How to Spot a Narcissist in the Church and Prevent Spiritual Abuse | Chuck DeGroat
Preacher Boys Podcast
Eric Skwarczynski
4.6 • 701 Ratings
🗓️ 24 February 2021
⏱️ 45 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
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On this episode of the Preacher Boys Podcast, Eric sits down with the author of When Narcissism Comes to Church, Chuck DeGroat.
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Purchase a copy of When Narcissism Comes to Church here: https://amzn.to/37ykJob
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Chuck DeGroat is Professor of Pastoral Care and Christian Spirituality at Western Theological Seminary, MI, and Senior Fellow at Newbigin House of Studies, San Francisco. He is an author, speaker, consultant, and therapist. Chuck is married to Sara and has two teenage daughters.
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Why does narcissism seem to thrive in our churches? We've seen the news stories and heard the rumors. Maybe we ourselves have been hurt by a narcissistic church leader. It's easy to throw the term around and diagnose others from afar. But what is narcissism, really? And how does it infiltrate the church? Chuck DeGroat has been counseling pastors with Narcissistic Personality Disorder, as well as those wounded by narcissistic leaders and systems, for over twenty years. He knows firsthand the devastation narcissism leaves in its wake and how insidious and painful it is. In When Narcissism Comes to Church, DeGroat takes a close look at narcissism, not only in ministry leaders but also in church systems. He offers compassion and hope for those affected by its destructive power and imparts wise counsel for churches looking to heal from its systemic effects. DeGroat also offers hope for narcissists themselves―not by any shortcut, but by the long, slow road of genuine recovery, possible only through repentance and trust in the humble gospel of Jesus
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Trigger warning. This podcast contains descriptions of various abusive situations. |
| 0:07.0 | Listener discretion is advised. You are listening to the Preacher Boys podcast, a podcast shedding light on decades of mental, physical, and sexual abuse within the independent fundamental Baptist movement. |
| 0:20.0 | The testimonies shared on this podcast are told from the personal experience, abuse within the independent fundamental Baptist movement. |
| 0:25.7 | The testimony shared on this podcast are told from the personal experience and perspective of the survivors. Not all legal outcomes are known or final. Any suspect is presumed innocent |
| 0:32.3 | until proven guilty in the court of law. Defied more information about the preacher |
| 0:37.3 | boys podcast and upcoming documentary, |
| 0:40.2 | visit preacherboysdoc.com or connect on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter with a handle |
| 0:47.0 | at Preacher Boys Doc. |
| 0:49.5 | Now, here's your host, Eric Squarsinski. |
| 0:53.6 | Hey, everybody, welcome back to the Preacher Boys podcast. I'm so excited to welcome Chuck de Groat on the show. He wrote this incredible book when narcissism comes to church. And I tried doing the audible version first and I was trying to walk down to the store or walk around the house and do something. And I kept having to stop and pause and write a note or jot something down. |
| 1:13.9 | Just a really incredible book. |
| 1:15.6 | And for anyone who's listening to my show, you need to pick up a copy. |
| 1:19.8 | It's like an x-ray of the Independent Baptist Movement and many of the environments we've talked about on the show. |
| 1:26.6 | But Chuck, thank you so much for joining me and for chatting through this. |
| 1:30.1 | Yeah, it's good to be with you. |
| 1:31.7 | So you have a quote in your book from a pastor that you were working with. |
| 1:36.4 | And he made a pretty interesting statement. |
| 1:38.8 | He said, why do you give a damn about me when there's people praying and assaulting on boys |
| 1:43.8 | in the church. |
| 1:45.2 | And that question made me pause a little bit. And it's a good question is like, why focus |
| 1:50.4 | on narcissistic pastors? Like, why focus on ego? Why focus on kind of the power side of it when |
| 1:57.4 | there's sexual abuse, sexual assault? Like, why do you think the conversation about narcissism is so important? |
... |
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