Broken Trust: a practical guide to identify and recover from toxic faith, toxic church, and spiritual abuse

This Subject is highly sensitive to those who have been exposed, tramatized and have lost faith in the church due to Spiritual Abuse.As a someone who has gone through such things, I appreciate the author, Diederich, Remy who has experienced cultish and narcisstic behavior which is widely accepted as the "Word of God" living through leadership.I highly recommend this book to "Leadership.those with authority within the Church", to those who have experienced "Spiritual Abuse" and those who may or may not be manipulated.It is a warning for the church of the "elephant in the room."I appreciate that this subject has been brought to attention.Pastor Remy is a man of fierce mercy and kindness and I would not have personally corresponded with him if that was not the case.Although I continue to avoid churches due to this systematic growth within the church, I do continue to grow spiritually.If you are trying to make sense of your situation and reconcile your faith, this is the book for you.I cannot conclude without my personal opinion because of how I left the church and "threw the towel in completely" i.e. cannot reconcile returning: If you cannot return just yet and need time to understand, believe me patience will continue to be a virtue as well as love. Disregard all "Christian cliches" Peace passes all understanding. God never said, He lived in a church. It's okay to leave. There is a season for everything. We need people and there are many toxic things growing in "men' with "authority" in church. Remy explains this process very well with concern and simplicity.Sometimes those who left have been torn down, their free will abused, and walls torn and they need rebuild boundaries before returning. Seeking help outside the church wall can be the best thing.Another form of abuse that Remy talks about as a result is called C/PTSD. Thats not discussed in the church. Silence is and that baffles many. As it did him.If you have left the church and God/faith completely... I have stumbled across the secular terminalogy called "Religious Trauma Syndrome" (RTS) which makes complete sense to me.In Remy's book, I have found the testimony's of the people embarrassed, ashamed, and hurt helpful and I understand exactly how they feel. I hope for the very best for anyone who has experienced "Abuse" and "Broke Trust" "Betrayal" to be healed and return to a safe place where they once lived in peace and harmony."After the rain the sun shines."

Due to spiritual abuse I left my church after fifteen years, it was a heart breaking decision. I started to do research to help me understand what had happen to my church. Through that research I read two books, The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse and Broken Trust. Both books were extremely helpful, especially Broken Trust. I recommend this book highly to those people like myself who are walking wounded of spiritual abuse.

I've read several different books on spiritual abuse, but this one was the most personal. It wasn't wordy or written in a complicated way, so it was easy to read and understand. The book was written with kindness, gentleness, hope and compassion. I felt comforted, understood, supported and validated. I felt less alone. The survivor inputs were also helpful. Even though I didn't know them, I felt a small sense of "community" and connection like being in a support group reading their stories. The author proclaimed God's truth, provided practical steps and suggestions toward the healing process. There's also a FAQ section at the end that was helpful. I almost felt like I was experiencing a counseling session at my own pace. I appreciated the author's prayer at the end of the book and even offers his contact information for any questions or if the readers would like to share their story. Thankful for this book.

This is a very informative, clearly written, engaging work, that provides a more-than-adequate introduction to the phenomena of spiritual abuse, particularly as found in churches. The author also discusses strategies of recovery. I would recommend this book not only to someone who is recovering from membership in a spiritually abusive organization, but also to the family, friends, etc. of a member, who hope to gain a better understanding of the experience of their loved on/friend.

The book is easy to read and is well-written: clear and to the point.The author presents a practical guide for healing. I was able to process my experiences well and figure out what I wanted to do about it after reading this book.However, I kept thinking why is is so hard for Christians to think and act when faced with something that is wrong? The book offers insight, but I found myself realizing I know what I've experienced and I'm tired of being so stupid about it. I can think. My religious faith in the system of faith began to bother me. Am I more faithful to "doing what is right" with others than I am to pursuing relationship with God? I agree with what the author wrote, but wanted something a bit more raw. For myself, I felt done with the system of religion. God is my Love.

If I could describe this book in one word it would be healing. There were many helps the Lord placed before me to help me heal after leaving the only church I ever knew, and Remy’s book was most definitely one of those helps. It helped me know that I was not alone, and that all I experienced as a result of leaving a spiritually abusive church was a common theme for so many.By biggest obstacle to overcome was fear. Scripture tell us the truth. Fear most certainly brings torment. (1 John 4:18) To say I was a tormented soul is an understatement. Chapter 5 of this book was so revealing to me. It spoke a lot about fear, and helped me overcome the fear of being rejected by God. After all, that’s what my family was telling me He would do if I didn’t come back.Leaving the only church I knew for 39 years was not just a church. It was my mom, dad, grandma, aunts, uncles, and many cousins. To leave church was to leave my family. I thought I was going to die. I was withering away, but Remy’s book and the help of a new church family brought so much healing and I will be eternally grateful that Remy wrote this. I highly recommend this book if you are full of fear, if you’ve been told to leave your church that you have left truth, that you have left God, or if you need to help another who feels this way. It’s a great step in the healing process of overcoming fear.

This book is certainly written in an accessible way but leaves me with a feeling of unease.Firstly the author uses scripture to back up His points, which he himself claims is a sign of an unhealthy church. He also tries to inform victims that the Bible teaches it is ‘wrong to go to court’ which in the case of sexual/ spiritual abuse is very disempowering for the victim. Finally the whole question of forgiveness in which he is very directive. CCPAS an organisation within the UK which educates on safeguarding within churches advises enforcing forgiveness is abusive in itself.That said the books teaching on where we find our worth (further reading co-dependency) is key and as others have said the freedom to heal and self care while healing is intrinsic for the healing journey.The book is priced at a sensible price, and gives helpful guidance to the road to recovery which is often missing in other books on this topic.

As someone who has experienced spiritual abuse and as a person who processes through reading and learning, I have read quite a lot on spiritual abuse over the last few years. I have also been researching and writing an MA dissertation on the subject. From what I have read so far, Broken Trust is the first book I would recommend to people who have come out of a spiritually abusive environment. I think I underlined most of the book when I read it, and I couldn't believe the author didn't know me or the church context I had been in. This book is written sensitively and clearly, addressing the definition of spiritual abuse, its effects and the cultures that foster it. I didn't agree with the author in every respect, however that doesn't detract from the book's value in helping people diagnose and recover from spiritual abuse. I recommend this book to anyone affected by spiritual abuse and church leaders who want to grow in awareness in order to help people heal and provide a safe space for them. Thank you Remy.

As well as offering comfort to people who have suffered abuse in a religious context, this book provides practical guidelines for pastors who seek to cultivate healthy congregations. By educating church leaders in this way and equipping them to root out the causes of “toxic faith”, F. Remy Diederich is showing them “a more excellent way”, based on love and grace, rather than fear and shame.I was very moved by the author’s own candid experience of spiritual abuse, which led him to abandon church altogether for a period of 5 years. During this “exile”, he was confronted with God’s unconditional love, which challenged him to fall into his Father’s arms in gratefulness.As an ex-cult member, I must admit that it was a little hard for me to bring myself to read a book written by an evangelical pastor. However, in this case my prejudices were very much unfounded. F. Remy Diederich is a fellow survivor of spiritual abuse, who is bravely speaking out against this cancer which rears its ugly head in so many congregations and churches throughout the world. By tackling this issue head on, he is taking a stand against the status quo, just as Jesus did when he criticized the Pharisees and their hypocrisy in the first Century.

This book has been really life changing for me! I was almost in denial of what I went through and this book gave me permission to look at my pain and know that in the journey God will comfort and heal me.I emailed the author to share my story and he was so gracious and encouraging. Clearly a person who cares about people and has great compassion.

This book has been a helpful tool to becoming free from broken trust and to live today as if yesterday never happened