When Pastors Are Abused by Their Congregations
By Donavon Riley
10/01/25
13mins

When Pastors Are Abused by Their Congregations

This article is the first part of a two-part series. The second part will take a look at when pastors abuse their congregations.
An Excerpt from Untamed Prayers: Psalm 123 and Psalm 136
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
09/30/25

An Excerpt from Untamed Prayers: Psalm 123 and Psalm 136

The following entries are excerpts from Chad Bird’s new book, Untamed Prayers: 365 Daily Devotions on Christ in the Book of the Psalms (1517 Publishing, 2025), pgs. 311 and 335
St. Michael, Defender of God’s People
Amy Mantravadi
Amy Mantravadi
09/29/25

St. Michael, Defender of God’s People

Why did the church dedicate a day to St. Michael anyway? Who is he, and what does he do?

All Articles

Erick Sorensen
Erick Sorensen
05/24/17

Sin Boldly?

The common knock against “grace people” (or to put it another way, “Christians”) is that preaching too much grace will encourage licentious living.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
05/21/17

God Daily Gives Us More Than We Can Handle

He has given you clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home—as well as grocery stores, carpenters, and farmers to provide those goods.
Joel Hess
Joel Hess
05/04/17

Hey Pastor, Your Church Is Not Healthy (goggles required)

Your church is not healthy. If they were healthy, they wouldn’t need someone to heal them.
Daniel Emery Price
Daniel Emery Price
05/03/17

The Wicked Way We Become More Like Jesus

I'm always surprised to hear people say, “If I could do it all again, I wouldn’t change a thing.” But we’re all sinners and we all sin every day.
Donavon Riley
Donavon Riley
05/03/17

God's Not Angry At You

Even a sinner who is crushed by the weight of her offenses, who feels in her bones the weight of judgment, shame, and doubt can expect to receive God's good word.
Bob Hiller
Bob Hiller
05/02/17

Can I Be a Sinner in Your Church?

You can talk to me about how Jesus is really forgiving and how you want me around, but what happens when things don’t change in a month?
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
04/30/17

I Would Never Do That: Facing the Lie We Tell Ourselves

We pray for God to deliver us from ourselves. To forgive us, for Jesus’s sake, when we do evil.
Erick Sorensen
Erick Sorensen
04/14/17

Why “Good” Friday?

Have you ever wondered, of all the adjectives we could use to describe this day why in the world we chose the word “good?” Yeah, me too.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
04/07/17

Standing at the Foot of the Cross with Church Fathers

If he was not flesh, who was hung on the cross? And if he was not God, who shook the earth from its foundations?
Donavon Riley
Donavon Riley
04/04/17

How Does A Christian Participate in God's Holiness?

Apart from bare, naked faith in Jesus' atoning work for us, no sinner is, or ever can be, holy.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
04/01/17

What Lurked Beneath the Water Jesus Walked On?

The God whose Spirit hovered over the face of the dark, formless, void waters of the infant creation, now walks upon the waters of the sea like a boss.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
03/29/17

Heaven's High Lungs: A Poem on the Valley of Dry Bones

They stood on their feet, the Father's host, Alive in the Son and Holy Ghost.
1517 is a Christian non-profit (501(c)3) multi-media organization. Our mission is to declare and defend the Good News that we are forgiven and free on account of the death and resurrection of Jesus alone.
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