Michael J. Kruger

Good primer on abuse in the church

This is a good primer on abuse, particularly spiritual abuse, in the church context. It's helpful in that provides another voice raising awareness of what has become a widespread problem, and identifies the main ways spiritual abuse exhibits itself in the church.

Kruger highlights what spiritual abuse looks like, its prevalence, the damage it causes to the injured, and tactics used by perpetrators to avoid accountability. All of these areas are covered in more detail by other books, which the author often draws from. This is why this book can best serve as an introduction, since it provides an engaging summary of other books written in this area.

However, Kruger also stands out from other works in this area by providing substantial practical advice for individuals and churches on how to create systems and steps to protect congregants from spiritual abuse. His final chapter and epilogue offer a number of concrete ideas, including advice for vetting pastoral candidates, establishing transparent and objective evaluation practices, and creating safe reporting systems.

Overall, Bully Pulpit is a helpful book for introducing church leaders, and those who might have experienced spiritual abuse, to the topic.… (mais)

In the spirit of the timeless classic, Christianity and Liberalism by J. Gresham Machen (1923), Kruger sets out to illustrate the misguided truths clinging to liberal Christianity. Liberalism is nothing new, but simply comes under new guises like emergent and progressive. Like a “master class in half truths that sound appealing until you dig deeper” (6), Kruger dives in and explores the false foundations undergirding many of the progressive creeds today. In truth, liberal Christianity is not an offshoot from the Christian tradition, but a different religion altogether.

Kruger rightly affirms the partial truths baked into many assertions of progressives. He then proceeds to dismantle the bad argumentation biblically, illustrating the whole truth from the whole of Scripture. He debunks the 10 commandments of progressive Christianity, proffered by Phillip Gulley’s book, If the Church Were Christian (2010), and later affirmed by Richard Rohr’s devotional on Gulley’s work. Kruger realized there is still an “abiding presence of liberal Christianity” (5).

At only 55 pages, I wish the book were longer. Kruger’s critique is trenchant and insightful. While all 10 commandments are worth looking into, Kruger highlights three hallmarks: Focus on man over God, downplay of doctrine over morality, and the claim of uncertainty while being very certain (53). These can be seen in various dogmas of progressive ideals such as Jesus as a model for living more than an object for worship (ch. 1), affirming people’s potential is more important than reminding them of their sin (ch. 2), and the work of reconciliation valued over making judgments (ch. 3). These ideas may be alluring on the surface, but do not present the whole truth. Knowing the Bible’s teaching is the best defense against seductive lies. Kruger is a great guide toward that end.… (mais)