Bully Pulpit by Michael J Kruger

Author:Michael J Kruger [Kruger, Michael J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Zondervan
Published: 2022-09-02T00:00:00+00:00

CONCluSiON

When an elder board or Christian organization is faced with accusations that their pastor or leader is abusive, we need to realize they may already have the following assumptions: (1) this is an isolated incident (what dead bodies?); (2) this pastor seems like an honest, good person whom we know and love (there are no monsters); (3) everyone’s an awful sinner and blame must exist on all sides (everyone’s a monster); and (4) accountability isn’t needed because conflicts can be solved if the two parties just meet together (just meet with the monster).

Take these assumptions and add to them the extensive and robust defensive tactics that most abusive pastors employ, and we are faced with a rather concerning implication: In this current system, it is extremely difficult—indeed almost impossible—to convict a pastor of spiritual abuse. Unless the case is particularly severe and there is an overwhelming amount of external evidence (videos, recordings, emails), it is unlikely the spiritually abusive pastor will be charged of the testimony of the victims, getting church courts to see the truth is a long, uphill battle.

Clearly there is more work to be done. If we are to battle against abuse in the church, we must understand more than just the theological errors that have allowed it to go unchecked. We must also understand the array of tactics the abuser and his enablers use to defend his abusive actions. We turn to that topic in the next chapter.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.