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

Larry D. Hughes
Larry D. Hughes
12/07/16

"God Said, 'Take'"

The devil is effective with this attack because it calls out all the things a Christian sinner experiences as simultaneous sinner and saint.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
11/30/16

Gospel Phobia

If the devil took over a church, I suspect it would be bursting at the seams every Sunday, with smiling faces, clean noses, straight morals, conservative voting, institutional fidelity
Donavon Riley
Donavon Riley
11/29/16

Good Works Don't Come With A Price Tag

Old Adam's works are good because he says they're good. End of conversation.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
11/27/16

Six Words That Make All the Difference in the World

In those waters we are nailed to his cross and washed out the door of his tomb. Within his wounds we safely hide.
Joel Hess
Joel Hess
11/25/16

How Can We Trust The Information Filterers?

Still, sadly, many polls suggest that above 50% of Americans get their news from social media sites as opposed to actual news sites.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
11/16/16

Showing Mercy to Former Ministers

I don’t care why you left the ministry—moral failure, congregational politics, burnout, whatever—the Christ whom you proclaimed has not left you.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
11/14/16

The Sex Worker Who Teaches Us the Fear of the Lord

Hear that confession of saving faith? Rahab may have been a prostitute in Jericho, but she was secretly a virgin daughter of Yahweh.
Cindy Koch
Cindy Koch
11/11/16

A Story of Freedom or Submission?

The Garden of Eden proved to be the first battlefield between God and his submissive people.
Steven A. Hein
Steven A. Hein
10/31/16

Human Depravity: The Doctrine on which Justification Stands or Falls

Lose trust in the free grace of the righteousness of Christ alone, and the holiness of the Church and all in her is lost.
Donavon Riley
Donavon Riley
10/13/16

The Gardener's Blood, The Fruit of Brambles

They were incapable of covering their shame. They knew what they'd done was evil, but since they were only "like" God, there was no way for them to go back and replace evil with good.
Dominick Santore
Dominick Santore
10/04/16

The Other Criminal’s Demand: “Save Us!”

There was another criminal next to Christ the day he died. He was aware of who Jesus was, and why he was there.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
09/27/16

My Favorite Dirty Word in Church

You became, for a time, ritually unclean. Not sinful. Not immoral. To be unclean meant you bore in your own body the effects of a creation in bondage to decay.
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.
1517.org
Search
Academy
Donate

1517 grants permission for our free online resources to be printed, photocopied, and otherwise used freely for private and church use. We require that authorship and source (1517.org) are referenced and maintained. These resources may not be sold or included in any publications for sale.