This past weekend, 20/20 aired a scathing expose on the widespread abuse happening within Independent Fundamentalist Baptist Churches (IFB). You can watch it here. (2021 Update: It seems ABC does not have this linked anymore. You can watch the first part on YouTube here.)
The IFB is a loose association of churches that also have their own “reform schools” for troubled teens. The stories of what happened at these reform schools, in the name of God, makes the Honor Academy look like a trip to Disney World.
The crimes against these kids are heinous, evil, and despicable. And like us, they are banding together in online communities and breaking their silence for the very first time.
Their stories remind me that the Honor Academy is not the first, the last, or even the worst of spiritually and physically abusive environments. It’s heartbreaking and its wrong on every single level.
Thankfully, our voices are growing louder – we are just one of many groups online that is exposing abuses that we experienced in the name of God:
Master’s Commission – My Cult Life
Sovereign Grace Ministries Survivors
Survivors of Fundamental Baptist Cult Abuse (2021 Update: Facebook group has since been deleted or its privacy settings have been private.)
All of us who have survived abusive situations are left with an aching question: Now what?
Is it possible to untangle the true God from the Christian terrorists who have formed us? This is the question that Honor Academy alumnus, Brooke, asks on her blog, in response to the 20/20 episode. (2025 Update: blog has been taken over by a Chinese organization.)
A terrorist is someone who uses threats of violence to manipulate people. It may not be always be as extreme as kidnappings and suicide bombers, but it’s the same root – using fear and manipulation to control people to do what you want them to do, often in the name of a higher power.
It takes great courage to move beyond the fear, to let yourself question, to tell your story, to change your understanding of Christ and church – especially when we’ve been told these things can lead us to hell.
Brooke’s hope is the same as mine:
And so, my hope is that my words…would begin to untangle this mess of mixed up doctrine, spiritual abuse, misconceptions and wrong definitions. I don’t claim to know much, but I do know God is love and Amazing Grace has set me free. I know that no matter where you are or how confused or angry you are because of what Christian terrorists have done to you, Jesus offers life to the fullest and He desires to bring you into a deep peace.