Sue

I am actually both relieved and surprised to find so many others that have suffered at the hands of an abusive leader. In so many ways he is a godly man that I respect and admire. In addition to pastoring the church, he has gone on missions trips to help people in third world countries. He is uncompromising in his sermons. He has a good marriage with a lovely wife. I have gone twice in twenty years to
speak directly with him in his office about some legitimate concerns I had about a certain ministry I felt the Lord is calling me to. Twice he has stated that if it is Gods will for me then I should follow my heart. Then, a couple weeks later, he rebuked the ministry from the pulpit in such a way that everyone in the church had to know he was talking about me. How in the world can a man who says he knows the bible start to finish think that this is right? I could name several scriptures to contradict what he did, starting with “If your brother offends you, go to him in private…….”. I went to him in private, shared my concerns, was assured that all was well, and then, out of nowhere comes this public rebuke. If that were the only thing over all these years I would overlook it. But I could name dozens of similar things done at the hands of this man. He has also hurt other sincere Christians who don’t seem to fit his “standard”. He does not tolerate well anyone who steps out of the boat in any way. I know that he is doing all he can to keep me from using the gifts God has given me, mainly because I don’t have a certain last name or unending bank account. Forgive me if I go on. I could never tell anyone else in leadership about this because they all back each other up and love to use the issue of “submission” to keep people in line. But I can tell that being able to read similar accounts of others who are in the same position as me helps me know that I am not just “imagining” this. Thank you!