The Old Guard

. How many people in churches, synagogues, mosques, temples here and around the world have turned to religion to find peace and guidance but instead have found broken trust, manipulation, authoritarian control, trauma and ultimately a deep sense of disillusionment and bitter cynicism?

Today we want to ask why this stuff happens in religious/spiritual communities – why is physical, sexual, financial, emotional and spiritual abuse apparently common in spiritual/religious settings? What should we do about it? What do we say to those who have been victimized? AND how does the basic message of Christianity (the Gospel) how does the Gospel define/shape our responses to all these questions?

Let's look at:

1. Abuse in Spiritual/Religious Communities
2. A Tale of Three Rescuers
3. When the Good News MEETS the Bad News of Spiritual Abuse