Dear Readers and Friends:
Way, way back in 2010 the wheels began to turn in me about the nature and deception of domestic abusers hiding in the church. By 2012 the Lord had so compelled me to write about it that the book A Cry for Justice was produced. In the process of that project, I found another book called Not Under Bondage and emailed the author—some lady down in Oz named Barbara Roberts—to ask her if I could quote from it in my book.
A WordPress blog was begun, by the title of A Cry for Justice, simply to let people know about the book and how they could get a copy. It wasn’t long after that when Barbara joined the ACFJ team and this ministry was begun.
While Barbara and our faithful TWBTC team member will continue the blog, I have decided that the time has come for me to retire from it. Grandchildren are starting to show up in our lives and I still have a church to oversee in addition to trying to be just a little bit retired. My faithful wife has patiently seen me spend hours and hours and days and days these years at the computer after telling her, “I just need to go answer a few emails and take a call.”
What I will not retire from however is speaking out against abusers, against evil, against churches and church leaders and church members and others who persist (key word, “persist”) in knowingly or unknowingly enabling the wicked and adding to the oppression of victims. You will still hear these subjects in my sermons and no doubt I will do some other writing that hopefully can be used to bring comfort and validation to abuse victims and make life generally more difficult for abusers.
As of October 31st of this year then I will be departing from the ACFJ team. It has been quite a ride. May the Lord continue to bless all of you, and may this ministry keep being an answer to those who cry out:
Behold, I cry out, ‘Violence!’ but I am not answered; I call for help, but there is no justice. (Job 19:7)
***
Barbara Roberts and TWBTC (the woman behind the curtain) offer thanks and appreciation to Pastor Jeff Crippen
Pastor Jeff has created a solid scriptural foundation for the blog in both his posts and his sermons. That type of foundation is not found on most (any?) other websites that deal with domestic abuse in a Christian context. It’s that type of foundation that will endure and where victim/survivors will find the most longterm help and growth. Our hope is that we can take that foundation and continue to build on it
Pastor Crippen has taught so clearly, cutting through all the teachings that harm abuse victims which are so prevalent in the visible church, and showing why they do not concord with the whole counsel of God in Scripture. He has exposed false teachers and denounced false doctrines. He has taught us the difference between libertinism and legalism and how either error can lead to abuse. Here are the some of key messages he has given:
- Abusers believe they are entitled to power and control. Like Diotrephes they crave to be first.
- By our definition of domestic abuse, abusers are not Christians.
- The visible church contains a great many unbelievers.
- Abusers are hiding in the church in plain sight.
- We need to be wise as serpents to deal with this.
- Domestic abuse is a test case for theology. By and large the church is failing the test.
- Abusers in the church indicate a deficiency in the pulpit.
- The church needs a system clean-out. It needs to get rid of the religion of the Pharisees.
- Ministry to abuse victims is true prison ministry.
Jeff has published 730 posts, plus another 67 which he and Barb co-wrote. He has offered advice for pastors and written an Open Letter to Pastors. He has called on pastors to step up to the plate. He has expressed sadness about how few pastors are interested in learning about domestic abuse.
What a stupendous gift Jeff has given to God’s people at this blog. And in addition he’s written two books on abuse: A Cry For Justice [Affiliate link] and Unholy Charade [Affiliate link].
We wish him well. And we will always consider him a friend.
Personal note from Barb
As a female author writing about Christian doctrine, I felt like a Deborah who needed a Barak. So in January 2012 when a fellow called Jeff Crippen emailed me asking permission to republish something from my book, I was curious to learn more about his manuscript. I asked him to send me the chapter synopsis and a sample chapter. As soon as I started reading I could tell that he was different from the vast majority of pastors. He got it. He understood domestic abuse. He understood the mentality and tactics of abusers. He understood how victims were being mistreated by churches.
It has been a great privilege and blessing to work with Jeff. Our partnership in co-leading the blog has illustrated to me how men and women can work synergistically together bringing their respective gifts — what might be seen as the gender-typical strengths of each sex — to complement each other and enhance the common work. Thank you Jeff!
Personal note from TWBTC
I stumbled upon Pastor’s 21-sermon series about domestic abuse on sermon audio as I was trying to make sense of my abusive marriage. Using the contact option on sermon audio I sent an email of gratitude. I didn’t know if my email would get to the pastor who preached those sermons or not, but I hoped that at least someone would know how much they meant to me. To my surprise Pastor replied to my email the same day.
It was also during this time that I found the ACFJ blog, which at that time was only weeks old. I have been following the blog ever since. What I have learned, what I have experienced, and how I have grown during this time cannot be measured. And all because God chose a small town pastor who was shepherding a small flock to preach His message on evil and how it hides in the church. And Pastor, because you have been faithful to that message, many have been blessed! Thank you.
The future of the blog
Barb and TWBTC will definitely be keeping the blog going. We are both keen to keep giving our time and energies to it. We hope to provide you with all the same kind of content which the blog has provided in the past. Jeff will continue to help moderate comments to the end of October and you will see some more posts of his during that period too.
We know our readers will be in shock and may well be grieving from having read this announcement. We ourselves (Barb and TWBTC) have been grieving ever since Jeff told us of his decision about two weeks ago. We encourage our readers to ride the waves of grief, to hold on to Christ and the promises God gives to his people such as Romans 8:28.
We know that many victims of domestic abuse have found it immensely validating to be supported and believed by a male pastor. Barb and TWBTC cannot offer you that because we are women, but all our readers who want to ‘hear it from a man’ can go to our Jeff Crippen tag and read all the posts he has written anytime they want to. And of course, anyone can listen to Jeff’s sermons at Sermon Audio.
Here is a hymn which our readers may find helpful at a time like this.
Interestingly, there are variants in the lyrics of the first verse. In this [Internet Archive link] version it says:
…No merit of my own I claim
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.
And in the old Presbyterian Hymnal at the church Barb attends, it reads:
…I dare not trust my sweetest frame
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.
***
UPDATE Sept 2021: I have come to believe that Jeff Crippen does not practise what he preaches. He vilely persecuted an abuse victim and spiritually abused many other people in the Tillamook congregation. Go here to read the evidence. Jeff has not gone to the people that he spiritually and emotionally abused. He has not apologised to them, let alone asked for their forgiveness.
A Cry For Justice 
Pastor Jeff,
I want to thank you for your stead-fast commitment to ACFJ. This blog has been one of the pieces of the rock that I’ve hung on to in the past. I only wish I had found it sooner. I am happy to learn that the ministry and this blog are going to continue under Barb’s good direction. Because I surely would miss the steadying presences this blog brings to not only myself but the other lives it touches as well. I am so grateful to have this blog to share with other survivors who have been touched by DV in their homes and through their church hierarchies. As has been said…and so appropriately; you get it, and for a man in your position that is oh so rare. Thank you for heading the call of God on your life. Thank you for being “the voice crying in the wilderness” for all survivors. May you continue to be Abundantly Blessed, you have blessed me exceedingly.
Thank you.
Glad to have helped provide you with that rock. Thank you for your encouraging words.
Thank you and thank you to Verla and everyone else at CRC who graciously shared…and those who will continue in this capacity here. Excited and blessed to see how Christ continues to manage His Galatians 2:20 lives involved here as we all press on towards the mark of His high calling. Cheers and enjoy the grandchildren yay!! 🙂
Eagerlabs – yes, very good point. Verla and our small congregation at CRC really are a foundational part of the ministry. The little church of only about 30 people has faithfully stuck with us, supported ACFJ by giving me the freedom and time to do this work. They really are a rather amazing bunch.
Jeff, thank you so much for your strong advocacy over the years. You have done so much to raise awareness and help survivors (including me) come out of the fog of abuse and manipulation. You’ve been a tremendous encouragement. Many blessings on you and your family as you go and enjoy those grandbabies!
Thank you jessicafore – you are one of my fellow troublemakers!
We do what we can. 😉
So, so true. Thank you, Pastor Jeff, for being that man. I am so grateful for all that you have given of yourself here. God bless you!
You’re welcome Seeing the light. It didn’t take too long after starting the blog to realize that the mission of educating pastors and churches would really become secondary to the main mission – validating the victims of abuse. They are the ones who listen and learn and are thankful.
Well done my dear friend! The work God worked thru you and I trust will continue carries eternal implications and appreciation. My life has completely changed, come to life as evil has been exposed by the flashlight of your work. Forever grateful to you my Pastor.
Mark
Thank you Mark. Many blessings to you.
Thanks for your ministry, Pastor Jeff! May God continue to bless your Kingdom service as you move on to a new stage.
(I have not created an anonymous comment name because I am fully comfortable publicly supporting this work.)
I just want to give my heartfelt thanks to Jeff Crippen. The few times I have emailed regarding my situation, he always heard me, replied and validated my perceptions and experiences. I cannot measure the good that has come to me from listening to his sermons on evil and abuse, as well as reading his posts. It has been especially empowering and healing to hear these truths coming from a Christian man and a Pastor none the less.
I was finally able to leave my abusive husband only a few weeks ago, after many years of being trapped (God delivered me through another godly Pastor and his church), but I want Jeff to know that God used him very much in my journey, during the years leading up to my leaving, to prepare me and lead me out of oppression.
I’m thankful for what Barbara said about dealing with any grief this news causes, to run to Jesus with it. I know if I was still trapped in the abuse with my husband, back home, this news would have come as a real blow to me. I think it is a testament to God and how he has used Jeff (and Barb) that I now write this with a smile on my face, safe and looking forward to the future.
Thank you Jeff for being faithful to Christ. May God bless you and your family abundantly.
Free! That is great news. Thank you for encouraging us.
Thank you, Pastor Jeff, from the bottom of my heart for your ministry, your time, your dedication, your untiring relentless pursuit of exposing evil and supporting those of us who are in the trenches standing up against it – persisting in standing as evil persists in attacking us. You are indeed “sword and trowel,” for you do the heavy lifting in the dirt as well as wielding the Word and shining the light of solid Truth against the counterfeiters. “Thank you” does not seem enough. I know you’re not stepping down or away – just back a wee bit. You won’t stop until quite literally you drop. It was your influence and words that I think actually tipped the scales for me in my own (former, thankfully) marriage to end it. Without this ministry, I truly think I’d still be in it. The Lord opened my eyes through you, so I remain forever in your debt or at least forever grateful. You have shown real Christian love as it should be. I hope your time with your grandchildren and Verla’s trowel (if she lets you touch it, haha) will be pleasant and filled with the good things that the Lord has given us to enjoy this side of Glory. May He bless you and yours richly, as you have blessed me and so many others.
Good luck Pastor Crippen. Thank you, as well as Barb and TWBTC, for making a difference in my life and in many other lives.
Words cannot express our gratitude to you all; we are beyond grateful that in my family’s dark storm, our little boat on the rocks, that out of Christ’s lighthouse came a few rescuers that helped us to safety.
ACFJ has been quite a team, and we wish all of you well in these new chapters of your lives. May our Heavenly Father guide, protect, give wisdom and discernment, and gird up each of you for the sake of Truth and His Kingdom.
Thank you, Pastor Jeff, for standing up for the oppressed in the church. God bless you and may the fruit of your ministry continue to flourish.
Dear Pastor Crippen, God bless you for answering when God called; and in obedience to his call, ACFJ came to fruition. It is obvious that because you love, serve, and walk closely with your Savior, you are once again entering into a new season.
You have been used mightily by the hand of God and as a result of His perfect plan, my life has been impacted greatly in a most positive way, far beyond what mere words can express, so I will ask God to bless you in ways that I never could.
Whatever God has for you going forward, I have no doubt you will be used as a powerful force, as a voice calling out in the night, continuing to boldly and fearlessly uncover and shed light upon the EVIL of domestic abuse.
For His glory!
Anonymous
I promise to keep making trouble for the wicked, and thereby help their victims. Every pastor who does so will “grow” his church flock to about half the size or less than were there at the start of his ministry. It’s true! It’s Jesus’ pattern, it was Paul’s pattern, the prophets, the other Apostles. That is real church growth because the evil hypocrites depart.
Thank you Jeff for your insight, dedication and wisdom which has allowed many to obtain clarity in a time of confusion. I have appreciated the way you have opened Scripture to allow us to see God’s heart for those who need to be set free. As the crucial work of crying out for Justice continues, may you be blessed in your (semi) retirement! Thank you.
Dear sister, I changed your screen name to something less identifying. It seems like this is your first comment on the blog, so allow me to welcome you!
We like to encourage new readers to check out our New Users’ Info page as it gives tips for how to guard your safety while commenting on the blog.
And after reading the New Users’ Info page, I suggest you look at our FAQ page.
If you want us to change your screen name to something else, just email TWBTC (The Woman Behind The Curtain) —twbtc.acfj@gmail.com — she will be happy to assist. 🙂
A reader – thank you for your kind words. Clarity. Yep. Boy, how we have all been fogged not only by evil but most of us by the “Bible” teaching we grew up with. It is really freeing to see the fog lift.
I am sad to hear this, Jeff, your voice will be missed. But I am also thankful for you taking the plunge to start this blog and I’m sure that Barb and TWBTC will continue to provide a necessary ministry re: abuse.
This blog has certainly been a source of validation and healing for me over the several years after my abusive ex walked out on me in ’09. I started my own blog more as a way to journal my thoughts and experience as I navigated the very murky waters of the Christian community when I chose to let my abusive marriage go and get divorced.
I pray the Lord bless you mightily in your new season of life.
Amy – Thank you. I am still amazed as I look back on the book writing and the blog. None of it was planned. Really. We started the blog simply to let people know about my first book, and it took off from there. Obviously it was the Lord’s doing.
God has a way of using us when we’re not really looking for it!
UPDATE Sept 2021: I have come to believe that Jeff Crippen does not practise what he preaches. He vilely persecuted an abuse victim and spiritually abused many other people in the Tillamook congregation. Go here to read the evidence. Jeff has not gone to the people that he spiritually and emotionally abused. He has not apologised to them, let alone asked for their forgiveness.
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And Jeff, I’m also amazed at the books you’ve written… and how quickly you wrote them. Wish I could write a book so quickly! But we are all different, eh?
I would not be where I am today without this blog and the excellent work you have contributed. From the bottom of my heart; thank you!
I’ve never been fond of goodbye…so I will say
Charis – We will all have unlimited time in the New heavens and earth. No good byes ever again. See you there!
UPDATE Sept 2021: I have come to believe that Jeff Crippen does not practise what he preaches. He vilely persecuted an abuse victim and spiritually abused many other people in the Tillamook congregation. Go here to read the evidence. Jeff has not gone to the people that he spiritually and emotionally abused. He has not apologised to them, let alone asked for their forgiveness.
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Like ^
Sad news for your readers, but you deserve to retire from this work. Thank you for your ministry, which has been an inestimable blessing to so many, and all your hard work. Truly you have been a good and faithful servant. Thank you for sending me a free copy of your book. I will always be grateful to you.
You’re welcome Grace551. I will keep making abusers hiding in churches very uneasy in my sermons. Somehow the topic seems to come up regularly. 🙂
Thank you, Pastor Crippen, for your unceasing advocacy for VICTIMS and not abusers, and for taking time to explain the validity of your positions from scripture. Of course, Barb does all of those things as well!
Best wishes and the Lord bless your future endeavors and you, Pastor Crippen!
Hi and welcome to the blog! I changed your screen name to kerup as a precaution (it looked like you had used your email address as your screen name). If you want us to change it to something else, just email TWBTC (The Woman Behind The Curtain) —twbtc.acfj@gmail.com — she will be happy to assist. 🙂
We like to encourage new readers to check out our New Users’ Info page as it gives tips for how to guard your safety while commenting on the blog.
And after reading the New Users’ Info page, I suggest you look at our FAQ page.
Thank you very much, Kerup.
Thank you, MRS Pastor Jeff, for the countless hours you surrendered your hubby to the ministry God called him to. I believe his rewards when standing before the Lord’s throne will be yours, also. Thank you, Pastor Jeff, for not giving up the fight the many times things got ugly. I can tell you that ACFJ blog and books (yours and Barbara’s) were essential to the recuperation of my best friend / sister as she came out of the prison of abuse. God bless you as you continue to serve Him in all the new things He has for you! You have my utmost respect and appreciation.
Thanks Harriet – I will keep doing my best to make life very uncomfortable for the wicked who have crept into Christ’s church. Jude says they creep in among us so I call them creeps and that’s probably too nice of a name.
Thank you for your fruitful work! Enjoy the grandchildren! And thank you to Barbara and TWBTC for your willingness to continue!
You’re welcome, Sunshine. 🙂
I am another woman who has been greatly helped by your efforts here. I am now gratefully divorced and your work has been so helpful in helping me to understand what was happening in my marriage and the church’s response. And clarifying Scripture. People seem to think that if we divorce, we can’t be serious about wanting to love and obey the Lord. Simplistic thinking. May the Lord continue to bless you and make you a blessing!
Gratefully divorced!! I like that. 🙂 As we get this whole matter of abuse and evil and marriage and divorce all straightened out so that our doctrine squares with the Word, we find that we start comprehending all kinds of jewels in the Scriptures that false teaching has been obscuring.
Thank you once again, Pastor Jeff! We’ll miss you tremendously! Please, enjoy your blessed wife, kids, grandbabies, and give and receive all the love you can possibly hold, you deserve it! I am finally in a loving marriage and my kids are being blessed, becoming healed and so am I. Thank God for all of you here.
You’re very welcome, CM. That’s wonderful news – a new life!
So many of the commenters have already expressed my thoughts. The fact that ACFJ has been instrumental in changing lives for God’s glory.
Pastor Crippen – You are an example of a man who does not fear ‘man’ and your devotion to preaching the truth has been what so many of us have hungered for. You have also directed us to others whom you felt we could trust.
I totally respect your decision. You and your wife are setting a valuable example for your family. May you witness great blessings because of your devotion to Jesus Christ.
To Barb and TWBTC – I do not doubt that you will continue to honour the Lord and build on the foundation already laid for ACFJ. You have already shown this to be so with your attention to detailed posts and articulate comments.
I haven’t commented on the blog for a long time as I continue to heal and live each day according to God’s plans for me. This has all been made possible by this ministry. So very grateful. ❤
Thank you very much healinginhim. Kind words.
Jeff, you will be sorely missed. Your ministry has meant a great deal to me as well as many other people. The voices against abuse and violence are very few. Enjoy your well-earned retirement. Jesus will not leave His true church forsaken and the work will continue. Although there will be times of darkness, joy certainly comes in the morning. Until that great day, we will mourn the loss of your voice, but know that Christ’s kingdom will still prevail against the darkness.
Thank you for your sword in this battle; may you find a well-deserved rest.
Thank you Sam. You have been and remain a huge encouragement to me as well. I will be slowing down a bit but the issue of injustice to abuse victims in the church seems to keep finding its way into most every sermon I preach!! I’m in 2 Peter right now. Peter doesn’t play nice with the wicked.
I too want to thank you, Pastor Jeff, for all your work in the area of abuse and helping us to understand the many ways that Bible doctrine has been twisted to keep the abused in their place. I would still be with my abuser if it had not been for your voice of Spirit-led reason. Thank you for following God’s leading. I am going to miss your counsel on this blog but I am so happy for the new chapter in your life and pray that God will richly bless you as you have richly blessed so many of us.
Barb and TWBTC I also appreciate the work you have done and will be continuing to do. You have made a difference in so many lives and mine is one of them. You have been beside me on my journey out of the fog and into freedom. You have given me courage when I had none, you have been the voice of reason when everyone around me had nothing but legalistic platitudes to offer. Thanks for a sound and rare biblical perspective. I am looking forward to what you will continue to offer. May God richly bless you both for this precious work you have undertaken.
livengrace, thanks for your encouragement! And since this looks like your first comment, let me welcome you to the blog!
As you probably know, we like to encourage new readers to check out our New Users’ Info page as it gives tips for how to guard your safety while commenting on the blog.
And after reading the New Users’ Info page, I suggest you look at our FAQ page.
I will add my thanks to Pastor Jeff as well. You don’t beat around the bush! Keep on preaching the truth of the Word of God. Even in retirement there will lots of opportunity for sharing I’m sure.
And I’m very grateful to all who make this blog a safe place to help each other heal. You know who you are. Matt. 25:40 (Jesus said):
Thank you, Pastor Jeff, for all your labor striving for justice and understanding for abuse victims within the church. Your wise and compassionate voice will be missed! Thanks also for Mrs. Crippen, who has sacrificed too behind the scenes for this cause and ministry. But nothing ever stays the same, we keep moving forward with our eyes on Jesus! May God bless you as you move into a new direction and chapter in your life.
And many kudos to Barbara and TWBTC. Your commitment & dedication to expose evil combined with your passion for helping victims of DV, is exceeded only by your willingness to selflessly serve and honor our Lord. 🌷
Dear Pastor Crippen,
God has used you and Barbara to help me understand what was happening in my marriage, as well as the church’s response in supporting my abuser. I don’t think I would be here today if God didn’t led me to ACFJ. It’s been a great comfort to have a man AND a pastor who has had the passion and commitment to help stand up and speak out about DV in the church. I will miss your posts tremendously…you have given compassion and dignity to countless victims by putting God’s word in it’s proper context. Thank you to you, and your wife, and family, for all the sacrifices made to set the captives free. And I have no doubt that many lives have literally been saved because of your labor.
To God be the Glory forever!
Sparrow – That is wonderful news to hear from you. Thank you!
This is sad to read, but so grateful for you and this ministry. It has been a tall cool drink of water in a desert wasteland. Thank you to you and your wife, your church and family for giving of time and energy to pour into the lives of hurting souls and those helping them. It has forever changed my life and will continue to bless so many. May the Lord bless you in the next leg of your journey and we shall meet again someday!!l
We will miss you! Thank you for your labor of love.
UPDATE Sept 2021: I have come to believe that Jeff Crippen does not practise what he preaches. He vilely persecuted an abuse victim and spiritually abused many other people in the Tillamook congregation. Go here to read the evidence. Jeff has not gone to the people that he spiritually and emotionally abused. He has not apologised to them, let alone asked for their forgiveness.
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I too want to thank Verla Crippen and all the congregation at Christ Reformation Church Tillamook. You have been very generous in allowing the blog to take up so much of Jeff’s time. I often think about how amazing it is that a little congregation would not flinch at their pastor’s focus on abuse and would not buck up and dig their heels in when he not only focused on it but delivered no less than twenty-one sermons on it… and then later preached twenty-six sermons on being wise as serpents.
The members of that congregation who left because of Jeff’s preaching focus on abuse and how to be wise to evildoers — well, they were flushed out. And the remaining congregation stayed and have continued faithfully to support and appreciate Jeff while their church got ‘smaller’ but much WISER.
Personally, I don’t know of any other example of this happening in a congregation. But as Jeff has mentioned, we see that it happened to both Jesus and Paul the apostle. Here is where it happened to Jesus:
Thank you Barbara. Yep. THIS is the model for true preaching of God’s truth.
UPDATE Sept 2021: I have come to believe that Jeff Crippen does not practise what he preaches. He vilely persecuted an abuse victim and spiritually abused many other people in the Tillamook congregation. Go here to read the evidence. Jeff has not gone to the people that he spiritually and emotionally abused. He has not apologised to them, let alone asked for their forgiveness.
***
I woke up this morning intending to delete most of the quote I gave in the above comment, because it could seem like I was hogging the comments thread.
But I’ve just read it through and had second thoughts, because the quote from John 6 is actually so applicable to the benchmark (non-negotiables) Jeff has upheld in this ministry:— that true Christians love and obey Christ. And that abusers who profess to be Christians just want the signs. They want the instant healing, the acceptance within the church, and reconciliation with their abuse victims without having to actually humble their hearts in repentance. They want the manna (cheap grace, enabling) spoon-fed to them on a daily basis by wooden church leaders, so they can keep on masquerading in the visible church as believers. They grumble as soon as they are held accountable for their evildoing. They grumble at Christ and so they grumble at all who are truly obeying Christ. They do not comprehend who Christ is, but they haughtily proclaim that they know him.
I don’t wish to dominate this thread because it’s about Jeff, so to be on the safe side I will delete most of the quote. But readers can look it up for themselves: John 6:26-66 (NASB1995).
That is so true Barbara.
So good. So true.
Ps. Jeff, you will be sorely missed. Though I am a relative newcomer, you have tremendously impacted my life and helped bring me spiritual healing I never thought was possible through this blog. I admire your uncompromising support for those abused, your unflinching calling out and denouncement of the abusers, and your refusal to let politics or expediency color your stances.
Know that the many hundreds of pages of wisdom you’ve shared here, as well as the hours of your sermons you’ve so generously made available, will continue to minister to women like me who suffered abuse for decades believing it was God’s will. What you’ve already given us here will continue to enlighten, equip, and enable the abused to become free. Even if this blog didn’t publish another word, the good you have done through it will continue for many years to come.
However, I praise God that the blog will continue to publish wisdom and truth, and remain a light chasing away the darkness of abuse from innocent sheep preyed on by wolves. Barbara Roberts has been a brilliant, capable partner for you in this endeavor, and she and TWBTC are well-equipped to carry it forward now and continue the mission of hope you all share.
God bless, and thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Thank you all for your work on this website – and I’m glad it will continue after Ps. Jeff’s departure.
I read the website for about 6 months a couple of years ago to understand more about abuse – and could relate to people’s stories and was blessed by the responses from Ps. Jeff and from Barb and the others who responded. In my case my abuser was my mother. (I’ve never had a serious relationship, and I’m a 60-something.) I needed to understand the nature of abuse and of abusers – I could tell you all the facts of what had gone on but didn’t see anything wrong with it – “Mommy did it so it was ok.” (My mother has been dead for almost 20 years but has had an unholy hold on my mind and lifestyle.) This website and your ministry helped clear that fog and I could finally say that what my mother did to me was WRONG.
I “stopped in” yesterday and saw the announcement and wanted to comment. Thank you for being there for all of us victims of domestic abuse and violence. God bless you, Ps. Jeff, in this new season of your life.
(sniff) Thank you for fearlessly and faithfully serving God and His flock. This blog (you, Barb, TWBTC, and the others) has changed my life, my understanding of the Gospel, and has opened up my world, and brought much healing and growth. It is also touching the hearts of my young adult children who have rejected the “churchianity” which they saw growing up.
Deepest thanks and may God richly bless you and your family. Thank you, Barb and TWBTC, for continuing this intense work.
Pastor Jeff. I am so grateful that God lead me to you and the ACFJ team. The biblically sound articles, comments and sermons I have found here were exactly what I needed. They brought me into a closer relationship with my Abba Father and I’ve found validation, empathy and new insight into God’s Word . I cannot find enough of the right words to convey my deep gratitude that you took up such a huge and quite unpopular task calling out the evil of abuse and standing with victims and survivors. So many other commenters ahead of me have said what I am feeling so I will shout “AMEN!” (because it’s safe to do that here among true followers of Jesus and not worry about the sideways glances of the self-righteous oppresser. 😉 )
This blog has been a lifeline to me. Thank you so much!
Thanks for all you’ve done Jeff. It has been an important journey that has helped so many.
You’re welcome, Jeff S. And the very same to you as well.
Just now saw this. Jeff, thank you for all you do, and I hope you enjoy your retirement.
Another thought occurred to me, Pastor Crippen: Beyond your work here at ACFJ, listening to and helping so many of us to see clearly and get out from under and flee from oppression and the heavy fog of violence / abuse and evil and to see and call it for what it is, you, too, have been a victim of evil. As a result, it has no doubt shaped your life’s journey and set you on a course you never could have imagined. You are no different than many of us in that you, too, have needed to heal from the evil thrust upon you from predators who have and continue in their attempt to destroy you.
It is NOT my intent to flatter you but I must say your bold and fearless voice speaking out against, and calling out (and at times by name) false witnesses, is something I pray will never be silenced this side of eternity. Your voice is needed!
Just this morning I listened to your sermon Christ’s Sheep Hear His Voice (May 2017) and you called out (by name) a speaker who obviously is not hearing God’s voice, based on what he is ‘preaching.’ This same preacher was once interviewed on a talk show and was asked why he never preaches about God’s judgment and wrath and here was his response:
That’s exactly what Isaiah is saying in chapter 30…speak to us of smooth things. We don’t want to hear about the Holy One of Israel.
Well the Holy One of Israel has a lot to say regardless of whether or not packed churches with overflowing coffers and charlatans performing in the pulpit want to hear. Thank you, pastor Crippen for preaching God’s Word!
[Editor’s note: Here is a link to Pastor’s sermon: Christ’s Sheep Hear His Voice]
Pastor Jeff and precious team @ a cry for justice. Thank you so much for starting me on the journey to freedom. 18 months living on my own. It’s been hard but nothing like the insanity I lived in for almost 4 decades! I feel like I have had to get [a] degree in Psychology to understand what my life was about! Jeff thank you for being the shepherd we all desperately craved!!! You will be truly missed. At the end of our lives what is more important than that? To have made a difference in so many lives. Blessings to you, your family and your church.
I want to add my thanks to you Pastor Jeff. I did not come across your website until after God had delivered me from my marriage of over 30 years to an extremely covert hidden abuser. This is the first time I have posted here.
After losing my health over the years, I was able to temporarily gain enough of it back to see much more clearly what had been going on. Lundy Bancroft’s book was one of the first I read once I started “coming to” after all those years. It was quite a shock to see how quickly my husband left after I had gained enough confidence and clarity to start confronting him on his behavior, lying and deceit.
It’s taken a lot of therapy, time and prayer to re-establish for myself the true reality of all those years – I was always just so confused and fearful. I can count on one hand the number of times I saw him angry, and I don’t think I ever saw him rage. His preferred methods were things such as extended periods of the silent treatment and basically forbidding me to express any (as he saw them) negative emotions. The abuse was so hard to identify because it was so insidious and underhanded – I have still not come across a book that talks about some of the things he did. Looking back, I feel like I lived in an emotional coma and an eerily silent vacuum all those years.
Pastor Jeff, I listened to your 21 sermons on abuse, and my how the tears flowed. Then I saw your review of the book “The Bait of Satan”. Oh how he wanted me to read that book when he realized I was starting to understand what had been going on! I’m so glad I refused. I quietly left the church we had attended for many years, as I knew no one would believe me. My former husband is too respected there.
Though I have a long road ahead of me, and have no idea whether I will ever be physically well enough to work, I have healed so much emotionally, mentally and spiritually. And for the first time in many years, I feel safe. Really safe.
I wish I could say my relationships are great with all of my adult children, but that is not the case. Though I have a lot of heartache, I’m realizing what I can and cannot control. And I continue to pray that over time denial will be lifted and truth will be revealed where needed. But I know that’s all in God’s hands.
I am so appreciative of your many word of wisdom Pastor Jeff, and those of you Barb, and everyone else who posts here. You have all been such an important part of my coming out of the fog. Thank you for letting me tell my story. May God richly bless all of you!
(To twbtc – I am not concerned about any identifying information in my post. In fact, I think my former husband believes I am the narcissist. I guess that’s what happens when you start standing up for yourself after all those years. But feel free to edit as you see fit. Thank you. 🙂 )
Hi Delivered, what a privilege it is to hear your story! Thank you. 🙂
I’m guessing you’ve already read our New Users’ page and our FAQ tab in the top menu so I won’t give you those links.
Coming from a very legalistic denominational background, where I was taught that women are to ‘keep silent in the church’, and that women are more easily deceived, and that divorce is never allowed….having a man’s voice and opinion on this blog and through Ps Jeff’s sermons was very helpful to me as part of my truth-learning process that took place over 10-15 years or so. I would have found it much harder to accept and believe if there had only been women talking, simply because of my past training. Not only that, but the love for the hurting and oppressed, and the validation that Ps Jeff gave to women who have been abused and broken has been such a blessing. Thank you for your service, Ps Jeff, and may you be blessed as you continue to serve the Lord. I’m so glad the blog will continue on, though you will be missed!
Well I’m sad to know this but all good things must come to an end, no? This blog has been my church, the sermons, blog postings, etc have been my bread and butter. Who knows how I came to know of this blog’s existence but it was truly the LORD’s doing. I can say both you and Barbara kept me alive through some wildly precarious times of immense anguish, pain, despair to the point of being wildly suicidal. I hope nothing but the greatest blessings for you and your family. They ought to know what a rock star level of a pastor and true leader in the war against the evil of abuse and so much more, in their grandpa. I don’t have much eloquence or anything but when the church I’d clung to backed my abuser and other clear criminals, I really came close to thinking religion was indeed yet another joke at my duped expense. But I came to this blog and you became my new pastor, the blog became my church, the prayer requests were a lifeline all of their own, and God has carried me through so much evil and carnage via your blog, sermons, comments, posts, etc.
My biggest and most ambitious goal in life was to live it in such a way that God says to me, ‘welcome my good and faithful servant’. I’m struggling just to make it through the day, but you, Pastor Crippen, are undoubtedly living it.
Wow, there’s real grief involved in this. Many, many thanks and blessings to you, your family, and your church. 😊
anony – Thank you for your encouraging words. My sermons will still be online at sermonaudio.com/crc where we post them in pdf and audio format each week. Sermons series from the past are there as well.
Pastor Jeff, you so deserve to look after yourself, your wife and enjoy your grandchildren. It is a good decision and I’m happy for you. And so grateful to God for using you in such a powerful and healing way in my life. I remember vividly when I stumbled across your audio sermon series online and started listening to someone who got it, finally, a man even! God ‘dropped’ a pastor in my home to tell me I was not crazy and to bring immense comfort I so much needed at the time. I then followed the blog and Barbara kindly sent me your first book and hers for free, and TWBC sent your 2nd book as well. The ACFJ has especially helped me make sense of Scriptures distorted by abusive ‘husbands’ and scholars alike.
My prayer for you is that God continue to bless you on the path of Truth, and your whole family to bring you joy and comfort. Many thanks for your ministry!
Innoscent – thank you! Your words are very encouraging. I will be continuing to preach and pastor here at Christ Reformation Church and somehow the subject of evil and abusers has a way of showing up in most every sermon! We will keep posting the sermons online in both PDF and audio format at sermonaudio.com/crc so they remain available. After nearly 8 years now I still regularly hear from abuse victims / survivors who have found that sermon series on abuse and were greatly helped. I take no credit at all (really) because it was obviously the Lord who opened MY eyes to the abusers and their tactics that they had used on me as a pastor all these years, so it was not a difficult leap after that to be able to see what these evil ones were doing not only in the church but in their homes and marriages. I thought after preaching that series and putting it online, that was that. But listeners started calling us and writing to us and some asked that I write a book on the subject which, ultimately, I did. The blog developed just from a desire to let people know the book was available. Then Barbara came along and the blog became a ministry. And NONE of it was planned. The Lord really has done it.
Having spent the past month mulling this over, I thought I’d better respond before Ps. Jeff “signs off” for the last post here…..
I found ACFJ through a link from Grace for My Heart. Up to that point, GFMH was the only “Christian” voice who seemed to “get” narcissism from a Biblical perspective, and I began my journey to “finding my voice” there. When I stumbled onto ACFJ, I can honestly say that both sites literally saved my life. That is not hyperbole or drama: I was in a very dark place when I first stopped here, and it was a balm to my very soul. I was in despair, considering suicide, and found here a reprieve, an ear, a voice, a rhythm…..of God’s deep love & mercy & justice. I found strength to go on.
Like others here, the first thought that came to mind was “so I’m not crazy after all!”.
The affirmation of theology, the application of truth, the permission to speak and be valued was unparalleled. It was startling at first. Not only am I not crazy, I am actually right about much!! It was such a stark departure from the “kumbaya Christian-ese” that it was jarring. Jesus was here and He not only loved me, He wanted me to be strong and unafraid.
I cannot thank Ps. Jeff, Barbara, twbtc, Ellie, Megan C…..enough. Seriously. Sometimes, even now, I can only weep while drinking from this cool, deep, refreshing, delicious, clarifying, edifying well.
Ps. Jeff…you have given us righteous theology wrapped in reality covered in mercy steeped in justice immersed in wisdom & delivered in gracious, naked truth. You have encouraged and exhorted, taught and listened, explained and expounded, and given us strength, kindness and boldness.
As I grew in strength & wisdom I sometimes wondered how long you would be able to do this. And when I learned it was time to move on, I was sad, but also very much aware that you have equipped an army to carry on in your stead!!
And I am so very grateful for Barbara, twbtc and others on the team who will do just that; carry on, soldier on, speak truth clearly & eloquently. Like others, I have found my own voice as well, and can speak truth with clarity & conviction & boldness.
So….thank you, thank you, thank you. I look forward to your new blog and am so grateful for this site continuing.
May God richly bless you and yours for this wonderful gift of strength, wisdom and truth. May His goodness & mercy follow you all the days of your life.
My cup runneth over……
UPDATE Sept 2021: I have come to believe that Jeff Crippen does not practise what he preaches. He vilely persecuted an abuse victim and spiritually abused many other people in the Tillamook congregation. Go here to read the evidence. Jeff has not gone to the people that he spiritually and emotionally abused. He has not apologised to them, let alone asked for their forgiveness.
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My heart warmed as I read your comment, SWAF. 🙂
This bit in particular:
When I read beautiful truthful prose like that, it makes me feel like I’m soaking in a warm bubble bath!
Thank you very much, Stands With a Fist, for those very encouraging words. All the blog articles remain in place right here, ready to be read by many more abuse victims looking for someone to believe and help them. I have no doubt we will keep hearing from them.