Combating spiritual-authority abuse: friends, prayer, and responsibility vs. ownership
- Can spiritual authority be abused, and what do you do about it?
The hosts ask what to do when you suspect you're under abusive spiritual authority. Their counsel: get solid Christian friends outside that church to check your read, pray bare-bones honest prayers, and push back with humility since some leaders genuinely don't intend manipulation. The key distinction becomes responsibility versus ownership — a leader has responsibility to care for people but must never act like he owns them. They close by urging prayer for pastors, who sit in a rough position trying to balance authority with humility, and warning against deifying them.
More on Accountability
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Do accountability partners actually work?
- Do accountability partners actually do anything?
Mike raises his accountability-partners question: the standard dude-circle advice to get a buddy to hold you accountable for Bible reading, porn, church attendance, and drinking.
From No. 598 · Emphasis | Accountability, Worship and Praying with Strangers
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Telling your spouse about past sin: pornography, the granola bar, and the Holy Spirit
- If you have repented of a sin your spouse never knew about, do you have to tell them?
The hosts work through whether a repented-of sin a spouse never knew about must be confessed: a pornography habit versus a stolen granola bar from fifteen years ago.
From No. 579 · Wanted: Paul and Hope | Paul’s Persecution of Christians and Radical Redemption
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Feeling spiritually meh: causes, experiences, and ways through
- Have you ever felt spiritually meh, what does it feel like, and how do you get out of it?
The main discussion: what it means to feel "spiritually meh" — not rebelling against God, but not wanting to do the prayer, Bible reading, and other connecting practices you know are good.
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What does it mean to make disciples
- What does it mean to make disciples — is it just giving information, or does it involve accountability and structure?
The hosts take up the third topic: two extremes of disciple-making. On one side, being only an information provider and leaving everything to the Spirit; on the other, running…
From No. 545 · By Invitation Only