On Thursday, February 29, the University hosted the annual Church Leaders Conference. The conference welcomed over 140 leaders from various churches in the area. This year鈥檚 theme tackled a difficult subject: 鈥淩ecognizing and Resisting Spiritual Abuse in the Church.鈥� Through three sessions led by speaker Dr. Michel J. Kruger, the attendees were able to find encouragement, wisdom, and lessons from his book Bully Pulpit: Confronting the Problem of Spiritual Abuse in the Church.
In the first session, Dr. Kruger laid the foundation for identifying spiritually abusive leaders. He reminded his audience that in training up the next generation of church leaders, the church needs to remember how the current leaders set an example for those who follow in their footsteps. 鈥淭he issue,鈥� Dr. Kruger clarified about leaders found guilty of spiritual abuse, 鈥渋sn鈥檛 whether they are aware that they鈥檙e doing this. The issue is the way they justify that it鈥檚 worth doing.鈥� Convinced of an elevated purpose, these leaders who are supposed to be representatives of God, are instead abusing their power for their own gain, setting a poor example for their congregation and for the next generation. Dr. Kruger pinpointed places in Scripture where, though the term 鈥渟piritual abuse鈥� is not explicitly stated, there are clear signs and warnings against the possibility. In particular, Dr. Kruger expounded on 1 Samuel 8 and 1 Peter 5 as support for his argument, drawing parallels to show is audience that, both in these Scripture passages and in the modern world, the problem is, 鈥淥ften, the very kind of leaders people want are the very kind of leaders they end up getting.鈥� Building on this, Dr. Kruger shared characteristics and actions that were or would lead to spiritual abuse that church leaders should be aware of in their church and in their own lives.
In the second session, Dr. Kruger took the opportunity to further clarify what is and is not spiritual abuse. He outlined the two common extremes and subsequent problems with churches attempting to identify spiritual abuse; namely he called out the 鈥渘othing to see here鈥� and a 鈥渆verything is abuse鈥� mentality. Both sides are driven by the current social culture. In particular, proponents of 鈥渃ancel culture鈥� who work under the assumption of a secular form of justice presume a harmful 鈥済uilty until proven innocent鈥� verdict. As a way to counteract these extremes, Dr. Kruger posited six specific clarifications important for recognizing and addressing spiritual abuse, including a need to express spiritual abuse out of love for a church, the recognition that spiritual abuse be inflicted from the flock to their pastor, and other helpful distinctions.听
Dr. Kruger then pivoted in the third and final session from being diagnostic in nature to being proactive. He identified ways that an individual, for the sake of themselves and for the ministry he or she runs, can take tangible steps to avoid becoming spiritually abusive. He recognized that most leaders who end up spiritually abusive do not start out that way. Dr. Kruger shared five principles that should mark one鈥檚 ministry and therefore build trust and a solid defense against the potential of becoming accused of such a problem. Some of the characteristics he shared included ensuring that churches avoid idolatrously elevating a leader to a 鈥渃elebrity鈥� status, to value teamwork over hierarchy, and to value openness over reactive defensiveness. Following the third session, participants closed out the day with a Q&A session that allowed for anonymous queries to be shared and addressed by Dr. Kruger.
This year鈥檚 topic, while a difficult one to discuss, equipped church leaders with biblical knowledge and tools to graciously yet firmly confront this issue that churches often struggle to recognize and resolve.
Mark your calendars for the 2025 Church Leaders Conference on Thursday, March 6, 2025 as Cairn seeks to support church leaders in their respective ministries.
