Join Jeff Cochran, host of Church Disrupted and board member at the Spiritual Abuse Institute, as he highlights the alarming ways church systems can enable spiritual abuse. He discusses the urgent need for transparency and accountability in both mega and mid-sized churches. Cochran reveals how organizational protection often overshadows individual well-being and emphasizes the necessity of honest conversations for meaningful change. This insightful discussion also advocates for prioritizing community-centered values and introducing proactive safety measures in church governance.
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insights INSIGHT
Defining Spiritual Abuse & Hurt
Spiritual abuse involves misuse of spiritual authority leading to harm, often unintentionally by leaders unaware of their influence.
Church hurt differs from spiritual abuse but both affect church health and must be addressed with love and care.
insights INSIGHT
Why Protect Organization Over People
Leaders often protect the church organization over people due to self-preservation and a warped view of church as an institution.
The biblical church prioritizes loving people, not preserving buildings or reputations, so leaders should rethink what protecting the church means.
insights INSIGHT
Overvaluing Personal Witness
Overemphasizing personal responsibility to be perfect witnesses ignores God's power and leads to hiding sin.
Authenticity through owning mistakes is a stronger witness than pretending perfection in leadership.
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Churches should be places of healing, accountability, and truth—but too often, their very systems enable spiritual abuse instead. How do church structures—whether in mega churches, mid-sized congregations, or independent churches—allow unchecked power, lack transparency, and silence victims? And more importantly, what needs to change now?In this special episode, the tables are turned as Jeff Cochran, host of Church Disrupted, becomes the one interviewed by David Santistevan on the Beyond Sunday Worship Podcast. Together, they explore:✅ How church systems create environments where abuse can thrive✅ Why churches protect institutions over people (and how to stop it)✅ The role of mega church systems, mid-sized churches, and denominations in spiritual abuse✅ How financial transparency, governance, and accountability can reform the churchIf you care about holding church leaders accountable while still fighting for the good of the church, this is a conversation you can’t afford to miss.💬 What do you think needs to change in today’s churches? Drop your thoughts in the comments.📌 Support the Beyond Sunday Worship Podcast👉 Check out David Santistevan’s Beyond Sunday Worship Podcast for more deep conversations on faith, worship, and leadership: https://beyondsundayworship.com/347-jeff-cochran/Find out more about the Spiritual Abuse Institute and the Church Disrupted Podcast at https://www.spiritualabuse.institute/.Want to support SAI financially?https://donorbox.org/sai-initial-funding-campaignJoin the church disrupted COMMUNITY here: https://discord.gg/nbWwg8Sz6ZLearn more about the Safe Church Pledge Here: https://www.spiritualabuse.institute/safechurchpledgePlease Subscribe and Share!Chapters00:00 Intro01:48 Defining Spiritual Abuse05:15 Church Hurt vs. Spiritual Abuse07:21 Protecting the Organization vs. Protecting People07:54 The Role of Self-Preservation in Church Leadership09:05 Misunderstanding the Church and God's Reputation24:04 Balancing Accountability and Transparency in Churches30:46 The Influence of ARC Churches33:12 Encouragement for ARC Church Leaders33:55 The Safe Church Pledge35:19 Governance and Accountability Issues39:37 Financial Transparency in Churches47:17 Spiritual Abuse in Worship Ministry49:32 Balancing Excellence and Authenticity in Worship58:25 Final Thoughts and ResourcesFair Use Disclaimer:This video may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. All clips used are protected by the Fair Use Doctrine within Title 17 of the United States Code. This doctrine safeguards the use of copyrighted material for transformative purposes, such as commentary, criticism, review and news reporting. Under Title 17 U.S.C. § 512(f), any person who makes a false, bad faith, or misleading copyright claim or uses a copyright takedown to infringe on free speech, criticism, or commentary can be held liable for damages to the content creator.Hosseinzadeh v. Klein, 276 F.Supp.3d 34 (S.D.N.Y. 2017); Equals Three, LLC v. Jukin Media, Inc., 139 F. Supp. 3d 1094 (C.D. Cal. 2015).
Church Disrupted 