Table Of Content

ABSTRACT SPIRITUAL ABUSE IN THE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY by Barbara Olivia Berry In the Christian commu nity, many followers are abused spiritually by Christian leaders causing great harm and devastation to the so uls of followers. This study examined Christian leaders’ behavior through family systems theory, congregational theory, toxic faith systems, and the dark side of leadership theory including the biblical perspective of godly leadership, abuse of power, and the Perichoretic Leadersh ip Model. A mixed method research design was utilized with a nonexperimental longitudinal pretest and posttest survey and semi -structured interviews conducted in both a seminary and a congregation. The goal of this study was the developmen t of a spiritual abuse curriculum that will raise Christian leaders’ conscious level of spiritual abuse and,perhaps, thwart spiritual abuse in the Christ ian community. This study concludes with solutions to help Christian leaders avoid abusing spiritually. Examples of personal solutions include lectio divina and creation gifts while congregational solutions consist of laity empowerment, the congregational transformational model, the missional change model, and conflict management. DISSERTATION APPROVAL This is to certify that the dissertation entitled SPIRITUAL ABUSE IN THE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY presented by Barbara Olivia Berry has been accepted t owards fulfillment of the requirements for the DOCTOR OF MINISTRY degree at Asbury Theologica l Seminary March 19, 2010 Mentor Date March 19, 2010 Internal Reader Date March 19, 2010 Dean of the Beeson Center Date SPIRITUAL ABUSE IN THE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of Asbury Theologica l Seminary In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Ministry by Barbara Olivia Berry May 2010 © 2010 Barbara Olivia Berry ALL RIGHTS RESERVED TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................................................................xi LIST OF FIGURES...............................................................................................................xii ACKNOWLEDGEMEN TS.................................................................................................xiii CHAPTER 1 PROBLEM.........................................................................................................1 Introduction..................................................................................................................1 The Purpose................................................................................................................12 Research Questions ....................................................................................................12 Research Question #1 ....................................................................................12 Research Question #2 ....................................................................................12 Research Question #3 ....................................................................................12 Definitions of Terms..................................................................................................12 Spiritual Abuse .............................................................................................1.3 Christian Commu nity....................................................................................13 Protestant Christian Leaders.........................................................................13 Dark Side........................................................................................................13 Toxic Faith.....................................................................................................14 Ministry Intervention ...............................................................................................1.4 Context of Study........................................................................................................14 Methodology ..............................................................................................................15 Participants.....................................................................................................16 Instrumentation.............................................................................................1.6 iii Independent Variables...................................................................................17 Dependent Variables.....................................................................................17 Intervening Variables....................................................................................18 Scale of Measurement ...................................................................................18 Data Collection.............................................................................................1.8 Data Analysis.................................................................................................18 Delimitations and General izability..............................................................1.9 Theological Foundation ............................................................................................1.9 Overview of Study .....................................................................................................21 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE ...............................................................................................2.2 The Purpose................................................................................................................22 Theoretical Framework.............................................................................................2.2 Biblical Examples of Spir itual Abuse.......................................................................24 Spiritual Abuse Phenome non....................................................................................25 Authority and S ubmission .........................................................................................26 Godly Leadership.......................................................................................................28 ServantLeadership ........................................................................................29 Spiritual Discernment....................................................................................34 Humility.........................................................................................................36 Abuse of Power..........................................................................................................39 Symbolic Status..........................................................................................................40 Leadership Ladders....................................................................................................41 Capacity Ladder............................................................................................4.1 iv Character Ladder..........................................................................................4.2 System Theories.........................................................................................................47 Family Systems Theory............................................................................................4.8 Self-Differentiation........................................................................................49 Emotional Field and Emotional Processes ...................................................50 Emotional Triangles......................................................................................52 Healthy Congregations.............................................................................................5.4 Anxiety.......................................................................................................................54 Conflict Management ...............................................................................................5.7 Primal Leadership Theory.........................................................................................60 The Christian Leader as Person, M inister, and Family Member ...........................6.3 The Christian Leader’s Own Emotional System an d Unresolved Emotional Attachment.....................................................................................................64 Reactivity.......................................................................................................65 The Intensity of Emotional Systems and Unresolved Attachment.............66 Togetherness and Separateness Balanced M inistry.....................................66 The Importance of Addressing Indiv idual Unresolved Emotional Attachment.......................................................................................67 Individual Focus Rather Than Systemic Focus ...........................................68 Family and Congregat ional Process ............................................................6.9 Perichoretic Leadership Model .................................................................................73 The Dark Side of Leadership Theory.......................................................................75 Hierarchy of Needs ....................................................................................................78 v Manifestations of the Dark Side Theory...................................................................81 Narcissistic Leader ........................................................................................82 Sense of Coherence .......................................................................................86 Biblical Narcissistic Leader ..........................................................................87 Paranoid Leader ............................................................................................8.8 Biblical Paranoid Leader ...............................................................................89 Passive-Aggressive Leader...........................................................................89 Biblical Passive-Aggressive Leader.............................................................90 Compulsive Leader........................................................................................90 Biblical Compulsive Leader .........................................................................91 Codependent Leader......................................................................................92 Biblical Codependent Leader........................................................................93 Acknowledging the Dark Side......................................................................94 Toxic Faith System ....................................................................................................96 Persecutor.......................................................................................................98 Coconspirator.................................................................................................98 Enabler ...........................................................................................................98 Victim.............................................................................................................99 Outcast............................................................................................................99 Spiritually Abusive Systems ..................................................................................100 Biblical Framework ................................................................................................107 Ezekiel 34....................................................................................................107 Matthew 23 .................................................................................................108 vi Epistle Jude.................................................................................................110 Research Design ......................................................................................................115 Summary..................................................................................................................115 CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY.......................................................................................118 The Problem and Purpose .......................................................................................118 Research Questions .................................................................................................118 Research Question #1 .................................................................................118 Research Question #2 .................................................................................118 Research Question #3 .................................................................................119 Participants ..............................................................................................................119 Anderson University School of Theology H istory ...............................................119 Church of God Congregational History.................................................................120 Research Design ......................................................................................................122 Instrumentation........................................................................................................123 Independent Variables............................................................................................124 Dependent Variables...............................................................................................124 Intervening Variables..............................................................................................124 Scale of Measurement .............................................................................................125 Reliability and Validity...........................................................................................125 Data Collection........................................................................................................126 Data Analysis ..........................................................................................................128 CHAPTER 4 FINDINGS....................................................................................................129 Research Questions .................................................................................................129 vii Research Question #1.................................................................................129 Research Question #2 .................................................................................129 Research Question #3 .................................................................................129 Profile of the Participants .......................................................................................129 Intervening Variables..............................................................................................130 Gender.........................................................................................................130 Age ..............................................................................................................130 Education.....................................................................................................131 Race/Ethnicity .............................................................................................131 Marital Status..............................................................................................131 Religious Affiliation....................................................................................131 Ministry Positions .......................................................................................131 Ministry Experience ...................................................................................132 Dependent Variables...............................................................................................133 Research Question #1 .............................................................................................133 Knowledge..................................................................................................133 Attitude and Opinion..................................................................................138 Research Question #2 .............................................................................................141 Research Question #3 .............................................................................................144 Semi-Structured Interv iew Results ........................................................................144 Awareness...................................................................................................144 Authority.....................................................................................................146 Abuse of Power...........................................................................................148 viii

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will raise Christ ian leaders' con scious level of spiritual abuse and, SPIRITUAL ABUSE IN THE CHRIS TIAN COM MUNITY Awareness .
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ABSTRACT SPIRITUAL ABUSE IN THE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY by Barbara Olivia Berry In the Christian commu nity, many followers are abused spiritually by Christian leaders causing great harm and devastation to the so uls of followers. This study examined Christian leaders’ behavior through family systems theory, congregational theory, toxic faith systems, and the dark side of leadership theory including the biblical perspective of godly leadership, abuse of power, and the Perichoretic Leadersh ip Model. A mixed method research design was utilized with a nonexperimental longitudinal pretest and posttest survey and semi -structured interviews conducted in both a seminary and a congregation. The goal of this study was the developmen t of a spiritual abuse curriculum that will raise Christian leaders’ conscious level of spiritual abuse and,perhaps, thwart spiritual abuse in the Christ ian community. This study concludes with solutions to help Christian leaders avoid abusing spiritually. Examples of personal solutions include lectio divina and creation gifts while congregational solutions consist of laity empowerment, the congregational transformational model, the missional change model, and conflict management. DISSERTATION APPROVAL This is to certify that the dissertation entitled SPIRITUAL ABUSE IN THE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY presented by Barbara Olivia Berry has been accepted t owards fulfillment of the requirements for the DOCTOR OF MINISTRY degree at Asbury Theologica l Seminary March 19, 2010 Mentor Date March 19, 2010 Internal Reader Date March 19, 2010 Dean of the Beeson Center Date SPIRITUAL ABUSE IN THE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of Asbury Theologica l Seminary In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Ministry by Barbara Olivia Berry May 2010 © 2010 Barbara Olivia Berry ALL RIGHTS RESERVED TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................................................................xi LIST OF FIGURES...............................................................................................................xii ACKNOWLEDGEMEN TS.................................................................................................xiii CHAPTER 1 PROBLEM.........................................................................................................1 Introduction..................................................................................................................1 The Purpose................................................................................................................12 Research Questions ....................................................................................................12 Research Question #1 ....................................................................................12 Research Question #2 ....................................................................................12 Research Question #3 ....................................................................................12 Definitions of Terms..................................................................................................12 Spiritual Abuse .............................................................................................1.3 Christian Commu nity....................................................................................13 Protestant Christian Leaders.........................................................................13 Dark Side........................................................................................................13 Toxic Faith.....................................................................................................14 Ministry Intervention ...............................................................................................1.4 Context of Study........................................................................................................14 Methodology ..............................................................................................................15 Participants.....................................................................................................16 Instrumentation.............................................................................................1.6 iii Independent Variables...................................................................................17 Dependent Variables.....................................................................................17 Intervening Variables....................................................................................18 Scale of Measurement ...................................................................................18 Data Collection.............................................................................................1.8 Data Analysis.................................................................................................18 Delimitations and General izability..............................................................1.9 Theological Foundation ............................................................................................1.9 Overview of Study .....................................................................................................21 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE ...............................................................................................2.2 The Purpose................................................................................................................22 Theoretical Framework.............................................................................................2.2 Biblical Examples of Spir itual Abuse.......................................................................24 Spiritual Abuse Phenome non....................................................................................25 Authority and S ubmission .........................................................................................26 Godly Leadership.......................................................................................................28 ServantLeadership ........................................................................................29 Spiritual Discernment....................................................................................34 Humility.........................................................................................................36 Abuse of Power..........................................................................................................39 Symbolic Status..........................................................................................................40 Leadership Ladders....................................................................................................41 Capacity Ladder............................................................................................4.1 iv Character Ladder..........................................................................................4.2 System Theories.........................................................................................................47 Family Systems Theory............................................................................................4.8 Self-Differentiation........................................................................................49 Emotional Field and Emotional Processes ...................................................50 Emotional Triangles......................................................................................52 Healthy Congregations.............................................................................................5.4 Anxiety.......................................................................................................................54 Conflict Management ...............................................................................................5.7 Primal Leadership Theory.........................................................................................60 The Christian Leader as Person, M inister, and Family Member ...........................6.3 The Christian Leader’s Own Emotional System an d Unresolved Emotional Attachment.....................................................................................................64 Reactivity.......................................................................................................65 The Intensity of Emotional Systems and Unresolved Attachment.............66 Togetherness and Separateness Balanced M inistry.....................................66 The Importance of Addressing Indiv idual Unresolved Emotional Attachment.......................................................................................67 Individual Focus Rather Than Systemic Focus ...........................................68 Family and Congregat ional Process ............................................................6.9 Perichoretic Leadership Model .................................................................................73 The Dark Side of Leadership Theory.......................................................................75 Hierarchy of Needs ....................................................................................................78 v Manifestations of the Dark Side Theory...................................................................81 Narcissistic Leader ........................................................................................82 Sense of Coherence .......................................................................................86 Biblical Narcissistic Leader ..........................................................................87 Paranoid Leader ............................................................................................8.8 Biblical Paranoid Leader ...............................................................................89 Passive-Aggressive Leader...........................................................................89 Biblical Passive-Aggressive Leader.............................................................90 Compulsive Leader........................................................................................90 Biblical Compulsive Leader .........................................................................91 Codependent Leader......................................................................................92 Biblical Codependent Leader........................................................................93 Acknowledging the Dark Side......................................................................94 Toxic Faith System ....................................................................................................96 Persecutor.......................................................................................................98 Coconspirator.................................................................................................98 Enabler ...........................................................................................................98 Victim.............................................................................................................99 Outcast............................................................................................................99 Spiritually Abusive Systems ..................................................................................100 Biblical Framework ................................................................................................107 Ezekiel 34....................................................................................................107 Matthew 23 .................................................................................................108 vi Epistle Jude.................................................................................................110 Research Design ......................................................................................................115 Summary..................................................................................................................115 CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY.......................................................................................118 The Problem and Purpose .......................................................................................118 Research Questions .................................................................................................118 Research Question #1 .................................................................................118 Research Question #2 .................................................................................118 Research Question #3 .................................................................................119 Participants ..............................................................................................................119 Anderson University School of Theology H istory ...............................................119 Church of God Congregational History.................................................................120 Research Design ......................................................................................................122 Instrumentation........................................................................................................123 Independent Variables............................................................................................124 Dependent Variables...............................................................................................124 Intervening Variables..............................................................................................124 Scale of Measurement .............................................................................................125 Reliability and Validity...........................................................................................125 Data Collection........................................................................................................126 Data Analysis ..........................................................................................................128 CHAPTER 4 FINDINGS....................................................................................................129 Research Questions .................................................................................................129 vii Research Question #1.................................................................................129 Research Question #2 .................................................................................129 Research Question #3 .................................................................................129 Profile of the Participants .......................................................................................129 Intervening Variables..............................................................................................130 Gender.........................................................................................................130 Age ..............................................................................................................130 Education.....................................................................................................131 Race/Ethnicity .............................................................................................131 Marital Status..............................................................................................131 Religious Affiliation....................................................................................131 Ministry Positions .......................................................................................131 Ministry Experience ...................................................................................132 Dependent Variables...............................................................................................133 Research Question #1 .............................................................................................133 Knowledge..................................................................................................133 Attitude and Opinion..................................................................................138 Research Question #2 .............................................................................................141 Research Question #3 .............................................................................................144 Semi-Structured Interv iew Results ........................................................................144 Awareness...................................................................................................144 Authority.....................................................................................................146 Abuse of Power...........................................................................................148 viii

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will raise Christ ian leaders' con scious level of spiritual abuse and, SPIRITUAL ABUSE IN THE CHRIS TIAN COM MUNITY Awareness .
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