CALLED, BROKEN, BELOVED
A Recovery Journey for Ministry Leaders and Church Members Healing from Church Harm
This eight-session, self-paced recovery course supports church members and leaders in healing from spiritual harm with honesty, grace, and biblical insight. Through guided reflection, trauma-aware practices, and downloadable workbooks, Called, Broken, Beloved helps you process pain, rebuild trust, and rediscover your identity in Christ. Whether you’re navigating personal wounds or walking alongside others, this course offers a safe and prayerful space to begin again.
Called, Broken, Beloved:
A Recovery Journey for Ministry Leaders and Church Members Healing from Church Harm
Spiritual harm can leave deep and lasting wounds—confusion, grief, and a sense of disconnection from the Church or even from God. Called, Broken, Beloved is an eight-session, biblically rooted course designed to help you process those experiences with honesty, grace, and hope.
Whether you’ve been hurt by leadership, silenced in community, or left wondering if healing is possible, this journey offers space to reflect, breathe, and begin again. You are not alone. You are not forgotten. You are beloved.
What You’ll Explore
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The nature and impact of spiritual abuse
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How to name pain without shame or pressure
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Emotional safety and biblical boundaries
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Restoring spiritual practices after burnout or distortion
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Navigating forgiveness and discernment with grace
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Reimagining calling and vocational purpose
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Honouring grief and reclaiming lament
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Rebuilding theological trust and rediscovering God’s voice
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Gentle next steps toward healing and support
Each session includes guided reflection, trauma-aware practices, journaling prompts, and optional group discussion. Downloadable workbooks and facilitator guides are available for churches and small groups.
Nine-Session Overview
Session 1: Naming Harm and Beginning Healing
Exploring spiritual abuse, its impact, and the first steps toward honest reflection and safety.
Session 2: Emotional Safety and Boundaries
Understanding emotional safety, recognising unsafe dynamics, and affirming biblical boundaries.
Session 3: Restoring Spiritual Practices
Reclaiming prayer, Scripture, worship, and silence after spiritual distortion or burnout.
Session 4: Healing in Community
Rediscovering belonging through grace-filled relationships and safe, restorative spaces.
Session 5: Forgiveness and Discernment
Navigating forgiveness as a process, and affirming discernment as a gift for healing.
Session 6: Vocational Restoration
Reimagining calling after harm, and rediscovering purpose through grace and wisdom.
Session 7: Grief, Lament, and Spiritual Honesty
Naming sorrow, honouring loss, and reclaiming lament as a sacred spiritual practice.
Session 8: Rebuilding Theological Trust
Untangling distorted theology and rediscovering the voice of God through truth and grace.
Closing Thoughts and Next Steps
Encouragement for the journey ahead, with invitations to prayer, support, and continued healing.
This course is suitable for individuals, small groups, and churches seeking to become places of refuge and renewal. It can be taken at your own pace or facilitated in community.
We understand the pain that church harm can cause—often hidden, often unspoken. Called, Broken, Beloved was created to be a safe, grace-filled space where you can begin your healing process without pressure or shame. You are not alone. You are not forgotten. You are beloved.
About the Author
Leston has served in pastoral ministry across South Africa and the UK for nearly three decades, walking alongside individuals and communities through seasons of grief, transition, and spiritual searching. His work is shaped by a deep commitment to gentle care, theological clarity, and emotional safety.
Alongside his ministry experience, Leston has pursued further study in counselling and psychotherapy, and is an accredited Cognitive Behavioural Therapist. He also holds a Doctorate in Pastoral Studies, though he prefers to let the work speak quietly for itself.
This course was shaped not only by professional insight, but by personal journey. Leston understands the pain of church harm and the slow, grace-filled process of healing. Called, Broken, Beloved was written to offer others what he himself needed: a safe space to be honest, to breathe, and to rediscover God’s tenderness.
He continues to serve the wider Body of Christ—supporting churches, facilitators, and individuals seeking renewal—with prayer, humility, and hope.
