I was a part of a mega church for over 12 years and worked on staff for about half of those years. Not saying all churches are like “The Righteous Gemstones” but the church I attended (which was part of a larger organization) had a few people like the characters portrayed in this show. When I first noticed some of the toxic behaviors(and I use this phrase as an understatement ), I tried to be the guy that was gonna “bring change”. For example: I would bring up things in staff meetings that I felt were inappropriately done. I would usually get told to “stay in my lane.”

I learned quickly that toxic churches (or organizations in general) usually don’t like to change. We (my wife and I) experienced a lot of spiritual abuse from the high-level “leaders”, including the senior pastors (and their family).

Side note: some of the main leaders (male and female) were related by blood or by marriage.

When I just attended the church, things were cool. But once I got on staff and into the “inner circle”, I started seeing things that blew my mind and shook my faith. Also, It started to feel like a family business rather than a church. Once I realized I couldn’t change things, we left. When we left the church, members were told to stay away from us because we were “toxic”. Go figure. 🙄

Oddly enough, this show has helped me to heal a bit by laughing at some of the foolishness that goes on in some of these churches. I couldn’t even tell you the types of things I saw behind the scenes. It was never Gemstone-level, but man, it was close. I appreciate this show and I’m rooting for those of you that have experienced spiritual abuse and came out alive on the other side! 💪🏾💪🏾💪🏾