Podcasts on abuse and the church’s response to abuse topped The Roys Report’s (TRR) Top 10 Podcasts of 2022.
Specifically, a podcast analyzing abuse and cover-up at John MacArthur’s Grace Community Church attracted more listeners than any other podcast in 2022. Another top podcast addressed the advice by the head of counseling at MacArthur’s school, The Master’s University and Seminary, that wives should endure abuse like missionaries endure persecution.
Sadly, protection of abusers has become common in churches. But as TRR continues to confront the lies supporting these toxic beliefs and behaviors, the resistance to them is growing.
“The narrative is truth. The content is educational and freeing!!!” wrote one listener in a recent review.
Another listener wrote that the podcast “put words to my thoughts and feelings and helped me grow in understanding.” Someone else called the podcast a “significant source of truth and wisdom,” adding, “It is now my must-go-to podcast for both myself and my coaching/counseling clients.”
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Other top podcasts of 2022 exposed plagiarism by Christine Caine; the unbiblical methods of one of the largest church planting groups in North America; and what really happened at the church John Piper founded.
The Roys Report Top 10 Podcasts in 2022
Survivor advocate and author, Sarah McDugal, discusses John MacArthur’s shocking treatment of Eileen Gray. In 2002, MacArthur excommunicated Gray because she wouldn’t take her child-abusing husband back into her home.
Why have three pastors resigned, and hundreds of members left Bethlehem Baptist Church, the church formerly pastored by John Piper? In this episode, Steve and Janette Takata—two longtime members, who found themselves at the epicenter of the storm at Bethlehem—tell the inside story.
The Association of Related Churches (ARC) is arguably the biggest church planting organizations in America, and one of the most scandal-ridden. According to a former ARC pastor, that’s because ARC’s methods and philosophy of ministry are worldly and unbiblical.
Dr. John Street, chair of the graduate program of biblical counseling at The Master’s University, says a wife should endure abuse like a missionary endures persecution. Responding to numerous clips of Dr. Street’s online teaching, licensed psychologist Dr. Philip Monroe explains why Street’s teaching is dangerous and wrong.
Christian author Carey Scott tells how international speaker and author, Christine Caine, plagiarized Scott’s work and then refused to own what she had done. She also discusses the trauma she experienced from the ordeal.
In this episode, the Takatas explain why the turmoil at Bethlehem Baptist was not caused by different theological and political convictions, as some have claimed. Instead, the Takatas say, the turmoil was the direct result of spiritual abuse.
Mark Driscoll dropped a bombshell in 2022, claiming that leaders at his former Mars Hill Church were planning to accuse Driscoll of adultery if he didn’t resign. Sutton Turner—one of only three former executive elders at Mars Hill—sets the record straight and shares stunning stories of what it was like to work with a bully like Driscoll.
For years, Mark Driscoll has crafted a false narrative of what happened at Mars Hill with the help of several high-profile pastors—Robert Morris and Brian Houston. In this podcast, you’ll hear clips of Morris and Houston, playing to peoples’ sympathies for Driscoll. You’ll also hear Sutton Turner and former Mars Hill Elder Miles Rohde explain why these abuser-centered responses are so harmful.
Lori Anne Thompson was not just a victim of Ravi Zacharias’ sexual abuse. She also was the target of a worldwide smear campaign. In this recording from our 2022 Restore Conference, Thompson shares how to survive abuse and gaslighting—and advocate for other survivors.
Abuse has become epidemic in the church—and so has cover-up. But what causes abuse in the church? And how can we stop it? Trauma expert Diane Langberg answers these questions with uncommon insight and clarity during her opening talk at the 2022 Restore Conference.
You can listen to episodes online or read interview transcripts, by following the links above to each episode page. Look for The Roys Report on all major podcast platforms including Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts. Thank you for listening, and we look forward to sharing more soon.
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