A church is where an insecure sixteen-year-old girl should feel welcome, happy, and most importantly, safe. Tragically for some, the church can become a place of great harm. Sandy Phillips Kirkham details her account of how a charismatic youth minister preyed upon her, a betrayal which left her broken, with a shattered faith, and the ultimate shame of being blamed and forced from the church she loved. From their very first meeting, the new youth minister slowly and methodically turned the sacred relationship of a trusted spiritual leader to one of abuse: sexual, emotional, and physical. When his actions were discovered, he was simply moved to another church, leaving Sandy to pay for his deeds. She was not his first victim, nor would she be his last. Despite a successful and happy life as a wife, mother, and friend, Sandy successfully concealed her abuse for twenty-seven years until a trigger forced her to face the truth. Sandy's story will take you on her journey of healing which began in 2004, first by seeking justice and closure from both the pastor and the church. Her strength and courage will inspire you. Let Me Prey Upon You details Sandy's journey from innocent sixteen-year-old victim to survivor and advocate.

Jesus warned of wolves carefully disguised as shepherds who would come into the local church as pastors. It is the perfect disguise from which to devour the flock one lamb at a time. The authors were the first to study this phenomenon in North America and discover how serious the problem is. What they uncovered is shocking. The enemy has infiltrated the North American church. In this study of a large Canadian denomination, just under one in three pastors met the diagnostic criteria of Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD). This is one of the most destructive and least treatable of all mental disorders, but is often well hidden behind layers of ""sacred"" deception. Some are charismatic while others are quiet and even awkward, but they share the same needs for power, control, praise, and public recognition. They are also rigid, unbending, never wrong, demanding, and full of hidden rage, leaving the people working for them in demoralized fear. They see you as inferior and God as a rival, while the worst see themselves as God. If they see you as a threat, they will do everything possible to destroy you spiritually and emotionally. Is your pastor one of them? ""Armed with research data and real-life examples, Puls and Ball provide an absorbing and alarming analysis of Christian clergy who suffer from Narcissistic Personality Disorder, describing the toll these 'wolves in sheep's clothing' wreak upon their congregations and co-workers. A must-read for clergy and those who supervise and support them."" --Kevin Livingston, Associate Professor of Pastoral Ministry, Tyndale Seminary, Toronto ""Ball and Pulls do an amazing job of bringing a sensitive issue to the light. Filled with powerful stories, up-to-date research, and godly counsel, Let Us Prey is a great resource that brings wisdom, guidance, and healing to Christian leaders and church communities."" --Tim Clinton, President, American Association of Christian Counselors ""Let Us Prey contains ground-breaking research regarding the plague of narcissism in the church. It also provides practical direction for the diagnosis, intervention, and mitigation of narcissism in our pastorate and our congregations. A must-read . . ."" --Michael Patterson, PhD, LMHC, NCC, BCPCC, Chair, Department of Behavioral Science, Corban University ""Painstakingly researched and terrifyingly realistic, this book shocks us into facing up to the monsters within the body of Christ who prey on the sheep rather than pray for them. Read it and equip yourself to identify and confront these predators with firmness and faith."" --David Murray, Pastor, Grand Rapids Free Reformed Church; Professor of Practical Theology, Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary Darrell Puls is a professional conflict interventionist with forty years of experience, and founder of Peacebridge Ministries, a Christian nonprofit that works directly with faith communities experiencing internal conflict. He is the author of The Road Home: A Guided Journey to Church Forgiveness and Reconciliation (2013). R. Glenn Ball is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church in Canada, where he has served for more than thirty years in parish ministry and as a specialist working with distressed churches.

From the pen of a small-town lawyer comes the shocking, true story of the downfall of Jimmy Swaggart.

Jesus warned of wolves carefully disguised as shepherds coming into local churches as pastors. It is the perfect disguise for a predator to access and devour the flock one lamb at a time while proclaiming himself as their protector and guardian. The result is spiritual devastation, broken congregations, and even destroyed churches. Darrell Puls attests from experience that the enemy has infiltrated the North American church through pastors with dangerously high levels of narcissism. These pastors hide under layers of the sacred, but it is always an illusion of smoke and mirrors. Puls has experienced this reality from the inside as a staff pastor under a narcissist, and from the outside as a church consultant. He carefully unpacks toxic narcissism in everyday terms, and lets the victims tell their own stories. Let Us Prey, Revised Edition is as real as it gets.

Where do I begin with this review? I think I should take my sisters advice and repeat what she often tells me: If I cant say amen, just say ouch. Keeping that in mind, Im over here saying ouch because author Toni L. Wortherly is on my toe stomping pretty hard with this petite but powerful book. As a single Christian woman combating some of the issues of loneliness and frustration associated with living a single life, this book speaks volumes to me. There is nothing like reading what youre going through to let the reader know they are not alone on this journey. As Ive pledged my life to following the tenants of my faith, its good to have confirmation, in the form of a book, which I can reference from time to time. Ill admit that Im not crazy about the title; I dont like to be referred to as prey or as the hunted. The Word of God says: He that finds a wife, finds a good thing so a loose translation would mean that I am prey. I would hope that my mate wouldnt refer to me in this manner. The translation would also imply that Im weak or defenseless; I feel that Im a strong vessel, who patiently awaits capture. Pray While Youre Prey is a great read for single women. Those of us who have the desire to be spiritually grounded in all that we do, can draw strength from the scripture, interpretation and study questions found at the end of each chapter. This is a book to share with your entire cadre of single sister friends as we journey down the path to closeness with God and the quest to be a virtuous woman and wife.

Hating Girls provides an intersectional perspective that deconstructs the pervasive misogynies and gender-based violence against females and gender non-conforming people. The interdisciplinary analysis exposes the destructive, oppressive beliefs and practices inherent in our society and offers an equitable way forward.

To the High Redoubt is an engaging, epic fantasy adventure written by the creator of the widely read series of novels about the immortal vampire known as Le Comte de Saint‐Germain. In his quest for power, Bundhi, Lord of Darkness and stealer of souls, has taken family, vision, and freedom from Surata, the last surviving adept in tantric alchemy, before selling her into slavery in a distant land. But he has underestimated the depth of Surata’s power and he could not foresee that destiny would bring her a champion, Arkady, soldier of fortune and destined hero. As their mutual trust deepens and the wellspring of power from which Surata draws her magic is steadily revealed, the two form an unbeatable force as they challenge their enemy in the very heart of his empire.

Sadie meets The Girls in this riveting debut psychological thriller about a lonely college freshman seduced into joining a cult—and her desperate attempt to escape before it’s too late. College life isn’t what Emily expected. She expected to spend freshman year strolling through the ivy-covered campus with new friends, finally feeling like she belonged. Instead, she walks the campus alone, still not having found her place or her people so far away from home. But then the Kingdom finds her. The Kingdom, an exclusive on-campus group, offers everything Emily expected out of college and more: acceptance, friends, a potential boyfriend, and a chance to spend the summer on a mission trip to Italy. But the trip is not what she thought it would be. Emily and the others are stripped of their passports and money. They’re cut off from their families back home. The Kingdom’s practices become increasingly manipulative and dangerous… ​And someone ends up dead.