We grow healthy people and healthy communities by breaking the cycle of othering*, and opening ourselves up to the Spirit’s uprooting of toxic near enemies (https://meigsindypress.com/2022/01/31/emotional-near-enemiesf/?fbclid=IwAR0aB8L272XZdxsx2ldVNGi0KOeqzt3RrWmj-C3dw6XLohaHvfxsvfCAqsk) that have been sown as tares in our hearts (Matthew 13:24-30)

Leaders often carry the toxic roots that spawn a culture of spiritual, sexual, physical, mental, emotional, and financial abuse, and the accompanying gaslighting oppression. This is the same poison root that lead to Christ’s planned assassination by crucifixion.

And even in those who see it, experience it, and separate from the environment, its insidious roots may remain and infect spaces intended to foster safety and healing, unless the toxic roots are exposed and cut out.

Only the Spirit of Love can guide this delicate incisive work though. It is way above our pay grade and not a part of our skill set.

So whenever we see this toxicity, be it through firsthand experience or as a bystander, speak up, and let the Spirit of God guide the process of exposure and healing that is absolutely necessary for actual health.

No one marinated in toxicity escapes it unscathed. And while the author of this article equipped themselves to be a guide for healing, I hope that they will begin to break the cycle of creating outsiders that insulates us from truly being a part of healthy community.

Abusive Adventists?

*The term Othering describes the reductive action of labelling and defining a person as a subaltern native, as someone who belongs to the socially subordinate category of the Other. The practice of Othering excludes persons who do not fit the norm of the social group, which is a version of the Self;^[7] likewise, in human geography, the practice of othering persons means to exclude and displace them from the social group to the margins of society, where mainstream social norms do not apply to them, for being the Other.^[8] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Other_(philosophy)

“Here is another story Jesus told: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. But that night as the workers slept, his enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat, then slipped away. When the crop began to grow and produce grain, the weeds also grew. “The farmer’s workers went to him and said, ‘Sir, the field where you planted that good seed is full of weeds! Where did they come from?’ “‘An enemy has done this!’ the farmer exclaimed. “‘Should we pull out the weeds?’ they asked. “‘No,’ he replied, ‘you’ll uproot the wheat if you do. Let both grow together until the harvest. Then I will tell the harvesters to sort out the weeds, tie them into bundles, and burn them, and to put the wheat in the barn.’””
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭13:24-30‬ ‭NLT‬‬