When the Church Harms God's People: Becoming Faith Communities That Resist Abuse, Pursue Truth, and Care for the Wounded

by Diane Langberg

Publisher:

Brazos Press

, 2024

Internationally recognized psychologist Diane Langberg has come face to face with the crushing trauma of sexual abuse, trafficking, domestic abuse, and rape--and its cover-up.

Even more tragic, she has encountered it all within Christian communities and the church.

As a highly respected trauma scholar and psychologist working in the United States and around the world for more than 50 years, she envisions a better way.

In When the Church Harms God's People, Langberg unveils what she has learned about how churches cause harm and why Christian communities often foster unhealthy leaders who end up hurting rather than protecting God's people. She also offers hope for the future, describing how churches can reflect Christ not just in what they teach but also in how they care for themselves and others.

This book is an invaluable tool for leaders and laypeople alike who want to help the church resist abuses of power and become a safe place for survivors.

From the Back Cover

Calling Churches to Reflect the Love and Care of Christ

Internationally recognized psychologist and trauma scholar Diane Langberg has come face to face with the crushing trauma of sexual abuse, trafficking, domestic abuse, and rape--and its cover-up. Tragically, she has encountered it all within Christian communities and the church.

In When the Church Harms God's People, Langberg diagnoses how Christian communities too often mimic worldly institutions and end up harming people; she then issues a call to the church to love and serve those in their care.

"This is a book for every Christian, but it is also a book for anyone wounded in the name of Jesus or seeking to understand who Jesus is and what the church is designed to be."
--Rachael Denhollander, speaker, author, and victim advocate

"As one of the foremost psychologists of our time, Langberg unpacks how the church can once again reflect the true beauty and character of Jesus: the preeminent good shepherd. A must-read book for both the sheep and the shepherds who guide them."
--Boz Tchividjian, attorney for abuse victims and founder of GRACE

"Langberg never fails to stir my heart toward greater Christlikeness!"
--Kay Warren, cofounder, Saddleback Church, Lake Forest, California

"If you are tired of seeing persons and systems use the name of Jesus Christ to prey on the vulnerable, this book will help you fight for a different future."
--Russell Moore, editor in chief, Christianity Today

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Contents

Contents
Introduction: Why I Write
1. Encountering Sickness in the Body of Christ
2. What the Church Is Called to Be
3. Wolves, Sheep, and Shepherding
4. Examining Culture in the Light of Christ
5. Self-Deception
6. Systemic Deception
7. Systemic Abuse within Christendom
8. Repentance and Forgiveness
9. A Message to Victims
10. A Message to Shepherds
11. A More Excellent Way

Product Details

• Title: When the Church Harms God's People: Becoming Faith Communities That Resist Abuse, Pursue Truth, and Care for the Wounded
• Author: Diane Langberg
• Publisher: Brazos Press
• Print Publication Date: 2024
• Logos Release Date: 2024
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Ebook
• ISBNs: 9781493447923, 9781587436451, 1587436450, 1493447920
• Resource ID: LLS:9781493447923
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2024-10-16T07:17:29Z

About Diane Langberg

Dr. Diane Langberg, is a globally recognized psychologist with 53 years of clinical experience working with trauma patients. She has trained caregivers from six continents in responding to trauma and to the abuse of power. For 29 years she directed her own practice in Jenkintown PA - Diane Langberg Ph.D. & Associates. Now, in partnership with Dr. Phil Monroe, Langberg, Monroe & Associates continues this work which includes seventeen therapists with multiple specialties.

November 2024 will see the publication of Dr. Langberg's most recent book, When the Church Harms God's People: Becoming Faith Communities that Resist Abuse, Pursue Truth, and Care for the Wounded. Two more recent works are In Our Lives First: Meditations for Counselors, Volume 2, and Redeeming Power: Understanding Authority and Abuse in the Church. Additional readings include Suffering the Heart of God: How Trauma Destroys and Christ Restores, On the Threshold of Hope (with Workbook), Counseling Survivors of Sexual Abuse, and In Our Lives First: Meditations for Counselors.

Dr. Langberg is the recipient of the Distinguished Alumna Achievements from Taylor University., the American Association of Christian Counselors Caregiver Award, The Distinguished President’s award, and the Philadelphia Council of Clergy’s Christian Service Award.

She is married and has two sons and four grandchildren.