In this episode, Joy Bullard shares Part 2 of her experiences with toxic faith, spiritual abuse, and the emotional toll of ministry life in IHOP (International House of Prayer) Atlanta / Gate City. She discusses the challenges of navigating leadership dynamics, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on worship, and the importance of communication and connection in healing. Joy reflects on her decision to leave a toxic environment and the power of storytelling in processing trauma. The conversation emphasizes the need for courage in confronting leadership issues and the significance of community support in the healing journey.

In this episode, hosts Adam and Melissa Short welcome Joy Bullard to share Part 1 of her experiences with toxic faith, spiritual abuse, and the complexities of leadership within the IHOP (International House of Prayer) Atlanta / Gate City community. Joy recounts her journey from a young intern to a staff member, the prophetic words that guided her, and the challenges she faced in a high-pressure ministry environment. The conversation delves into the nuances of accountability, the impact of leadership styles, and the importance of recognizing red flags in spiritual communities.

In this episode, special guest Andrew Bullard recounts his story of his involvement in International House of Prayer (IHOP) Atlanta / Gate City. His story is a window into the harmful impacts of spiritual abuse, toxic leadership, prophetic manipulation, as he and his wife Joy navigated their exit after the Mike Bickle Scandal rocked the IHOPKC organization. This is a must-listen for anybody who has ever been connected to the IHOP prayer movement to help us all learn from major, systemic harm that has left so many people picking up the pieces.

CONTENT WARNING: S*XUAL ASSAULT

In this episode of Grit In The Wild, hosts Adam and Melissa Short delve into the complexities of toxic faith, spiritual abuse, and the process of deconstruction and reconstruction. They share their personal experiences with religious trauma, the impact of community and isolation, and the importance of support in healing. The conversation highlights the nuances of trauma responses, the need for belonging, and the challenges of moving forward in the healing journey. Ultimately, they emphasize the significance of connection and understanding in navigating the aftermath of spiritual abuse.

Takeaways

• The process of deconstruction feels like a simultaneous tearing down and rebuilding.
• Navigating what to keep and what to discard in faith can be overwhelming.
• Deconstruction often begins not by choice but as a response to trauma.
• Isolation can exacerbate the effects of spiritual abuse and trauma.
• Trauma responses can manifest in various ways, impacting healing. Support systems are crucial for recovery from spiritual abuse.
• Belonging and connection are essential for emotional well-being.
• Healing is a complex journey that varies for each individual.Hope can be found in the process, even amidst pain.
• Community plays a vital role in understanding and experiencing God.

In this episode, we discuss and journey through how high-control groups can stunt our ability to break out of conformity in our thinking and beliefs. This often leads to erasure of self, where we disappear as people, and our souls languish into what feels like a forgotten place. Much of our discussion is centered around how the autonomic nervous system deals with trauma and abuse, as well as the neuroplasticity of the brain. Also, we unpack more of our own experience of deconstruction and how the process can be so nuanced, especially as we move away from binary, black and white ways of thinking.

In this episode, Adam & Melissa give an update on the Dr. Michael Brown scandal, including how the fallout is impacting them and the wider body of Christ. Also, the discussion highlights how the New Apostolic Reformation tends to lead people to experience spiritual FOMO because of loaded language around prophetic words/culture. Finally, the episode covers Adam & Melissa's journey around finding community post cult involvement.

In Episode 8, Adam & Melissa get into how spiritually esoteric beliefs and practices in the hyper-charismatic churches (such as Bethel, IHOPKC, & MorningStar) have harmed many people's lives. They open up about the impact of this on their own experience, and how so much of the teaching is actually unintelligible, pie-in-the-sky nonsense. Also, Adam & Melissa hone in on how the impact happens at the intersection of human agency and spiritual abuse. Beyond that, they explore how gaslighting and spiritual bypassing is harmful when survivors try to tell their story of what happened to them, at the hands of spiritual leaders who deny it.

In this episode, Adam & Melissa share more openly about their ongoing process of working through layers of grief 14 years into leaving church and in the deconstruction process. They seek to give all of us permission to make space for our own process and journey, no matter what it looks like or where each of us are.