It's not something we like to think about, but sadly, spiritual abuse in the Church happens far too frequently to be ignored. According to Spiritual Abuse Recovery International, it occurs when someone in a position of spiritual authority, whose task and calling is to serve, equip, nurture and help others understand their freedom in Christ, misuses that authority to manipulate, control and coerce people for their own need or purpose (see www.spiritualabuse.com). There's no doubt that this happens in our own day and age, especially to new believers and young-in-the-faith Christians. But where does it come from and what can we do about it?

As a starting point, spiritual abuse must be recognized as a sin. And while in some ways a sin is a sin, the Bible does use different terms to speak of the motivation behind it. In this context, there are two categories of spiritual abusers: those who know exactly what they are doing and continue their abuse in deliberate defiance of God, and those who don't know any better but are only replicating what they have been taught.

The first group looks directly into the face of God and says, “I know this is wrong and against everything you stand for, but I'm going to do it anyway.” Unfortunately, no amount of biblical or theological exhortation is going to help them. But for those in the second category, where most spiritual abuse tends to take place, it is not too late. Their motivation is not to dishonour God but rather to honour him, yet somewhere along the way they've gotten off track and spiritual abuse has taken place.

Speaking Out
Spiritual abuse is by no means a new phenomenon. Whenever you have people in power over others the potential for spiritual abuse is heightened. Throughout Christian history numerous church leaders have misused their power and authority. One example was the proclamation that Christians should purchase “indulgences” to secure their salvation or the salvation of loved ones from purgatory—a brilliant fund-raising ploy. Thank God there have been Christian leaders along the way who have risen up and shouted, “Stop! Abuse! This is not God's Word. It is not right.”

Looking back, we might think that this abuse should have been obvious. However, we must remember that in Martin Luther's day (1483-1546) there was a general acceptance of Church authority. No one could fathom that priests could be spiritually abusive.
Furthermore, even when the abuse was exposed, people were not sure how to respond. Some saw the error in their thinking, but others were absolutely convinced that the system was infallible and would defend it to the death.

Today, we find ourselves in a similar situation. We are so conditioned by what we have been taught that we don't see the abuse until someone rises up and shouts, “Stop! Abuse!” Even then, our reaction will often be to dig in our heels and stay the course rather than recognize it for what it is, repent and change our ways.

Self-Examination
From the victim's perspective, spiritual abuse is spiritual abuse regardless of the motivation of the perpetrator. Have you ever thought that you might be a spiritual abuser, either intentionally or unintentionally? Ask yourself these three questions:
• Is my spiritual guidance/leadership making me feel important?
• Do I consider myself as spiritually superior to those I am leading?
• Do I need to be needed to feel good about myself?

The second and third questions respectively raise issues about the need for power and the feeling of personal insecurity, both of which can be dangerous to yourself and others. If you answered yes to any of these questions, there is a good chance you could be a spiritual abuser without even knowing it.

Clearly the topic of spiritual abuse is multifaceted. This one article won't do it justice. However, it's important to keep certain things in mind, especially with respect to new believers, who are the most vulnerable. When providing spiritual counsel to those who are young in the faith, there are some critical teachings that will go a long way to help them avoid being spiritually abused. These can be broken down into fundamental lessons on grace, righteousness, holiness, freedom in Christ and the importance of rightly dividing the Word of truth.

People today are seeking a spiritual experience. The last thing they need is physical, mental or emotional dependence. The task of spiritual leaders is to point new believers to the reality of faith in Christ and encourage them on their own journey as they work out their salvation and discover their new identity in him.

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Essential Teaching for New Believers

Performance-orientated grace versus the gospel of grace. The early Church really messed this up for us. Whereas the Apostle Paul taught salvation by grace through faith as a gift of God apart from works, the early Church found it necessary to re-introduce works as a way to be acceptable to God. The question that continually haunts us is, “Am I doing enough?” In the holiness movement, of which The Salvation Army is a part, we must be very careful not to continually present the message that we're never good enough. Remember, personal holiness is a response to God's gracious gift, not a prerequisite for it. As Isaac Watts said, “Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all” (SASB 136).

Christ has made you righteous—now be holy. Jesus has put us in a right relationship with God. Our part is to “be holy” (see 1 Peter 1:16). Work out how you need to respond to this gracious gift in your own life. Remember, your sin has been dealt with. The penalty has been paid in full. Christ has forgiven you, now you need to forgive yourself. The sin and shame that keep getting thrown in your face need have no power over you. As Charles Wesley put it, “He breaks the power of cancelled sin. He sets the prisoner free. His blood can make the foulest clean. His blood avails for me” (SASB 64).

The gospel of freedom. As Christians, we have this incredible gift of freedom. The miracle of our spiritual transformation is that through growing in Christ we begin to discover God's will for our life. We begin to seek the things of God because we can do no other. For too long the Church has told believers what they can and cannot do. Previous generations of Christians were raised with specific prohibitions. For example, they were told, “True Christians don't go to dances or movies. They don't play cards or go to sporting events on Sundays. They don't wear blue jeans or play the fiddle .… ” The message was one of law, not grace. The reality is that no one is going to stop you from doing what you decide to do. Even as Christians, you are free to do anything you want. However, be aware that some things are pleasing to God and others aren't. As your spiritual mentor, my role is to help you discover God's will and help you mould your will to his will.

The misuse of Scripture. The Word of God, on which we base our faith and practice, must be correctly interpreted. To wrongly interpret it can lead to horrendous spiritual abuses, especially for new Christians who are initially reliant on spiritual leaders for sound teaching. The misuse of Scripture can be one of the greatest spiritual abuses. I can't tell you the number of times I have been sitting in church and wanted to jump out of my pew and yell, “Stop! Abuse!” A woman who was being abused by her husband once told me that when she went for help the minister simply quoted the verse, “Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands … ” (Ephesians 5:22). In fact, she was made to feel spiritually disobedient if she refused to obey God's Word. It is amazing how often poor interpretation of Scripture has led to a multitude of spiritual abuses.