How Not To Become a Celebrity Pastor
America—and the Western world in general—loves celebrities. That much is not in doubt. Whether they be athletes, actors, or successful CEO’s, we are fascinated with people who are rich, powerful, and at the top of their game.
Indeed, we’ve been taught that the way you make an organization successful is by finding an exceptional person to lead it—a franchise player—who can put it on the map. Whether it’s Lebron James or Jeff Bezos, all organizations need a superstar.
Unfortunately, the church has sometimes adopted this same approach to leadership. If our churches are going to “succeed,” we figure we need our own franchise player to lead us—someone who is strong, … 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...