Overcoming Anxiety & Spiritual Abuse, Part II

Guest Bios Show Transcript What do you do when you feel called to start a ministry, but your pastor tells you not to? He says you’re not ready. You need to be under his authority. And your ministry must “complete,” not “compete,” with the local church. That’s precisely what happened to Christy Boulware, author of Nervous Breakthrough: Finding Freedom from Fear and Anxiety in a World that Feeds It. And in this second part of Julie’s interview with Christy, she tells about how, after overcoming a severe panic and anxiety disorder, she wanted to help others—but her pastor stood in her way. This led to the painful discovery that her church was a “cult,” and her pastor was addicted to control. This threw Christy into a tailspin and caused her to question her calling. But over time, with the help of wise friends, she and her husband realized they needed to leave their church and continue the ministry God had given her. Christy’s is such a powerful story. And through it, she gives a helpful blueprint for how to discern spiritual abuse and escape it. Guests Christy Boulware Christy Boulware is an international speaker, author of Nervous Breakthrough, Bible study creator, and founder of Fearless Unite. She is happily married to the love of her life, Troy. They have three beautiful children together. Show Transcript SPEAKERS JULIE ROYS, CHRISTY BOULWARE JULIE ROYS 00:04 What do you do when you feel called to start a ministry, but your pastor tells you not to? He says you’re not ready. You need to be under his authority, and your ministry must complete, not compete with the local church. Welcome to The Roys Report, a podcast dedicated to reporting the truth and restoring the church. I’m Julie Roys, and what I just described happened to Christy Boulware, author of Nervous Breakthrough: Finding Freedom From Fear and Anxiety in a World That Feeds It. For a decade, Christy’s biggest nemesis was severe anxiety and panic disorder. But once she got well she found she had another obstacle, her own pastor . This threw Christy into a tailspin and caused her to question her own calling. But over time, she and her husband realized that they were being spiritually abused. They also realized that the church where Christy at first found Jesus and gotten saved, was also very cult like and harmful. Then the second part of my discussion with Christy, she tells her story of experiencing church hurt. And I believe there’s so many great lessons in this story about how to handle spiritual abuse and its aftermath. So, I’m really looking forward to sharing this conversation with you. But first, I’d like to thank our sponsors, Judson University, and Marquardt of Barrington. If you’re looking for a top ranked Christian University, providing a caring community and an excellent college experience, Judson University is for you. Judson is located on 90 acres just 40 miles west of Chicago in Elgin, Illinois. The school offers more than 60 majors, great leadership opportunities, and strong financial aid. Plus, you can take classes online as well as in person. Judson University is shaping lives that shaped the world. For more information, just go to JUDSONU.EDU. Marquardt is a Buick GMC dealership where you can expect honesty, integrity, and transparency. That’s because the owners there Dan and Kurt Marquardt are men of integrity. To check them out, just go to BUYACAR123.COM. We now resume my conversation with Christy Boulware, author of Nervous Breakthrough: Finding Freedom From Fear and Anxiety in a World That Feeds It. JULIE ROYS I know that once you got to a place of feeling healthy, and God had brought you through this, you had an excitement, to share that with others. And that’s really how God works. The comfort that He’s given us, He wants us to give others and so I think that’s such a beautiful desire. But as you began to step out in this, and this is so sad, you would hope that your pastor would be the person most excited about that and