Some time ago, I examined the topic of spiritual abuse and it was perhaps one of my most beneficial articles I have written. I wanted to draw from a rich reservoir of resources now to expand upon the topic, and perhaps write a book on it myself one day.
I have already shared my story about being a victim of spiritual abuse myself. The experience I had took place in a Pentecostal church that was part of a major denomination, and in regard to that it shed light on how some forms of Christianity tend to be more prone to abusive practices than others. Recently, a Pentecostal minister named Dr. Steven Lambert authored two good books on this very topic, and I have his second book now called Charismatic Control: Witchcraft in Neo-Pentecostal Churches (Jupiter, FL: Real Truth Publications, 1997). Lambert astutely ties abuse in Pentecostal and Charismatic churches to another phenomenon I have talked about - charismatic witchcraft. Now, my definition of this is pretty basic, as it essentially means using a spiritual gift in such a way that manipulates and controls, and while that is simplistic, Dr. Lambert adds more to this. In his earlier book that I will be getting later entitled Charismatic Captivation, he talks about this phenomenon as being a result of widely taught and highly authoritarian practices which originated with a sub-group of Charismatic churches called the Discipleship/Shepherding Movement (Lambert, Charismatic Control, 6). This is partially true, but in some cases it has deeper roots that go back into the earliest days of the Pentecostal movement, and was partially a holdover from some of its more extreme Fundamentalist and Holiness roots. I want to give a brief historical overview of the Discipleship/Shepherding Movement to kind of give some context.
When the Charismatic Renewal movement happened in the late 1960s and early 1970s, people impacted by it tended to go one of three directions. Some decided to affiliate with older Pentecostal groups, and denominations such as the Assemblies of God and Foursquare Gospel received them enthusiastically. Others remained in their denominational traditions as Charismatics, and they participated in the various aspects of their church traditions in an enthusiastic way that did breathe some life into Catholic and historical Protestant churches. Others, however, formed nondenominational churches that embraced charismatic spirituality, and that would lead to loose fellowships like the Word of Faith movement and other Charismatic schools of thought that emphasized a particular idea (prophetic ministry, healing, etc.). This latter group is what brought the whole Discipleship/Shepherding controversy to light. Many nondenominational congregations had a spiritual enthusiasm but lacked accountability and oversight, so some leaders in this movement felt the need to "shepherd" these enthusiastic new Charismatics, and they included a group of six noteworthy individuals - Bob Mumford, Charles Simpson, Derek Prince, Don Basham, Ern Baxter, and John Poole. Forming a group in 1969 called Holy Spirit Teaching Mission, they wanted to establish a system of accountability in these new nondenominational fellowships, and in doing so they opened doors for abuse, so much so that in 1975 Pat Robertson and other Charismatic and Pentecostal leaders began to disavow and distance themselves from this group. Robertson in particular was the first to identify their extreme practices as "witchcraft," and in doing so he is perhaps credited with identifying what is called "charismatic witchcraft," and despite some other unrelated controversies of his own, Robertson perhaps did the greater Christian community a service by identifying these movements as potential abuse opportunities (Harold D. Hunter, "Shepherding Movement," in Burgess, McGee, and Alexander, Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements {Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1988}: 784). What was tragic is that this was not limited to nondenominational Charismatic churches either - the Foursquare church in Alabama where I experienced some of this was heavily influenced by this movement, and another version of it arose among non-Pentecostal Fundamentalists as well, the most notorious example being Bill Gothard's Institute in Basic Life Principles. This began to garner attention in the early 1990s as more awareness of spiritual abuse (as it was now called) became public. That is the next part of the story.
In 1992, a landmark book was published by Christian sociologist Ronald Enroth entitled Churches that Abuse (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992). At the time this book was published, I had come to the conclusion that the Foursquare church I was attending at the time was not right - the pastor was growing increasingly more authoritarian, and condemning as "demon-possessed" anyone who disagreed with him. So, when I found out about Enroth's book, I purchased it at a bookstore in Chipley, FL, and it has been one of my most valuable resources in my library since. It was Enroth's book, as a matter of fact, that helped to put an identifying term on what I was experiencing, and for me that was revolutionary. Enroth's work served to open doors for others to look into this topic, and since then literally dozens of books have been published. As far as the term "charismatic witchcraft" though, the first mention of that came from a non-denominational Charismatic minister named Bill Hamon. Hamon was part of a movement that emphasized the phenomenon of modern-day prophets and apostles, and at the time he had a church in nearby Panama City, FL, called Christian International. He published a three-volume set of books called Prophets and Personal Prophecy, and although he himself participated in some other questionable things of the Charismatic movement, I believe he had a valid insight on this one. He identified the misuse of a prophetic gift to control others by the term "charismatic witchcraft," and in putting that together with Enroth's research, it more or less painted a more comprehensive picture of what I had experienced in an abusive Foursquare church with a very controlling and totalitarian pastor. That was liberating for me as well, because I truly realized that I was not alone and that what the pastor was doing was not right. In time other books began to appear on this topic, and I wanted to mention a couple of important ones now.
Prior to Enroth's groundbreaking work, another important work was published a year earlier by David Johnson and Jeff van Vonderen entitled The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse (Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1991). While not getting the widespread attention that Enroth's work did a year later, these authors -one being a pastor and the other a Christian counselor - did some groundbreaking work of their own. Their book dealt more with the evolution of an abusive church situation rather than case studies like Enroth's did, and their thesis stated that an abusive church did not happen overnight but rather rested upon a foundation of beliefs and practices which would nurture such an environment. Chapter 4 in particular deals with this. The authors identify several factors from which an abusive church situation could evolve, and among those are the following:
1. Learned powerlessness - this involves behavior on the part of the victims that results from not being equipped properly to aid in fostering confidence, as well as leadership setting restrictive boundaries that limit spiritual growth.
2. Based in shame - reinforcing shame instead of guilt is a tactic of abusive leadership. This means instilling in a following the idea that they are fundamentally defective and worthless, and thus only "the leader" has the key to telling them "their place."
2. Performance - the acceptance of behaviors instead of upholding the dignity of personhood. The follower is told that they are only accepted if they behave in a certain way the leader dictates.
These three key elements are also supplemented by other things, such as different forms of manipulation, the impossible and hard-to-please "god," and an unhealthy preoccupation with fault or blame as well as filtered reality - the leader of such a group only feeds his followers what he wants them to know, and independent thought is highly discouraged. If someone attempts to step "outside the box," they are labeled "rebellious," "demon-possessed," and ultimately "an enemy of the church." This is a form of shunning in which members are also discouraged from talking to "outsiders," especially ex-members, due to the fact it may lead them to ask questions, and a dictator hates being questioned! I experienced that first-hand as well in the abusive Foursquare church I was part of. A lady in that church, who had served as music minister for many years, all of a sudden was found to be at odds with the pastor and his wife. So, she ended up leaving. Despite this, I was close to this lady and maintained a friendship with her for many years. However, the pastor found out we visited her one day, and we got a sharp rebuke about talking to "enemies of the church," and it was at that point I began to understand that this pastor was doing something very wrong. In time, I would suffer the same fate, as eventually I would be called an "enemy of the church" once I finally left. In other words, basically the pastor viewed anyone who challenged his narrative an "enemy," and he could not risk members of his congregation talking to them because they might uncover things they should not know. Eventually, that is exactly what happened to me. But, despite some overcoming of psychological hurts I received, I count getting out of that cultic atmosphere as a true blessing - God heard my prayer and delivered me from that viper pit, in other words.
Another book that came out some point later was focused on the recovery from spiritual abuse, and it was Barbara M. Orlowski, Spiritual Abuse Recovery (Eugene OR: Wipf and Stock, 2010). Orlowski is a Canadian counselor who has risen as an advocate for the abused and although I haven't given her book a detailed read as of yet, I feel it is a valuable resource for counseling those who are coming out of abusive spiritual situations. She notes that the recovery process entails a number of important steps, including the following (Orlowski, 6):
1. Christians becoming reoriented after a negative experience.
2. Christians having a greater appreciation for the work of God's grace in their lives.
3. The power of forgiving abusive leadership.
4. Being able to articulate the experience clearly without resentment.
5. Being able to reflect positively on what one has learned through the experience.
I really appreciate the way Orlowski breaks this down, as to be honest that is what I am doing here. The fourth - articulating clearly without resentment - is a therapeutic exercise, and a good means I have found in doing that over the years is through journaling. I have mentioned before about how journaling helps, and that even blog articles like this are possible because of the practice one gets of writing down their honest thoughts - they are between you and God, and you are not obligated to show them to anyone unless you choose to do so. I also identify with the second as well - a greater appreciation for the work of God's grace. What is important here is understanding the role of supernatural grace, and as I have drilled into my 11th graders in their Sacraments and Morality class I teach, supernatural grace does three things:
1. It elevates
2. It heals
3. It perfects
In other words, none of us will receive the fulness of grace at once (only one mortal human being was given that gift, and that was Our Lady), and supernatural grace must be allowed to work within us to bring us to the place God intended us to be. This is why legalistic and abusive church leaders don't like grace - they don't have the patience for it, and it also reins in their desire to control others. If we are receptive to God's grace, we grow daily in it, and for Catholics it also means that the Sacraments play a role in nourishing us with that grace as well. Because part of supernatural grace is healing, it takes time to do so - some wounds are very deep, and they leave ugly scars that stare us in the face every day. Grace enables us to see past that and toward who God truly called us to be. Grace is not denying the wounds, but using the wound as a witness to God's healing power through his grace. As Ronald Enroth states in his second book, Recovering from Churches That Abuse (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994), we don't have to let the past rule our future (Enroth, 83): or to put it another way as Mark Chironna once said, "our present position does not dictate our future potential." If we let the past - even painful experiences like spiritual abuse - define us, we will limit ourselves. That is why Orlowski's third point - forgiving abusive leadership - is key as well. In my own experience, it took a while for me to forgive the pastor who caused me so much trouble, but in time I actually did, and prior to his death I was even talking to him and his wife on social media again. It doesn't excuse what they did, and in all honesty that is on them, but I don't have to carry that around anymore. And, that is another thing grace does as well - forgiveness has to be received as well as given, and for the offended person, it is important to develop an attitude of forgiveness, even if one's offender doesn't think they did anything wrong. In other words, when (and if) they are ready to receive it, we should give forgiveness freely. At times, that is some of the most painful growth too, as letting go can be tough. But, as Jesus said, we have someone who can bear those burdens for us, and we don't need to carry them anymore. So, what grace does is reminds us to pray for the strength to let go, and as the healing process continues, it gets easier with every passing day. How forgiveness is cultivated largely depends on the extent of the damage and the person who was hurt - some can heal quicker than others, and that's OK too because none of us are exactly the same because God created us as individuals. The important thing is being yielded - I again quote the famous evangelist Kathryn Kuhlman who said "God doesn't want gold or silver vessels, he wants yielded vessels." Leaving ourselves in God's hands and trusting in his grace with our faith is what will ultimately heal us.
That being said, we need to have compassion for the hurting who have been abused also. Some of them will never step inside a church again unless God really touches them, but we cannot force them either. Others go the other extreme and may become notoriously evil - Aleister Crowley is a classic example of that. We don't need to arbitrate who people are based on reactions to painful memories they have - we are just reminded they need our prayers for God's healing in their lives too because they are badly wounded and may not necessarily be evil people. And, although our own faith may be strong, until theirs is we need to exercise patience and compassion with such people, as what they need is support whether they admit it or not. In time, some of these individuals may receive that healing, and when they recover they will be a more powerful force to reckon with because God took those hurts and turned them into strengths. If this describes you right now, there are two things I need to say to you. First, on behalf of sincere believers in Christ, I offer you my heartfelt apologies for what you have gone through, and in that be assured you are not alone. Second, please understand that your abuser was the exception and not the norm - not all people of faith act like that, and we are ashamed of the damage individuals like that do. Know also that God loves you, and he is not your enemy - he as a matter of fact wants to embrace you and let you know he loves you regardless of what some dictator in a pulpit made you feel. I am hoping that if you have been a victim of spiritual abuse, you know you are not alone - many of us have been there too. We pray for you, and once you let us know who you are we will stand with you. God's blessings until next time.