Building a Safer Church
How to Spot Spiritual Abuse, Assess Your Community’s Health, and Create a Culture Where People Flourish
Lianna Chong and Abram Kielsmeier-Jones
NavPress, 6 April 2027.
Buy Now: [ BookShop ] [ Amazon ] [ Kindle ]
Getting to the Truth about Spiritual Safety
When someone has pain or dysfunction in their body, doctors must diagnose the source of the pain before they can administer effective treatment. Some symptoms have a wide range of possible causes. For example, severe abdominal pain could be appendicitis, kidney stones, or a cancerous growth (to name a few possibilities). Other times, the location of pain may not physically align with the root cause, such as sharp pain in the left arm from a heart attack. In both cases, simply treating the symptoms with pain medication won’t help the patient get better. Finding the underlying cause is critical to healing the disease.
The same is true for an organization. The presenting issue often stems from an underlying problem somewhere else in the system. Without a thorough assessment, you can miss the real source of a problem.
This is especially true with cases of spiritual abuse. People might misinterpret spiritually abusive behavior as a matter of interpersonal conflict, personality clashes, or poor management skills. Spiritual abusers often appear to be charming or gentle, but like chameleons, they change their colors in different settings. Without true independence and an objective process, investigators can be clouded with bias and lose their ability to see through the smoke screen of spiritual abuse.
Another reason it is difficult to get a clear picture of spiritual abuse is that abusive systems resist the truth. Human systems behave in ways that individual members are not always aware of. When its reputation is threatened, an abusive system seeks to protect itself at all costs and avoids processes that could reveal unflattering information. The system directs everyone’s attention to the people who point out problems—the “troublemakers” or “dissidents”—instead of critically examining what has caused their distress in the first place.
Whether or not they realize it, church or organization members at all levels can participate in the process of suppressing truth. We spoke with several staff members at a church whose senior pastor was suspended by their denomination. Although this pastor was dismissed because of financial misdeeds, the staff explained that the bigger problem had been years of spiritual abuse. Most people in their church couldn’t see the spiritual abuse until the pastor was placed on leave. Only then could they engage in open and honest conversations, and the full extent of his deception and harm became apparent.
Finding the truth, however painful it may be, is critical to healing the church. No one is free when truth is hidden. Jesus knew this when he said, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32, NIV). It is his truth—and Jesus himself, who is the Truth—that creates spiritual safety and flourishing.
Developing a Measure for Spiritual Safety
Spiritually abusive leaders conform to certain patterns of behavior that are visible to everyone. Like the tip of an iceberg, these discernible signs point to more troubling behaviors hidden under the surface. With this in mind, I (Lianna) started a research project to develop a validated survey for spiritually abusive behavior in Christian organizations.
I chose to focus on healthy and unhealthy behaviors in the S-SAFE for several reasons. First, behavior is observable. We can all see how a person responds to different situations. There are certain things abusive leaders say and do that healthy leaders don’t do. With a good understanding of what to look out for, people can observe whether a leader is following the patterns of spiritual abuse.
Second, behavior can be evaluated apart from someone’s intentions. We can’t know with certainty the state of someone’s heart; “only [God] know[s] the human heart” (1 Kings 8:39). We also cannot excuse harmful behavior simply because “he didn’t mean it that way” or “it wasn’t her intention to hurt you.” Whether or not someone intends to cause harm, their damaging behavior needs to be addressed.
Third, behavior can change. Many Christians want to give their leaders a chance (or many chances) before removing them. By identifying the behaviors that either compromise or create safety, we can provide actionable feedback to help our leaders embrace healthier patterns. The onus to change is still on the leader, but everyone can hold their leader(s) accountable to specific standards of healthy leadership.
Finally, behavioral change is indicative of deeper transformation. We can discern whether leaders are truly reformed based on changes in their behavior, just as Jesus taught, “You will know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:20). In the Bible, repentance involves acknowledging and turning away from our sin (Joel 2:12-13; Luke 18:13). A repentant abuser will not only profess remorse but actively work to correct their behavior. If a leader says they have changed, do their actions reflect it? When we fail to see shifts in a leader’s conduct, their transformation is not complete, and additional actions seeking accountability are needed.
How to Use the Spiritual Safety Survey
Here is how you can use the Spiritual Safety Survey in Christian organizations:
To bring clarity to your own experiences of harm. If you are wondering whether you have experienced spiritual abuse, using a standardized measure can give you an objective lens.
To provide evidence of spiritual abuse to leaders. The S-SAFE provides evidence of the specific nature of people’s experiences of harm, helping people avoid the trap of reducing spiritual abuse to a “he said, she said” dilemma.
To help evaluate allegations of spiritual abuse. If there are concerns about spiritual abuse in your church or organization, taking the survey will give you an idea of whether spiritual abuse is likely happening, possibly happening, or unlikely.
To identify target areas for increasing spiritual safety. If your church or organization would like to ensure that it is spiritually safe, the survey can help members identify concrete areas for improvement.
To assess spiritual safety in a team or organization. When administered by a qualified third party assessor, the S-SAFE can be used as a metric for assessing and improving spiritual safety in the organization.
Why It Matters
It’s not always obvious when the foundation of a building is faulty. But when there are critical weaknesses in a structure that go unaddressed, the effects can be dire. In the summer of 2021, a twelve-story condominium building near Miami collapsed. Almost one hundred people died. The building fell in on itself, a tragedy which “likely started in its pool deck rather than in the tower itself.” In other words, the fault started at the lowest level of the building, causing all the levels above to collapse.
The Spiritual Safety Survey gives us descriptive, verifiable evidence to evaluate the health of our churches and organizations and to strengthen (or rebuild) our foundations before they collapse. The questions and scoring provide a concrete, shared understanding that allows communities to discuss what kinds of behaviors are acceptable—and what is not.
—-
Excerpted from Building a Safer Church: How to Spot Spiritual Abuse, Assess Your Community’s Health, and Create a Culture Where People Flourish. Copyright © 2027 by Lianna Chong and Abram Kielsmeier-Jones. Published by NavPress. All rights reserved.
—-
Read a Q&A with the authors!
 Reading for the Common Good From ERB Editor Christopher Smith "This book will inspire, motivate and challenge anyone who cares a whit about the written word, the world of ideas, the shape of our communities and the life of the church." -Karen Swallow Prior Enter your email below to sign up for our weekly newsletter & download your FREE copy of this ebook! |
Understanding Christian Nationalism [A Reading Guide] |
 Most Anticipated Books of the Fall for Christian Readers!
|
 Hilarious One-Star Customer Reviews of Bibles |
