Understanding Abusive Church Leadership

About the Book

Abuse in the church is real. The place where one expects to find love, inspiration, and healing can become the very place where harm and destruction occur. Sadly, pastors and church leaders can bring abuse to their people through the use of a rigid and harsh approach to leadership. Other leaders are indifferent about what happens at church. When legalism and self-righteousness dominate or permissiveness is pervasive, the church that God intended is destroyed.

In Understanding Abusive Church Leadership: What It Looks Like and How It Debilitates the Life and Spirit of Church Members, author Judy R. De Wit presents a challenge to you to identify what kind of leadership your church uses. Once you determine its approach, you can determine what changes your church should make to enhance a healthier church environment—one that leads to a better church for everyone.

Christ’s mandate for His Church is for it to be a place of healing, restoration, and recovery. Everyone should feel safe to be a member. Understanding Abusive Church Leadership seeks to equip you to help your church to serve God as He intended.

About the Author

Judy R. De Wit earned a master’s degree in marriage and family therapy from the North American Baptist Seminary, a master’s degree in theological studies from Bethel Seminary, and a leadership degree from Northwestern College of St. Paul, Minnesota. She is a therapist in the Twin Cities metropolitan area in Minnesota.