The Loveliness of God Amidst Pain

A Malaysian blog on spiritual abuse, Messy Christian, points out how hard it is on abusees when "friends" who've never experienced spiritual abuse make unhelpful and damaging comments. Also, good insights on how even though a person might be soured on church after experiencing spiritual abuse, they can find a more intimate walk with God.

Ex-members of church say pastor abused his power

Radiant Life Church
The Sacramento Bee highlights a story about spiritual abuse in California. Members bought houses close together on the same cul-de-sac and lived subservient lives, so that some observers called it a "cult-de-sac. " This guy allegedly raked in thousands and lived quite comfortably while his devotees scrambled to survive. The sad part is how this so burned members that the ones mentioned in the story no longer want anything to do with churches. One member claims he was defrauded of more than two hundred thousand dollars. They talk of the pastor going on Maui vacations and staying in 5-star hotels. Envelopes of cash were handed to the pastor after services. It will be interesting to see the outcome of this case.

Walking Away from Spiritual Abuse

Walking Away from Spiritual Abuse, also by churchabuse.com, discusses the difficulties of leaving and of not leaving abusive groups. To someone never involved with cult-like churches, it might seem like a no-brainer. You just leave! But anyone even peripherally involved with such a group, and all the manipulative tactics used to get you deep into the tentacles of the organization, knows it's not that easy. You might have friends and family still in it, you've associated your walk with God with the group so much that sometimes it seems that walking away is the same as walking away from God. This resource is helpful not only for those needing to find a way out, but for anyone who suspects their group might be an abusive one.