Healing Spiritual Abuse: How to Break Free from Bad Church Experiences

GET IT FOR YOUR FRIENDS WHO DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY IT HAPPENED, AND FINALLY KNOW THAT IT IS NOT GOD WORKING BUT CORRUPTED AND FLESHY SUPPOSED LEADERS WHO MANIPULATE AND HURT GOD'S PEOPLE TO FOSTER THEIR OWN AGENDA. A GREAT ASSET TO THE BODY OF CHRIST THAT SEEMS TO BE ATTRACTING MORE CONTROLLING AND MANIPULATING LEADERS. PRAY AGAINST IT AND TRUST GOD TO BRING YOU TO A GOOD FELLOWSHIP WHERE YOU WILL FEEL AND EXPERIENCE SPIRITUAL RENEWAL AND SAFETY. TOO MANY PEOPLE ARE GOING INTO CHURCHES AND COMING OUT WITH GREATER BONDAGES THAN THEY CAME IN WITH.

I am a former member of one of the book's references of a church that can be spiritual abusive. I needed help healing and understanding the pain and confusion in my Christian walk from my long history in my former church. I earmarked pages that really struck me and have gone back to it at times. This is a hard and sometimes lonely journey, but one that you want to make to preserve your faith. I appreciated the insight. In some ways it has increased my faith to see my faith and others in the book preserved inspite of unhealthy and harmful practices around them. The truth will prevail about God and who he is and what he longs for for his people.P.S. I also recommend " Accidental Pharisee" by Larry Osborne if your former church fellowship had a culture of legalism. It helped me think through things differently (even though sometimes I didn't complete agree) as I headed out into the broader Christian world.

This book has been so helpful in my healing process. I was left so confused trying to understand how this all happened. I have watched so many at our previous church be hurt. This book hit the nail on the head in EVERY chapter. I have never underlined or written in a book so much. I now have a much greater understanding of how this abuse came to be. I only wish the leaders understood or were at least open to hearing. The term spiritual abuse sounded so dramatic when it was first mentioned to me. But I have no doubt that what I have watched others experience and what I eventually personally experienced was just that. I believe this book will go a long way in my continued healing and others that have connected with us as they leave.Thank you for writing this!

I really enjoyed this book. I liked all the parallels Ken made between the Pharisees and spiritual abusers. Since many abusive religious people in churches use scriptures to abuse people, I liked the fact he used scripture to point out how abusers are wrong. Yes, one can point to secular writings such psychologists or psychiatrists, but using the bible in the way that Ken does really opened my eyes to understanding many scriptures in a new way. I applaud him for his efforts. For anyone who is struggling to understand what to do in a potentially abusive situation, this book is a must-read. "My people perish for a lack of knowledge" - Hosea 4:6

What if church wasn't a safe place? What if one of the most hurtful things you ever experienced was done to you in the name of religion? If you've ever been there, this is the book for you! Why would a minister subject you to spiritual abuse? What constitutes spiritual abuse? Should I stay or should I go? If you are hurting, this could be your first step toward reclaiming joy and repairing your relationship with God.

Such a good book! Highly recommend to anyone! My husband and I have both gotten a lot out of this book. Have gone through some hard church stuff a few years back so this was recommended to us. It has been very eye opening and definitely helping in the healing process. To be able to identify some things that happend has helped us.

Very well-balanced and well-written. It focuses on both sides of the problem. Sometimes the pastoral staff is the abuser and sometimes the congregation is abusing the pastoral staff. And sometimes members of the congregation are abusing other members of the congregation when leadership is weak. It teaches how to recognize what behavior constitutes a problem, identifying the cause and the solution. It promotes healing and restoration of relationships by helping people on both sides of the situation understand each other. It also allows that sometimes there will not be a solution and it is okay, and sometimes the best thing, to walk away from a church.

THIS BOOK WAS SO HEALING AND HELPFUL AFTER YEARS OF BELIEVING LIES! IT REALLY EXPLAINS WHY AND HOW PEOPLE WHO ARE SO INCLINED, CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OTHERS, HOW IT HAPPENS AND WHY AND WHAT TO WATCH FOR. THANK YOU KEN, YOU ARE A BLESSING. YOUR BOOK COMPLETES OTHER BOOKS ON SPIRITUAL ABUSE THAT SORT OF LEAVE ONE HANGING. I AM SO THANKFUL FOR YOU AND YOUR EFFORTS TO SHARE THE TRUTH!

An amazing book, one I would recommend all who are involved in church in any way to read. Some things I never noticed or recognised as abuse were just so, it was enlightening, it gave me freedom and helped me to realise that not just I had experienced these things but many others,sadly. I cannot commend this book enough, I have the kindle version and I bought the paperback to share with others.

this book is well written and is a most informative work for any one who may be considering to be involved with spiritual abuse.

Very informative and helpful

After years in a terribly abusive church, I ended up with a cold heart towards God and a visceral fear of being in church. I didn't want to give up on church or my relationship with God, but I felt my soul had suffered a death by a thousand cuts, followed by a good stomping, because of misapplied scripture and then entrenched fear of rejection instilled in me by my previous church leaders. I often felt I was screaming internally but no one could hear or understand me. This book relieved me of so much of that burden of guilt and shame - finally I could dissect the legalism taught to me from my heart. I finally understood how deadly religion - making everything look good without needing to be actually good - really is. It was like the author hid himself in the walls of my church, did a psychological study on us and then wrote this book! It's given me hope to push through with a new Christian community, instilled confidence in me that I can spot those traits which will break me, and, what I really needed, was hope that the deep, deep wounds would heal. I'm starting to think my experience can be a benefit to others, rather than a weight around my neck. This book should be read by any pastor or church goer. It's great for instilling hope that things can change if you've been abused, hope that things can change if you've been the abuser, as well as providing a plumb line for healthy church behaviour. I will definitely be reading this again in the next few weeks.

Ken Blue's kindness and compassion flows in this book. Because of his wisdom and care in writing this book, my husband and myself have found our way out of a painful situation that left us confused and hurting. Thank you, Ken Blue, for sharing this book with us. God bless you.