What is Spiritual abuse?

What they are missing is training in virtue, it’s a long forgotten word.

The first most important thing seminarians need to do is clean toilets, and clean them cheerfully.
12 hours heavy manual labor from well before sun up to sun down should be set in place. Paving, brick laying, lumberjacking. trench digging for reticulation, heading cabbages.
Cold, heat, thirst, massive discomfort and pain and suffering in all weathers.

Taking orders, hard work, getting along with and cooperating with others, builds character, cuts off the rough edges as well.

Apply some heat to test the metal. You very soon see where people are at. Does the metal take a correction or does it snap.

Proud dude. Crown him the King of Toilet duty, carry drinks and serve others. Make no job beneath him.

Lazy dude. Give him a hard job to do on his own, a job that has consequences for everyone else if he doesn’t come through. Put some responsibility on him.

Once seminarians are well acquainted with suffering, hard work and being dead tired, then acquaint them with sorrow and grief.

Send them out visiting the sick, the elderly and the dying. Send them out on the street to minister to the poor and afflicted.

They must be accustomed to the theology of reality first, the book learning will be so much more enhanced by it.

Let Jesus draw out the generosity of heart and virtues by instilling in them that all activity is done in and with Jesus first.
Work done with Jesus adorns you with virtues and merit, Jesus hangs it on you, His virtues.

Christianity is not merely an academic life, or God forbid a career.

This oil can not be bought from any shop or seminary, it is the extract of many hours, days and years spent faithfully praying, working and loving Jesus amidst sufferings, sorrows and grief. We become like Him, He transforms us.

This purification is of us, and Jesus is the gold, Jesus remains and shines out.

If we aren’t bringing Jesus, we aren’t bringing anything.

Don’t look for “ Leaders “ look for “ servants “, then make the best servant the leader.

 

Kruger's book is for reformed Baptist churches which are elder run and have been developing a reputation for abusive church discipline. There are also falling into a "shepherding" mentality like what you saw with the charismatic group in the '70's. You can google it if you want.
Salty, sometimes I think bi-vocational pastors are good for a church. They have their heads on straight and know what's going on in the community. It's just tough on them and their families because they can't do everything though.

 

“Spiritual abuse is when a spiritual leader, endowed with spiritual authority, executes his office in such a way that he sort of domineers, runs down, and rules in a harsh and authoritarian way those under his leadership, all the while thinking he’s accomplishing God’s good work.”

That’s because people want “ Leaders “ in charge not servants as is biblical.

You don’t want a spiritual leader, you want a spiritual servant of The Lord first of all.

Let the greatest of all, be the servant of all. And not just immediate community.

The servant understands because there is nothing he has not seen and done before. He will not ask you to do what he would not do himself and has already done.
The servant is an authority, he may not have authority, but he knows his business based in reality.

Spiritual abuse is sending someone who has gone directly to seminary from high school, not experienced life, and put him in charge of a ministry. It’s abuse of that person and the community you send him to.

Hard work around hard men will straighten out character flaws, especially in work that involves absolute measure, and is vital to lives and livelihoods.
Bricklayers work to a string line, done any other way leads to disaster. They only tolerate what is true in work and in character.

The Lord chose hard working fishermen, men of faith who go out not knowing if anything will be caught, yet they go out.
They look to the heavens for their navigation, they look far ahead at the wind and waters for the hazards ahead, and are responsible for the lives of those aboard their boats.
Fishermen starting out as crew, years learning and suffering everything and rising by merit and understanding and responsibility. Half their training was done.

““Come, follow Me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.”

These men were seasoned in responsibility, danger, suffering and hard work. It was almost a formality to change their target species after that, they were men Jesus could teach and use.

Look for men like these, humble tradesmen, most of their character flaws are exposed and beaten out of them at work by circumstance, their teachers and their fellows.

 

A Shepherd has one vocation. He is not a hired man with a career or a part time job. A Shepherd fights and dies for his sheep, totally committed.
Their fate is his fate, come what may.

 

Depends on how big the church is.

I think it good for a pastor to have a working job.