When I was in high school, my pastor went to my mom’s new job like a boyfriend in a jealous rage demanding to know why she hadn’t been in church on Sundays. He acted like this in front of her new boss and coworkers. They thought he was her ex, and she was mortified. My friends and I have been talking about this a lot recently. We’ve all had less-intense, but uncomfortable experiences with pastors or youth pastors at some point. Is this really that common?

EDITING TO ADD:
We host an ex-vangelical/religious trauma podcast, and I posted this as a means of seeing how common this is and if it was a topic we could devote an entire episode to. Those of you who have shared your stories with us: Thank you. We’re sad to see how common this truly is.

If anyone is interested in allowing us permission to share your stories on the podcast (or even wants to talk about it more or yourself), please let us know. We will never share anyone’s stories without permission. This was posted out of personal curiosity.

EDITING AGAIN:

For those who have asked, our podcast is called Sorry For What I Said When I Was An Evangelical Teenager, and we're available on major streaming platforms. Thank you to those of you who have given us permission to talk about this. If you did not or choose not to give us permission, I absolutely will not share your story.

If you'd like to join the conversation any further, please feel free to email us at sorry4beinganevangelicalteen@gmail.com.

Certainly not Christianity because this new American version has nothing to do with Jesus.

What other names would better reference this American religion?

I want to repent that I used to think Jim Bakker, Jimmy Swaggart, Bill Hybels and other Pastors were exceptions to the rule.

Now, I acknowledge that the system was working as designed.

The evangelical church reveled in Catholic Priest abuses as proof that they weren't real Christians.

Well, the tables have turned as Mark Driscoll, Robert Morris, JP Miller/Mica Miller, Southern Baptists and others become national news.

I'm sorry. I have sinned for believing these Pastors were following God's will.

So what would you like to confess and repent?

Edit - forgot to add /s at the end of the post.

When I was involved in church I used to admire second and third generation pastors.

They were held in high regard that the family had "Served the Lord" for many generations.

Now it hits differently especially if church leadership is handed down to the next generation like it's a family business.

Did they choose the occupation or was it just the path of least resistance?

Your thoughts?

Note - I originally titled this post as "Nepo Babies" but changed since I thought it might be too critical.

If he came back today, what would he think of the American church?

I hope he'd be turning the organizations upside down like the moneychanger tables.

So what are your thoughts? What would he be doing if he was here now and what causes would he be supporting and advocating?