GraceMaryvilleWarning | Maryville, TN

There is a place that promises acceptance, spiritual growth, and friendship, but instead delivers criticism, abuse, and exploitation. It is a place that claims to obey the word of God, but in practice weaponizes the word against those who disagree or doubt. That place might be a Christian church. It might be a cult. It is probably both. This book is written for survivors of abusive churches, their families and friends, and all who want to understand spiritual abuse and help the abused. It is written to address a poorly understood, rarely admitted problem today–spiritual abuse in Christian churches.

If you have suffered spiritual abuse from a toxic faith community or toxic leader, your trust has been broken. Now you are left wounded and disillusioned, wondering if you can ever trust organized religion, yourself, or possibly, even God. In Broken Trust, Diederich relates his personal experiences of toxic faith and spiritual abuse, along with the experiences of other survivors. This isn’t just another tell-all story of abuse; it’s a guide that will help you to identify spiritual abuse and offer you a practical plan for recovery. Don’t let your abusers derail your faith.

Are churches looking for the wrong kind of leaders? We have tolerated and even celebrated the kind of leaders Jesus warned us against. Written for church leaders and church members on the problem of spiritual abuse, how to spot it, and how to handle it in the church.

Power has a God-given role in human relationships and institutions, but it can lead to abuse when used in unhealthy ways. This book shows that the body of Christ desperately needs to understand the forms power takes, how it is abused, and how to respond to abuses of power. Dr. Langberg offers a clinical and theological framework for understanding how power operates, the effects of the abuse of power, and how power can be redeemed and restored to its proper God-given place in relationships and institutions.

You joined your church because of its intensity for God. Like no other place, it’s helped you discover the meaning of obedience. Of teachableness. Of death to self. If there’s one problem, it’s the confusion that sometimes comes from your own carnal thinking. But God has given you leaders who can lovingly correct a doubting, independent spirit and help you choose God’s best for your life. How can you go wrong with a church like that? Easily. What you’ve just read actually fits the profile of many abusive churches. This book uncovers the subtle but powerful techniques by which, in the name of truth, controlling leaders manipulate and intimidate countless believers. It also supplies tools for overcoming persuasive, deceptive teachings and practices.

Learn to recognize the signs of a destructive organization. Protect yourself from psychological manipulation.  Overcome the residual problems of former cult membership. It is an excellent resource for understanding authoritarian, destructive leadership structure and methods of control. Contains a rubric for evaluating the extent of control and undue influence in an organization.

Trauma is a fact of life. Veterans and their families deal with the painful aftermath of combat; one in five Americans has been molested; one in four grew up with alcoholics; one in three couples have engaged in physical violence. In The Body Keeps the Score, Dr. Bessel van der Kolk uses recent scientific advances to show how trauma literally reshapes both body and brain, compromising sufferers’ capacities for pleasure, engagement, self-control, and trust. Based on his own research and that of other leading specialists, this book exposes the tremendous power of our relationships both to hurt and to heal, and offers new hope for reclaiming lives.

No one should leave church feeling manipulated, controlled, shamed, or condemned, but places of shelter and encouragement can become abusive if spiritual leaders begin to use their authority to meet their needs for importance, power, or spiritual gratification. In this book you’ll discover how to identify an abusive church and also how to break free from its destructive legalism. Topics covered include how spiritual abuse develops (and why those under its grip often don’t see it), the subtle ways that leaders and systems “hook” and control believers, robbing them of their joy in Christ, and effective strategies for escaping abusive situations. Insightful, practical, and solidly grounded in Scripture, this book has what you need to recover a grace-filled relationship with God and His church.