Instagram video transcript

Things abusive church leaders do or don't do. I help people heal and gain clarity from abusive church leadership, so follow if it resonates. Abusive church leaders don't invite honest questions without labeling them as rebellion. They don't create space for disagreement without some sort of punishment. They don't take personal responsibility when they've hurt someone.

They may blame it on somebody else or the church in general. but personally they didn't do anything wrong so they're covered. They don't seek to understand. They don't apologize with humility and actual change. They don't protect their sheep and people above the image of the institution or the image of themselves. They don't handle correction with

openness or accountability. They definitely don't encourage independent discernment because that takes away their control. So they don't really empower you to hear from God for yourself. They don't set or respect healthy boundaries. They really just feel entitled to access and probably control. Here's a big one. They don't really keep things confidential. Essentially, they use information as leverage.

they don really separate disagreement from disloyalty they don really lead with transparency but they really good at making it seem like they do They don't make you feel safe when you're processing your pain or experiences that might be hard. They don't prioritize restoration above reputation. They don't release people to operate independently really well at all because they always have to have an element of control.

And some of the fruits of their leadership is confusion, control, fear, shame, guilt, and honestly, a lot more. Now, not all pastors or leaders are like this. Even if maybe they have shown one or two of these things in an instance here or there, that doesn't mean that they're abusive. It's important to look at the patterns of their behavior and not just one-off instances.