Unmasking the Domestic Abuser in the Church

Author: Jeff Crippen

Unholy Charade is Not Affiliated in any Way with the A Cry for Justice (ACFJ) Blog

1 Timothy 1:3-6 As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, (4) nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith. (5) The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. (6) Certain persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into vain discussion,

I am now compelled, though reluctantly and with sorrow, to make a public statement about my relationship to the blog ministry A Cry for Justice, which is registered to and operated by Barbara Roberts. I need to make it very clear that I resigned from ACFJ last year (Oct 2017).  Over 700 of my sermons and articles remain online there, but please understand that I am not a part of ACFJ and more importantly, that I do not endorse the direction it has been going for some time now. [My first book, A Cry for Justice: How the Evil of Domestic Abuse Hides in Your Church, still bears that title. But that is not to be construed that I am still connected in any way with the ACFJ blog which I originally started some years ago].
Readers should also be aware that TWBTC (the woman behind the curtain) who has so faithfully worked behind the scenes at ACFJ for several years has also recently resigned from there. Her reasons for doing so are the same – ACFJ is no longer fulfilling the mission it was established to pursue. TWBTC told me, “I resigned Sept 6, 2018 as a result of seeing the direction Barb was going and because of other concerns I saw from the backend of the ACFJ blog.”

**The Quest for Power and Control – the Heart and Mind of the Abuser+2

3 John 1:9-10 I have written something to the church, but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority. (10) So if I come, I will bring up what he is doing, talking wicked nonsense against us. And not content with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers, and also stops those who want to and puts them out of the church.

At the heart and in the mind of all abusers – be they domestic, sexual, or spiritual – is this profound mentality of entitlement to power and control. You see it in this Diotrephes who the Apostle John is going to take on. Diotrophes “likes to put himself first.” And so it is in an abusive marriage. The abuser is to be top dog, or else.

**The Unholy Charade of the Domestic Abuser in the Church+1

2 Timothy 3:2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy…

Psalm 55:20-21 My companion stretched out his hand against his friends; he violated his covenant. (21) His speech was smooth as butter, yet war was in his heart; his words were softer than oil, yet they were drawn swords.

If you are a Christian, a genuine, real, child of God regenerated by faith alone in Christ alone, then it is essential that you become wise as serpents regarding the tactics and schemes of your enemy, the Prince of Darkness. Paul told the Corinthians that Satan and his servants come to us in disguise, masking themselves in a charade of false holiness in order to deceive and enslave us. Wise as serpents. Innocent as doves.
But most Christians are not wise. And as result, neither are they innocent because they foolishly become the ally of the wicked in oppressing their victims. This unholy charade is being carried out in the church which Christ calls to be a pillar of His truth!

Page 89 of 89