Spiritual Recovery

The articles below help the reader understand and address the whole dynamic of spiritual abuse. Passages and special topics discussed below shed light on various aspects of spiritual abuse.

Understanding Unhealthy Church Dynamics and Spiritual Abuse

Uncovering and Facing Spiritual Abuse

What is spiritual abuse? Understanding it in general terms, and illustrating with real-life, personal examples.

Characteristics of Unhealthy and Abusive Church Environments

What makes a church unhealthy?

Favoritism

Discerning legitimate and damaging instances of favoritism

Why Churches Make Mistakes, and What Can Be Done About It

Examining mistakes and mistake-prevention in a church.

The Perils of Obedience

By Stanley Milgram. A classic article on the psychological dynamics of obedience to authority.

The Yeast of the Pharisees: Spiritual Abuse by Pastors and Counselors

By Edward J. Cumella, Ph. D. Reprinted from Christian Counseling Today.

Confronting the Unhealthy Church

Confronting Those in Authority

Practical guidelines for working things out with leaders

When Confronting Doesn't Bring About Change, and Why Churches Can't Change

Exploring the dynamics and options when confrontation doesn't go well

Scriptural Reasons for Leaving a Church

When it's time to go, and how to look at it.

Recovering from the Unhealthy Church

Leaving an Unhealthy Church and the Grief Process

How leaving a church is a loss, how various grief models can help us understand the process, and various mechanisms on recovering from the loss. How patterns learned in an unhealthy church environment can make recovery more difficult.