Here’s Why I Wrote My New Book, “Bully Pulpit”
Since the release of my new book, Bully Pulpit: Confronting the Problem of Spiritual Abuse in the Church (Zondervan, 2022), I have done a ton of podcasts. Some of the most enjoyable have been with Collin Hansen at Gospelbound podcast, Warren Cole Smith at World Magazine, and Sean McDowell and Scott Rae at Think Biblically podcast.
But in nearly all these podcasts, the first question I get is: “Why in the world did you, as a NT scholar, write a book about spiritual abuse?” And that’s a fair question. Nearly all my prior publications have been fairly academic and mostly on text/canon issues.
So, here’s a video giving … Continue reading...
“Bully Pulpit” Wins Book of the Year
The Gospel Coalition released it’s annual Book of the Year Awards today, and I was so pleased to see that my new book, Bully Pulpit, won Book of the Year for the ministry category.
The reviewers wrote: “Michael Kruger’s Bully Pulpit confronts this widespread problem with the beauty and transforming power of the gospel . . . He succeeds in creating a work that will be a change agent in our time and should live well beyond it.”
[UPDATE: I recently learned that Bully Pulpit was also one of the winners for the Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary Book of the Year Awards, and a runner-up for the … Continue reading...
My New Book Is Here! Announcing the Release of “Bully Pulpit: Confronting the Problem of Spiritual Abuse in the Church”
I am pleased to announce the release of my new book, Bully Pulpit: Confronting the Problem of Spiritual Abuse in the Church!
Given that it is election day across our nation (Nov 8th), this may seem like a strange date for a book to be released. But since the book is about what godly leadership looks like, election day may be more relevant than it seems.
For those that follow this blog, you will know that the issue of spiritual abuse has been on my mind for the last several years now. Even before Mike Cosper’s excellent podcast, The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill, put it on … Continue reading...
5 Misconceptions about Spiritual Abuse: #3: “The Bible Doesn’t Talk about Spiritual Abuse–It’s Just a Modern Psychological Construct”
In anticipation of the Nov 1st release of my new book, Bully Pulpit: Confronting the Problem of Spiritual Abuse in the Church, I am making my way through a 5-part blog series on misconceptions and misunderstandings of spiritual abuse. You can read prior installments here and here.
We come now to #3 in the series: “Spiritual abuse is not in the Bible or church history—it’s just a modern psychological construct.”
A number of folks may balk at the idea of spiritual abuse solely on the grounds that the terminology itself is relatively modern. If it does not appear in the Bible (or church history), it is argued, … Continue reading...
Announcing My New Book: Bully Pulpit: Confronting the Problem of Spiritual Abuse in the Church
For those that follow this blog, you will know that the issue of spiritual abuse has been on my mind for the last several years now. Even before Mike Cosper’s excellent podcast, The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill, put it on the national radar, I’ve been concerned about some trends and patterns I am seeing across the spectrum of evangelical and reformed churches.
As a seminary president, and professor of New Testament, it’s part of my job to think about such things. After all, producing the next generation of leaders is what we are all about. And, more than anything, we want them to be like Christ.
And … Continue reading...