‘Redeeming Power: Understanding Authority and Abuse in the Church’—A Review

 A Timely Word

Redeeming Power comes at precisely the right time for today’s scandal-ridden church. Written with both clergy and laity in view, the book offers essential insights for churchgoers. And it provides an open window for those outside the church to see how the Christian community should deal with and extricate itself from the cesspool of abuse to once again become a haven for those who suffer.

Langberg’s style reads easily, and her ideas flow seamlessly, yet her content leaves the reader shaken and awakened to signs of abuse, trauma, and misused authority. Drawing on her experience as a trauma therapist, she walks the reader through her journeys to the skeleton-filled churches of Rwanda and killing fields of Cambodia where the abuse of power resulted in genocide. But Langberg does not leave readers hopeless. Instead, she presents pathways to healing. She strikes at the heart of those called to shepherd God’s people and calls them to account. Laden with truth, Redeeming Power invites us to listen to tough stories and to see the victims. The author calls God’s people to examine both churches and the readers’ own hearts, and to explore solutions to help heal Christ’s suffering Bride.