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Spiritual Abuse, Testing Leaders by Scripture, and Finding a Healthy Church

Open Bible with a shepherd’s staff beside it and a gate shadow in the background, symbolizing humble shepherding under Scripture rather than domineering control.

⏱️ Estimated Reading Time: 2 min read

Spiritual Abuse, Testing Leaders by Scripture, and Finding a Healthy Church

Series: NAR to Christ

Hosts:  Dawn Hill with Dave Jenkins

Show Summary

If you are told you cannot ask questions, that is a red flag. In this episode we open Scripture to define
spiritual abuse, contrast domineering leadership with biblical shepherding, and lay out practical steps for
testing teaching, pursuing wise accountability, and finding a healthy local church with qualified elders.
We also discuss how to respond without vengeance and how to pray for those caught in deception with gospel hope.

Key Scriptures: 1 Peter 5:1–5; 1 Timothy 3; Titus 1; 1 John 4:1–3; Romans 12:9–21; Psalm 51; 1 Corinthians 11:1; Colossians 3:5–14; Philippians 1:6.

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Episode Notes

  • Red flags: forbidding questions, demanding submission to titles, shutting down testing and fruit examination.
  • Shepherding pattern: 1 Peter 5:1–5 teaches willing, eager, example-driven oversight rather than domination.
  • Elder qualifications: 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 emphasize character over charisma and sound doctrine.
  • Response: leave vengeance to God, pray for those deceived, seek wise counsel, pursue reconciliation where possible.
  • Next steps if harmed: bring concerns to qualified elders, seek biblical counseling, do not isolate, plug into a sound local church.

Share and Connect

If this helped you, share it with a friend. For more from Dawn including her articles and podcast please visit her page at Servants of Grace or at our YouTube.

Picture of Dawn Hill

Dawn Hill

Dawn Hill is a Christian blogger known as The Lovesick Scribe, and the host of The Lovesick Scribe Podcast. She is passionate about sharing the truth and pointing others back to Jesus Christ through the written Word as the standard of authority for Christian living and instruction while being led by the Holy Spirit into maturity. She is the author of NonProphet Woke: The Reformation of a Modern-Day Disciple. She writes articles for Christianity.com, Servants of Grace, and her blog posts have been shared by individuals such as Tim Challies. She will be featured in the upcoming docuseries, American Gospel: Spirit and Fire. She co-leads a women’s support group with Emily Massey called Snatched from the Flames, where they minister to women who have come out of the hypercharismatic and New Apostolic Reformation movement. She is a wife to Nicholas and a mother to Anabel and Ephraim. You can follow her on The Lovesick Scribe and Instagram.
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