Tag: church abuse

PTSD and church revitalisation

 A little while back I wrote about how churches can experience a form of PTSD or complex PTSD.  You see, a church can experience trauma leading to experiences and responses that affect the life of the church.  Trauma for a church might include: A split where members of the church fall out, argue publicly and… Continue reading PTSD and church revitalisation

Does it add up?

The controversy around #PartyGate continues to rumble on.  The Metropolitan Police have begun their investigation. Last week, Boris Johnson was reportedly sent a questionnaire by the police. Well, I understand that he likes a quiz. Whilst we await the outcome, people continue to speculate about what the implications will be if the Prime Minister is… Continue reading Does it add up?

Throwing people under the bus

In a recent article I mentioned the “Rise and Fall of Mars Hill” podcast.  The Christianity Today series tells the story of Mark Driscoll and Mars Hill Church, Seattle.  Driscoll became well known as a church planter and mega-church leader succeeding in an area regarded as hard to reach. He went on to head up… Continue reading Throwing people under the bus

Marriage at work (9) Protection and abuse

8.1. The Problem So far, our scenarios have assumed a reasonably positive family situation.  We have considered to some extent the husband’s responsibility when his wife is unwilling to submit to his leadership in decision making, but what happens when the context turns more sinister?

The happy narcissist

It’s not too difficult to spot a narcissist. They are the ones who believe that the world revolves around them. They have an excessively high view of their own importance and abilities.  Now, to be clear narcissism should not be confused with confidence.  It is possible to have a natural confidence and awareness of your… Continue reading The happy narcissist

Gay Conversion Therapy: You can’t use already criminalised behaviour to justify criminalising legitimate behaviour

The I newspaper recently reported a very distressing case of a woman claiming that her pastor raped her in order to “cure” her of her Lesbianism.  If true, then this is another horrendous example of abuse in the church.  It may not be possible now to establish the truth concerning the allegations about he pastor… Continue reading Gay Conversion Therapy: You can’t use already criminalised behaviour to justify criminalising legitimate behaviour

Trauma, grief and response to abuse

Over the past few years, I’ve written and spoken quite a bit about the problem of abusive cultures particularly in the context of church life. First of all, my concern is to see us doing better in letting what we believe affect how we live so that doctrines of grace lead to cultures of grace.… Continue reading Trauma, grief and response to abuse

The (church) body keeps the score

I recently referred to the book “The body keeps the score” which talks about how mental health issues and in particular trauma related health is not just in the mind. The physical brain, nervous system and the body are affected by trauma, respond to it and keep score of the damage inflicted. So, I’ve begun… Continue reading The (church) body keeps the score