Diane Langberg is well known internationally as an expert on this subject. She is a godly psychologist with more than 50 years of experience in the world of trauma and abuse. She knows her subject academically and professionally and has supported hundreds of people who have been abused in church settings. This book is a digest of her experience and expertise. Diane comes at this distressing subject from sound professionalism and strong Christian faith. It is not easy reading, but it is reading that is valuable and useful. Diane shows us that ‘wolves’ have been around in the church since Bible days and that there have always been deceptive shepherds of God’s people. It is an honest book that shows how churches can cultivate healthier cultures.
Within the book are two pages containing searching questions that would be well-placed in an interview with a prospective church leader, and I was grateful that she addresses a whole chapter to victims of abuse and points to God’s view of these things. Another chapter addresses God’s call to church leaders (shepherds) to reflect the character of God. This is a searching book that should be compulsory reading for every church leader and would-be church leader.
