Michael Kruger | Bully Pulpit | Steve Brown, Etc.| Key Life

About this sermon

Abusive church leadership – why does it happen and what can we do about it? This week, Steve and the gang hang out with author Michael Kruger to discuss this pressing issue. Michael's latest book is called "Bully Pulpit: Confronting the Problem of Spiritual Abuse in the Church" (https://amzn.to/3XMAXCs - @zondervan) 🗝️ Have you ever experienced bullying from church leadership? How did you handle it? Share your thoughts in the Comments. 🗝️ While you're here, would you do us a favor? Just click the 'Subscribe' button, then click on the BELL (on mobile devices, also click 'ALL'). Then you'll be the first to know when the newest episode of 'Steve Brown, Etc.' goes live! As always, you can find more from Steve at https://www.KeyLife.org​. Be sure to download the Key Life app, now available for iPhone and Android: And get the best of Key Life in your inbox with Key Life Connection, our free weekly email: https://www.KeyLife.org/subscribe​ GUEST BIO Michael Kruger serves as president and Samuel C Patterson Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte, North Carolina. He is also a leading scholar on the origins and development of the New Testament canon. Michael has a new book out called "Bully Pulpit: Confronting the Problem of Spiritual Abuse in the Church" (https://amzn.to/3XMAXCs) 00:00 - Intro 03:20 - Meet Michael Kruger 04:34 - What motivated Michael to write "the book he didn't want to write" 06:15 - The church is NOT always the safe place it should be 08:21 - Creating a distinction between strong leadership and abusive leadership 09:26 - "We want to recover the kind of leaders that Jesus is asking us to be." 09:52 - The inherent danger of hiring the "superstar franchise player" pastor 14:30 - The role enabling people play in letting an abuser go unchecked 16:28 - Is abusive leadership a new problem? Or are we just now noticing it? 18:23 - Sometimes praise for a leader can be... dangerous? 23:13 - How a hyper-litigious society affects our tendency to cover for abusive leaders 27:03 - The need for a third party to investigate possible abuse 29:18 - "It's one thing to change process and structure - it's another to change culture..." 32:54 - The type of folks who abuse tend to also veer away from repentance 34:09 - The vital importance of proper leadership structure 37:48 - Steve's closing thoughts 40:04 - Next week's guest is... Follow us on Social! ▶ TWITTER - https://twitter.com/KeyLifeNetwork ▶ FACEBOOK - https://facebook.com/KeyLifeNetwork ▶ INSTAGRAM - https://instagram.com/keylifenetwork Key Life participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Some links may be affiliate links. We may get a small referral fee if you buy something or take an action after clicking one of these.