072: How Church Systems Enable Spiritual Abuse—And What Must Change Now!

Churches should be places of healing, accountability, and truth—but too often, their very systems enable spiritual abuse instead. How do church structures—whether in mega churches, mid-sized congregations, or independent churches—allow unchecked power, lack transparency, and silence victims? And more importantly, what needs to change now?In this special episode, the tables are turned as Jeff Cochran, host of Church Disrupted, becomes the one interviewed by David Santistevan on the Beyond Sunday Worship Podcast. Together, they explore:✅ How church systems create environments where abuse can thrive✅ Why churches protect institutions over people (and how to stop it)✅ The role of mega church systems, mid-sized churches, and denominations in spiritual abuse✅ How financial transparency, governance, and accountability can reform the churchIf you care about holding church leaders accountable while still fighting for the good of the church, this is a conversation you can’t afford to miss.💬 What do you think needs to change in today’s churches? Drop your thoughts in the comments.📌 Support the Beyond Sunday Worship Podcast👉 Check out David Santistevan’s Beyond Sunday Worship Podcast for more deep conversations on faith, worship, and leadership: https://beyondsundayworship.com/347-jeff-cochran/Find out more about the Spiritual Abuse Institute and the Church Disrupted Podcast at https://www.spiritualabuse.institute/.Want to support SAI financially?https://donorbox.org/sai-initial-funding-campaignJoin the church disrupted COMMUNITY here: https://discord.gg/nbWwg8Sz6ZLearn more about the Safe Church Pledge Here: https://www.spiritualabuse.institute/safechurchpledgePlease Subscribe and Share!Chapters00:00 Intro01:48 Defining Spiritual Abuse05:15 Church Hurt vs. Spiritual Abuse07:21 Protecting the Organization vs. Protecting People07:54 The Role of Self-Preservation in Church Leadership09:05 Misunderstanding the Church and God's Reputation24:04 Balancing Accountability and Transparency in Churches30:46 The Influence of ARC Churches33:12 Encouragement for ARC Church Leaders33:55 The Safe Church Pledge35:19 Governance and Accountability Issues39:37 Financial Transparency in Churches47:17 Spiritual Abuse in Worship Ministry49:32 Balancing Excellence and Authenticity in Worship58:25 Final Thoughts and ResourcesFair Use Disclaimer:This video may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. All clips used are protected by the Fair Use Doctrine within Title 17 of the United States Code. This doctrine safeguards the use of copyrighted material for transformative purposes, such as commentary, criticism, review and news reporting. Under Title 17 U.S.C. § 512(f), any person who makes a false, bad faith, or misleading copyright claim or uses a copyright takedown to infringe on free speech, criticism, or commentary can be held liable for damages to the content creator.Hosseinzadeh v. Klein, 276 F.Supp.3d 34 (S.D.N.Y. 2017); Equals Three, LLC v. Jukin Media, Inc., 139 F. Supp. 3d 1094 (C.D. Cal. 2015).