Author: Lois | Page 42 | Spiritual Abuse Blogs

Is Your Pastor Ruinous To Your Spiritual Life?

…it was not just the Pharisees’ false authority that made them dangerous but also their false teaching. They taught a false view of God and a false way of serving him. They pictured God as a legalistic judge, favoring those who kept his religious rules and despising those who did not. Modern preachers who make God’s acceptance contingent upon religious performance are the Pharisees of today. Jesus says, in effect, that high-sounding religious lies spoken by respected leaders are ruinous to spiritual life.

The quote is from Ken Blue in his book, Healing Spiritual Abuse. It is a good book on spiritual abuse and this ministry has given away many copies over the years.

I have been posting quotes on the Facebook Page that are from books on spiritual abuse. This one stood out due to the last sentence. Some people do not take spiritual abuse seriously. They have this misguided thought that people are just crying about things that do not really matter and that they should be able to easily set aside. Some believe people only have hurt feelings and need to develop some thick skin and just get over whatever it was that happened. And, of course, others think we were foolish for remaining as long as we did. We weren’t held captive in our former churches.

What these uninformed people do not realize is that while there are more minor cases of spiritual abuse, where some people escape mostly unscathed, there are thousands and thousands of other cases where people have been severely harmed, some irreparably. There are people who can no longer read their Bibles. There are people who cannot attend a church. There are people who cringe and have panic attacks when certain things happen which remind them of their former churches. Some are scared to death of taking communion.

There are people who are confused, who do not yet know what to believe. Many have developed trust issues. There are people who suffer in silence because previous attempts to share how they were sexually abused were not believed or they were told to keep their mouth shut for the good of the church. There are families who have been torn apart due to interference from church leadership and doctrines that teach shunning. There are people who developed PTSD and CPTSD. There are those who can no longer pray. There are others who believe they will be cast into hell because they left ‘the truth’ and cannot live up to the expectations of their former group. Yet others cannot get past the warped view of God they developed due to their former church involvement. There are so many things that can be added to this list.

Yes, a pastor can be ruinous to your spiritual life. Some do not speak words of life, but of death. Some are building their own kingdoms instead of following God. Some only care about themselves and will do whatever they have to in order to keep everyone doing what they demand. They do not serve, but wish to sit in the honored places and be served. They have not the heart of a servant, but rather are harsh taskmasters and lords over people. They can leave your spiritual life in shambles, creating in your mind a distorted view of God and his love for you.

United Pentecostal Church Manual Part 5

This is a continuation of the rules regarding licensed ministers in the United Pentecostal Church. (There are three levels: local, general and ordained.) This covers the very basic cost of holding license and does not include the expense of purchasing books and videos in order to obtain the initial license or to move up to the next level. Those costs greatly increased in 2017 by requiring videos and charging to watch. A former UPC minister friend of mine would sometimes joke that UPC stood for “U pay cash.”

In addition to the yearly national dues, United Pentecostal Church ministers also must abide by the financial requirements of the District in which they reside. Each District sets their own fees.

As an example, the 2014 edition of the Indiana District Manual stipulates that “Each minister in the District shall send 50% or more of his ministerial tithes to the District Secretary-Treasurer on a monthly or at least a quarterly basis.” If a minister does not receive tithes, then a “minimum fee of $35.00 per month shall be sent to the District Secretary by all ministers (except honorary members) who have no ministerial tithe, or whose 50% tithe is less than $35.00. This $35.00 fee is in addition to tithing to the local church.” On top of that, “Each minister …shall pay a sectional fee to his sectional secretary in the amount of $5.00 per month to be paid in advance on at least a quarterly basis.” In Indiana it would cost a minister a minimum of $480 per year to the District, causing their license to cost at least $854.00 per year if they hold a local license.

[2023 Edit: The above fees from Indiana have changed since this article was written. Since January 1, 2022, sectional dues remain the same at $60 per year. District dues are $50 per month for ministers up to age 30, $85 for those age 31 through 69 and $50 per month for ministers who are 70 years and up. It would cost a minister a minimum of $660 per year to the District, causing their license to cost at least $1,034.00 per year if they held a local license. For those having to pay $85 per month, it would cost a minister $1,080 per year to the District, for a total of $1,454 if they held a local license. Screenshot from 10-7-2023.]

[October 18, 2023 Edit: For another example, the fees for ministers in South Carolina are higher than Indiana, at least as of June 13, 2022. Local license is $80 per month, general is $90 and ordained is $100. It would cost a minister a minimum of $960.00 per year to the District, causing their license to cost at least $1,334.00 per year if they held a local license. For the ordained minister, it would cost $1,200.00 to the District, for a total of $1,598.00 per year. Screenshot from 10-18-23.]

For their financial investment, a licensed minister in the United Pentecostal Church receives a digital copy of the Manual and Directory every year and subscriptions to their two main publications, one being a minister’s only quarterly. The only item of any substance, but which most likely will never be used, is the life insurance policy which would provide very little to the minister’s family in a time of need. (They used to send actual paperback book copies of the Manual and Directory. Then they changed to sending them on a CD. Since 2016 they do not even do that, but want the minister to access it online, where they may download it, or pay for physical copies.)

Here is what was stated in 2014 under Article VII, Section 7 under Obligations and Rules:

8. Each minister holding a Local License is required to pay $374 annually into a budget fund, which will entitle said minister to a Manual, a Ministerial and Church Directory, a subscription to the Forward, a subscription to the Pentecostal Herald, and a ten-thousand-dollar group life insurance policy with double indemnity and dismemberment provisions as specified.
9. Each minister holding a General License is required to pay $386 annually into a budget fund, which will entitle said minister to a Manual, a Ministerial and Church Directory, a subscription to the Forward, a subscription to the Pentecostal Herald, and a ten-thousand-dollar group life insurance policy with double indemnity and dismemberment provisions as specified.
10. Each minister holding a Certificate of Ordination is required to pay $398 annually into a budget fund, which will entitle said minister to a Manual, a Ministerial and Church Directory, a subscription to the Forward, a subscription to the Pentecostal Herald, and a ten-thousand-dollar group life insurance policy with double indemnity and dismemberment provisions as specified.

In 2015, numbers 8-10 were condensed and changed and it now reads as follows in 2017:

8. Each minister is required to pay annual membership dues which will entitle the minister to a Manual, a Ministerial and Church Directory, a subscription to the minister’s [In 2018 the word minister’s is removed.] Forward, a subscription to the Pentecostal Herald [In 2018 Herald is changed to Life as they changed the name of the magazine.], and $10,000.00 given to stated recipient at his or her death from a benevolent fund or a group life insurance policy. Membership dues and processing fees are set by the General Conference and cannot be changed without a proper resolution being presented to and adopted by the Conference.

[Starting in the 2021 Manual, this is now found in the same article and section but is listed under “3. Dues (a). The wording has changed to: “Each credentialed UPCI minister is required to pay annual membership dues. They will receive access to a ministers website, a downloadable Manual, and Ministerial and Church Directory, subscriptions to the Forward and the Pentecostal Life, and $10,000.00 given to the minister’s stated recipient at his or her death from a benevolent fund or a group life insurance policy. Membership dues and processing fees are governed and adjusted by the General Conference and cannot be changed without a proper resolution being presented to and adopted by said Conference.” It appears the same through the 2023 Manual.]

How do the costs today compare with the past? Way back in 1952, it was only $6.00, $12.00 or $18.00 to hold license. In 1957, those fees were still the same. By 1965 or earlier, they had increased to $18.00, $24.00 or $30.00. In 1988 licenses cost $204.00, $216.00 or $228.00. In 1989 they increased to $220.00, $232.00 or $244.00 and stayed at that rate through at least 1991. By 2002 or prior, the cost was $291.60, $303.60 or $315.80. In 2003 they changed to $326.00, $338.00 or $350.00. In 2007 the fees increased to their present rate. Some have wondered if they will rise again, now that they relocated to a nicer and more expensive building. [2023 edit: It appears that the national fees have remained at $374, $386 & $398.]

[December 5, 2024 Edit: At the General Conference in 2024, they raised the licensing fees as follows: Local: $474, General: $496, Ordained: $518. That’s a pretty high jump in costs. For all of the above figures in paragraphs three through five, you would need to add this increase to the yearly total district and national dues.]

How does this compare to some other Oneness Pentecostal groups? The ALJC, who have the same licensing levels, charge $384.00, $396.00 and $408.00. [2023 Edit: These are now $504, $516 and $528.] Like the UPCI, they also have District dues which vary. Licensing with the Worldwide Pentecostal Fellowship (started due to some ministers leaving the UPCI) is $720.00 per year. Though not comprised of only Oneness Pentecostals, the Global Network of Christian Ministries only charges $250.00 per year. A number of ministers who left the UPCI have held membership with them. [EDIT: Global is no longer in operation.]

In the next installment I will cover the initial costs to apply for licensing.

United Pentecostal Church Manual Part 6
United Pentecostal Church Manual Part 5
United Pentecostal Church Manual Part 4
United Pentecostal Church Manual Part 3
United Pentecostal Church Manual Part 2
United Pentecostal Church Manual Part 1

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Return to the Body of Christ?

Every so often I check Amazon to see if they have new material related to spiritual abuse for sale. I did so this week and became irritated when I saw the write up for the book, Spiritual Abuse in the Church, by Angela R. Williams.

This book was written to invite all who have left a church or an abusive Christian group to return to the body of Christ. Stop blaming God for what people did. You can then share the freedom experience with others through testimonies of forgiveness, grace, and love provided by the Savior; as you move forward in your walk with Christ.

Did you catch that? Leaving an unhealthy church does not mean we left the body of Christ. Since the Holy Spirit has placed believers into one body, leaving any church or religious group does not change our place in the body of Christ. We have been born from above and not by any church or group. One can never set foot inside a church building and still be in the body of Christ. While there are those who leave and are afraid that they are lost (due to the fear permeated teachings of their former churches), this has no bearing on whether or not they are in the body.

Second, not everyone who leaves blames God for what people did. Yes, some have difficulty separating the two, especially at first. However, not all who exit spiritually abusive churches go through this. I am one who did not. Those who do experience this need time to sort through their experience and the teachings. Telling them to just stop blaming God does not accomplish this.

I have to say I wasn’t surprised when I looked into the author of this book and discovered they are a pastor in a Pentecostal type church and believe in coverings (another church is their alleged covering). Too many of these churches place the blame on you when things happen (or don’t happen). Too many of these stress the thought that not attending their church services is “forsaking the assembling” of believers.

We don’t need books on spiritual abuse which pressure people to become involved in another church or equate their leaving an unhealthy one to leaving the body of Christ. People need time to start healing and recovering and sort through the myriad of issues involved. If they jump right into another church, before getting to a certain place in their recovery, they may find themselves in another unhealthy group.

There may be some helpful things in this book but I won’t be discovering them due to the paragraph quoted, which is from the back cover. It doesn’t cause me to be hopeful that it would be very helpful.

When A Pastor Morally Fails

A pastor/minister morally fails. People are devastated, hurt, confused, angry, sad and their faith is shaken. The church is thrown into turmoil. This appears to be happening more frequently in our present time.

Are there signs we can watch for, that something is seriously wrong in the life of a minister? We continually see headlines of ministers and church leaders committing sex crimes as well as other criminal activity. They involve various groups across denominational boundaries.

For instance, it was reported that this is what Edwin Young, a Oneness Pentecostal minister, did for years and years. If similar things happened in a healthy church, the pastor’s wrong behavior would have been addressed when it happened or soon after. But at this church, it wasn’t. It was tolerated, allowed, and even thought to be proper conduct. Many ‘amened’ and cheered him on when he did these things. It isn’t proper behavior. It is far, far from how a minister is to act.

This is a huge problem in unhealthy churches and is often a gradual process. When it gets to this point, the people have been conditioned through previous teachings and incidents, to accept what is happening. The pastor is ‘the man of God.’ You don’t ‘touch God’s anointed.’ The pastor ‘watches for your soul and has to give account of you.’ The pastor knows more than you and what is best. If the pastor is wrong, all we can do is ‘pray about it and let God correct him.’ So when people have this type of mindset, it opens the door for abuse and other wrong actions.

Learn how a pastor is supposed to be. Go to your Bible and search this out. A main characteristic of a minister is they are not to be lords over people, but rather they are to have the heart of a servant. A servant doesn’t call the women in the church heifers. A servant doesn’t point people out in service and berate them and tear them to shreds. A servant doesn’t make up lies and call people who leave the church homosexuals or fornicators or drug addicts. This is NOT what a real minister does. This is NOT what one who is acting through love does.

It is no surprise to me when pastors such as the one referenced have fallen. Too often those who teach and do things without love as the motivating factor, have something in their life that they are hiding. It is interesting that when they are caught and exposed, they don’t want the same treatment they gave many others who did far less than themselves.

Oneness Pentecostal Snake Handlers

I didn’t know about it until several years ago, but there is even a Oneness Pentecostal snake handling book. To my knowledge, it has only been Pentecostal type churches who have incorporated this practice.

The book is Handling Serpents by Jimmy Morrow and Ralph Hood, Jr. It is very poorly edited. Jimmy Morrow is a native Appalachian.