Words carry weight.
For those in church leadership, they are not just sounds shaped by vocal chords and breath, but something much deeper.
Words hold power—they can build up or tear down, bless or curse.
The church leader is a spiritual leader, and within the Christian community, the words of a leader carry particular significance.
They can awaken a heart or crush a soul.
The Greek word ‘psyche’—soul—is also the word for butterfly.
It captures something of our fragile beauty.
Like a butterfly, our sense of self is delicate, wondrous, and strong enough to take flight and explore the journey of life.
Yet, it is easily damaged.
The words of a spiritual leader can nurture this beauty or wound it deeply, breaking its wings.
This is where the term "spiritual abuse" becomes necessary. It speaks of a harm that only a spiritual leader or religious culture can inflict—it includes words misused to belittle, distort, or destroy the identity of another.
Words that wound in this way cut deeper, for those in the household of faith, than many other wounds. They can touch the fragile heart, crushing the butterfly of the soul.
But words also hold the power to bless, to heal, to restore. Church leaders have a particular calling to create cultures of goodness, communities of healing, where words build up and bind wounds.
Remember, dear pastor, within your flock are those who have been hurt by the church, and wounded by leadership.
Be tender, like Jesus.
A bruised reed He will not break, a glowing ember He will not snuff out.
Let your words breathe life into weary and damaged souls.
Let them be vessels of hope and channels of healing for fragile broken wings.
For in this, you reflect the heart of the Shepherd who speaks not to harm but to heal, whose words carry grace, and whose voice calls us to life.
- Swales, 2024
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