Someone recently asked me to share my perspective about the 2025 General Council in Orlando, Florida.

I am happy to answer that question, especially for my fellow ministers who either were unable to attend at all or who had responsibilities at General Council that prevented them from attending business meetings (e.g., Fine Arts, Camp GC, Exhibit Hall).

By the way, if you want to watch General Council’s worship services or business sessions, videos of both are posted at AG.org/Events/Events-Archive.

If I had to summarize my perspective on the business sessions, I would focus on the issue of spiritual leadership. During its August 4–5 meeting, the General Presbytery approved a new position paper titled, “Misuse of Spiritual Leadership.”

Spiritual Leadership

The spiritual authority each of us has — whether by influence, ministerial credential, or position — is given to us by God to be used for His glory and the advancement of His kingdom. Unfortunately, that authority can be misused given our sin natures, even to the point of becoming spiritually abusive.

Because discussion of such abuse is prevalent today, we need a common understanding of what it is. Here is how “Misuse of Spiritual Leadership” defines spiritual abuse:

Spiritual abuse (1) occurs in a spiritual context, (2) is motivated by a desire to lord one’s “authority” over others, (3) is marked by persistent behavior, and (4) causes real harm whether intended or not.

People sometimes use the term without carefully defining it, so it is necessary to clarify that spiritual abuse is not pastoral correction per se.

The spiritual authority each of us has is given to us by God to be used for His glory and the advancement of His kingdom.

God ordained spiritual leaders to disciple people, after all. The apostle Paul used a variety of terms, both positive and negative, to describe Bible-based discipleship: teaching, rebuking, correcting, training and encouraging (2 Timothy 3:16–4:2).

Paul’s letters — to the Corinthians, especially — offer a good example of a spiritual leader able to lovingly correct a congregation’s bad theology and behavior.

Paul admitted these epistolary encounters could cause sorrow to church members (2 Corinthians 7:8–11). However, he himself wrote with tear-stained love: “I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to grieve you but to let you know the depth of my love for you” (2:4).

A spiritual leader who corrects in love is thus following God’s call. While correction may cause hurt feelings, it is not spiritual abuse, at least not if done in a biblically appropriate manner.

Unfortunately, even spiritual leaders make mistakes in ministry. These mistakes may reflect immaturity rather than malice, however. Leaders need to develop self-awareness of their failings and be open to correction by others, so that an isolated incident does not become a repeated pattern.

Here are examples of behaviors that cause harm when repeated:

1. Inappropriate appeals to God’s authority (misusing Scripture, personal prophecy, etc.) to control.
2. Excessive public or personal praise, sometimes known as love-bombing, as a form of manipulation (e.g., making an example of someone as a form of manipulation).
3. Correcting publicly what should be done privately as a means to humiliate or shame someone.
4. Using intimidation tactics to create fear of being removed from the spiritual leader’s favor or isolated from peers.
5. Misuse of accountability and excessive or controlling practices (e.g. overprogramming so people cannot choose how to spend their time or make their own life decisions).
6. Retaliation against a person for making a good faith report or for participating in an investigation regarding a minister for alleged misconduct.
7. Manipulating or shaming a person to question their own value as an image bearer of God and whether they can hear from God. Sometimes the spiritual leader causes someone to question their own perception, memory, or sense of reality, commonly known as gaslighting.

This list uses the terms control, love-bombing, and gaslighting. It offers brief definitions, but since these terms are unfamiliar to many, I want to explain them in greater detail. We need a common understanding of relational practices that should be unacceptable among us.

Control goes beyond pastoral guidance and biblical correction. It includes using power or influence over another person to conform to the controlling person’s needs or desires. The leader uses manipulation and coercion in a way that does not empower the believer to hear from God directly. Examples include overprogramming so people cannot choose how to spend their time or make their own life decisions.

Love-bombing is a tactic with intent to manipulate often used at the beginning of relationships to gain control and dependence from a person. It involves overwhelming someone with excessive attention, affection, flattery, and gifts. While initially feeling like genuine affection, it’s a calculated strategy to quickly establish a strong emotional bond and make the other person reliant on the love bomber. This tactic can be emotionally damaging and is frequently associated with individuals exhibiting narcissistic traits or other controlling behaviors.

Gaslighting is a form of psychological manipulation where someone tries to make another person doubt their own perception of reality, memories, or feelings. It’s a tactic used to gain control over a victim, often leading them to question their sanity and become overly dependent on the abuser.

Spiritual abuse constitutes grounds for ministerial discipline, according to Article X, Section 3, Paragraph c, Page 66 of the General Council Bylaws. That paragraph lists “Moral or ethical transgression other than sexual misconduct,” “Blatant misrepresentation of our Pentecostal testimony,” and “An assumption of dictatorial authority over an assembly” as possible charges.

Given the reality of spiritual abuse in our fallen world, may I appeal to you, minister to minister, Christian to Christian?

We all need to self-regulate our behaviors. We all need to be willing to listen to honest conversations about our behaviors. By doing so, we each contribute to making every church and ministry a relationally safe place. We honor the Lord by repenting of our leadership sins and striving to follow His perfect example.

Also, we should all pay attention to the actions of fellow ministers. Consult your district/network officers when another minister’s misbehavior becomes persistent, involves multiple complaints, or incorporates multiple spiritually abusive practices.

This is especially important when that minister has a history of neither being accountable to their overseers nor taking responsibility for their actions.

Finally, consider using “Misuse of Spiritual Leadership” as a leadership development tool with your staff or among your ministry peers at a future district, network, or sectional meeting.

Position Papers

Alongside “Misuse of Spiritual Leadership,” the General Presbytery approved four additional position papers during its meeting at the start of General Council.

The purpose of position papers is to provide ministers with seasoned advice about theological, ethical, and cultural topics relevant to contemporary ministry. They make great content for a sermon series, small group discussions, and study materials for personal theological development.

Position papers express the considered judgment of the General Presbytery. They are advisory in nature, not mandatory, though the advice is weighty since it comes from a nationally representative body.

The five position papers approved by the General Presbytery are:

• “Christians and Citizenship”
• “Misuse of Spiritual Leadership”
• “Modern-Day Apostles”
• “Modern-Day Prophecy”
• “Women in Ministerial Leadership”

The first two are new position papers. The last three are revisions of existing papers.

All position papers can be downloaded at AG.org/Beliefs/Position-Papers in either English or Spanish.

This article appears in the Fall 2025 issue of Called to Serve, the official ministers' letter of the Assemblies of God.