weak. And because we have been entrusted with his Spirit, we can grow in discerning what is and is not his voice in human shepherds.
The hope for those who have experienced spiritual abuse is this: God sees what has been done to you and has promised to be your Good Shepherd. He will tend to you with great compassion and care. And he will not abandon you or fail you, even if those who represent him have.
Love you guys,
CC
P.S. If you experienced hurt under my shepherding, I want to hear from you. If you feel comfortable, please reach out to me at ccole@wholeheartedproject.org. We can schedule a time to talk, or if you'd like, you can email me instead.
¹ Farnam Street. “David Foster Wallace on Life and Work — This Is Water.” Farnam Street, Farnam Street Media Inc., https://fs.blog/david-foster-wallace-this-is-water/. Accessed 17 Mar. 2025.
² Langberg, Diane. “When the Sheep Are Preyed Upon: Acknowledging the Tragic Reality of the Church’s Spiritual Abuse Problem.” ERLC, Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, Winter 2020, https://erlc.com/resource/when-the-sheep-are-preyed-upon/. Accessed 12 May 2025.
³ Kruger, Michael J. “Not Domineering Over Those in Your Charge: Exploring the Complexities of Spiritual Abuse.” ByFaith, 2024, https://portfolio.metaleapcreative.com/4626019/5/. Accessed 7 May 2025.
⁴ Kruger, Michael J. 5 Misconceptions About Spiritual Abuse: #5 – Talking About Spiritual Abuse Will Just Lead to False Accusations Against Pastors. 16 Apr. 2024, https://michaeljkruger.com/5-misconceptions-about-spiritual-abuse-5-talking-about-spiritual-abuse-will-just-lead-to-false-accusations-against-pastors/. Accessed 7 May 2025.
⁵ BibleProject. “Ezekiel 34–48.” BibleProject, 7 Dec. 2016, bibleproject.com/videos/ezekiel-34-48. Accessed 8 June 2025.
⁶ Sarazin, Stephanie, M.P.P. “What Is Ambiguous Grief and How to Begin Healing.” Psychology Today, 26 May 2023, Psychology Today, US, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/soulbroken/202305/what-is-ambiguous-grief-and-how-to-begin-healing. Accessed 8 June 2025.
Additional Resources:
If you would like to read more about the topic of spiritual abuse, two reputable Christian voices in this area are Dr. Diane Langberg and Dr. Michael Kruger. Both have written and spoken extensively about spiritual abuse in the church. You can find Dr. Kruger’s website here and Dr. Langberg’s website here.
Spiritual Abuse Questionnaire by Dr. Kathryn Keller
Podcast (w/ transcript): Think Biblically podcast Confronting Spiritual Abuse with Dr. Michael Kruger
Article: What Is Spiritual Abuse
Article: When The Sheep Are Preyed Upon, by Dr. Diane Langberg
Video: Healing Spiritual Abuse with Dr. Diane Langberg
Article: Spiritual Abuse—An Unsafe Safe Place, by Tim and Lisa Oakley
Video: Spiritual Abuse, by GRACE (Godly Response To Abuse In A Christian Environment)
Video: Colin Hansen podcast Confronting Spiritual Abuse with Dr. Michael Kruger
Books
Understanding Spiritual Abuse, by Karen Roudovski
Spiritual Abuse Recovery Workbook, by Karen Roudkovski
The Lord Is My Courage, by K.J. Ramsey
The Book of Common Courage, by K.J. Ramsey
A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, by W. Phillip Keller
Healing What’s Within, by Chuck DeGroat
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* The above book links are Amazon Associate links, which provide a small commission with purchases toward The WholeHearted Project. They do not affect your price in any way.