{"id":7454,"date":"2021-04-21T14:01:37","date_gmt":"2021-04-21T18:01:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/messyinspirations\/?p=7454"},"modified":"2021-04-21T17:59:36","modified_gmt":"2021-04-21T21:59:36","slug":"manipulator-sociopaths-christian-ministry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/messyinspirations\/2021\/04\/manipulator-sociopaths-christian-ministry\/","title":{"rendered":"Marty the Manipulator: Sociopaths in Ministry"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"Manipulator — Manipulator \/ Image by Fernando Villadangos<\/a> from Pixabay<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>
Here\u2019s a story about what happens when a parish gives a manipulator or sociopath a ministry leadership position.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n
Ever encounter a sociopath leading a ministry group? I have. Do you know any ministry leader that is a manipulator? I do. I know many.<\/span><\/p>\n
Do you think God protects the Catholic Church from enabling a sociopath or a manipulator as ministry leaders? Think again. Often we create the perfect nest for these types to blossom into spiritual calamities.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
Here\u2019s a brief reflection\u2014<\/span><\/h2>\n
<\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Understanding the Manipulator: \u201cSociopath\u201d Defined<\/h2>\n<p><a class=\"editor-rtfLink decorated-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mayoclinic.org\/diseases-conditions\/antisocial-personality-disorder\/symptoms-causes\/syc-20353928\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">According to the American Psychiatric Association, a sociopath is a term used to describe a person with antisocial personality disorder (ASPD)<\/span><\/strong><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">. People with ASPD suffer from several issues, a critical problem being an inability to empathize. They cannot understand the feelings of other people. Also, they tend to break the rules and disrespect social boundaries.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Someone suffering from ASPD can be a master manipulator. Such a person can manipulate people by playing mind games. But they can also hide this behavior behind a mask of charisma, charm, and intelligence. In a religious setting, the fa\u00e7ade of a manipulator and its damaging effects increase geometrically. Ultimately, theological justification and super-piety insidiously hide what\u2019s really going on.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">In the Church, we need servant-leaders, and pathologically narcissistic people are all too ready to take the reins. Equipped by a vomit of verbal orthodoxy, Care Bear \u201cLuv,\u201d and speaking fluent Christianese, the evil manipulators can pull off becomes extraordinary. But add in the sincere stupidity of a horde of enablers, it\u2019s not difficult to see how a sociopath can fit right in on parish ministries and councils. Indeed, a sociopath can wear all too well the chasuble and miter.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Manipulator Enabled By Church<\/h2>\n<p><a class=\"editor-rtfLink decorated-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/messyinspirations\/2021\/02\/folk-healer-jesus\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">On this blog, we have many times seen how the Galilean peasant Jesus, a folk healer, liberated poor people from demons<\/span><\/strong><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">. How ironic that the Body of Christ often excels at bondage. By \u201cbondage,\u201d I specifically mean creating environments for unhealthy addictions to rot and ruin people\u2019s lives. Sociopath ministry-heads play a significant role in this, but a great deal of blame falls on us all, their enablers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Permit me to relate one story about a pastoral disaster allowed to run amok in a parish. Now I don\u2019t claim to be a mental health professional, so I can\u2019t say whether the ministry leader in my story suffered ASPD or was just a typical a-hole, one of many flourishing in the Archdiocese of Miami. But certainly, he and many like him are master manipulators swimming in pools of ignorance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Homeless at Church<\/h2>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Bullsh-t is easy to cut through when you are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/messyinspirations\/2020\/07\/personal-story-blogger\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>homeless<\/strong><\/a>. In Fall 1999, my weeks were simple. Living in my car, I took three showers at my friend\u2019s house each week\u2014on Tuesdays, Thursdays (when I washed my clothes), and Saturdays. I would shower on Tuesdays for open mic poetry that evening. I also showered Saturdays because of vigil Mass. But Thursday\u2019s shower was for the young adult (YA) group.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">When I first started attending the YA group, it was one of the shining lights of my week. I didn\u2019t tell anyone that I was living in my car, and I was so grateful just to be with human contact. You cannot imagine the isolation and the pain. But I could tell that some participants suspected my being homeless, and presented me with eye-rolls or frowns. Not everyone, but some.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">But to be fair, I was, more or less, welcomed by the group. And yet, despite knowing that some in the group suspected my crime of homelessness, I never brought up my condition. Except once, to the person who would later become the group leader.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Meeting Marty the Manipulator<\/h2>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">In late November 1999, my car broke down, and I couldn\u2019t attend the YA group. But by Christmas, that problem had been overcome, my vehicle was repaired, and I was on my feet again. An honor student, I secured work at Miami-Dade College as a disabled student note-taker, plus side gigs here and there. My car was fixed. And I began renting an efficiency.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">So the first chance I got, early January 2000, I returned to the YA group. Hey, I missed them! But things had changed. YA group had a new leader\u2014Marty Kahn (not his real name). As soon as I walked in, he greeted me with, <em>\u201cWHO is this?\u201d<\/em> His melodramatically loud voice emphasized <em>\u201cWHO,\u201d<\/em> making every head in the room turn to see me. <em>\u201cAnd WHERE have you been?\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The greeting wasn\u2019t warm. There was no welcome to it. It wasn\u2019t honest, either, pretending concern but uttered by a deaf man.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Generosity of a Manipulator<\/h2>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Let\u2019s rewind back to November 1999, just two months earlier. The starter on my car was broken. I would grab a trusty pipe and bang for sometimes as much as twelve minutes to get my house on wheels moving in those days. This was a predicament, believe me. When the car breaks down for a homeless person living in his car, that means safety by driving away from dangers is eliminated. It was a big worry.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The day the starter went kaput was a Thursday. I managed to drive the YA group, leaving my car in the parish parking lot. The person who would greet me so coldly and accusingly the following January, the manipulator who would take over the group, was kind enough to drive me to a nearby hospital. Marty was a completely different person.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Why a hospital? It gave me A.C. and a roof. In those days, you could sneak into some hospitals and pretend to be someone waiting for a friend to be released. So I spent the night walking exhaustedly through the halls, looking for a waiting room to pass out in torturous chairs. I wanted to go to that hospital because it was within walking distance where I needed to be the following day.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Marty\u2019s Short-lived Kindness<\/h2>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">I was grateful for Marty and his generosity in giving me the lift after YA group. I actually thought Marty was interested in getting to know me. He <em>seemed<\/em> to be empathic. Of course, he was not yet the leader of the YA group. In those days, Marty made it a point to impress his kindness on every member, like a politician kissing babies. My night of trouble was his night of opportunity.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">He acted kind to me, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/messyinspirations\/2020\/07\/personal-story-blogger\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>so I opened up to him about my situation<\/strong><\/a>. I said he\u00a0<\/span><em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">acted<\/span><\/em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0kind\u2014acted is the key. His whole life-presentation was a performance. Again, this was before he was secure in becoming the new leader of the YA group.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Anyway, within months, I got things up and running. It cost me north of $750 to do the car repairs. The towing was provided by the shop. Thank God I could secure the money from what people had owed me\u2014a very long story. Also, in those days, I would get some quick cash writing papers for college students. I was talented at helping them cheat. Brought many \u201cA\u201d students their A\u2019s for gas money. My office was a public library.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Obviously, my mobility was upended without a car, and I couldn\u2019t come to the group for eight or nine weeks.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Marty the Two-Faced Manipulator<\/h2>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The first opportunity came, and I was back, now with secure work and a new home. And how does this new leader greet me? With a shaming, accusatory tone. This new leader to the YA group proceeded to go into a five-minute tirade in front of everyone on why commitment to Christ matters. His illustration? Marty used the example of someone \u201clukewarm,\u201d someone who can\u2019t be depended on, \u201cthe wishy-washy Catholic.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"><em>\u201cYou see this guy in so many groups,\u201d<\/em> Marty told us. <em>\u201cThey don\u2019t stay connected. They don\u2019t come to the group. It\u2019s all wishy-washy, one week here, the next week gone without explanation. That reflects their commitment to Christ and our Lady.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Secure in his religious fiefdom, Marty spoke with a fake, sanctimonious voice. Everyone in that room bought it as sincerity. Not me. And I told him as much. And for that, I would be ostracized by this echo chamber. By this time, I later found out, Marty had shared with everyone about how I was a \u201ccrazy homeless person\u201d and that they should be\u00a0\u201creally careful\u201d around me.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Manipulator & His Catholic Clique<\/h2>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Confrontation for me isn\u2019t something difficult. We had many problems since that night, Marty and I. Ultimately, I stopped going to the group. A Lent would roll by, and parish friends would admonish me to reconcile with Marty. I\u2019d try. But there he\u2019d be\u2014condescending, manipulative, cloaking his ego-driven agendas with hyper-Marian piety and Blessed Sacrament Adoration. Marty always had this self-righteous smirk. I gave up with this toxic fellow and his group after about two years.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">But friends kept me informed. The group languished and dwindled in members. Many of the people who left YA group never came back to Church much less the parish. Week after week, Marty would denounce all those on his radar he didn\u2019t like, people who weren\u2019t up to his high standards of kitschy, sentimentalized Catholicism.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Through weaponized guilt, Marty demanded strict rules for his YAs. He disapproved of \u201csinful distractions\u201d like wasted free time and unapproved boyfriends or girlfriends. Marty was an expert at mind-control through his \u201cshepherding\u201d techniques. <em>\u201cThe Holy Spirit is the leader of this group,\u201d<\/em> claimed Marty, and the head-nodders agreed. How do you argue with anyone who is convinced that their cult-leader knows what is God\u2019s will for their life?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Spirit-led Manipulator<\/h2>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">One of Marty\u2019s favorite retorts to anyone whom he perceived was challenging him was, \u201cthe Holy Spirit is the leader of this group.\u201d That was his fast-service dismissal of any threat to him, of any reason put forth that he imagined challenged his position.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Agreement with Marty meant agreement with God. Is it surprising that disagreement with Marty meant alienation and condemnation by his group?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Marty had changed so much since that Fall I met him. Following his absolute control over the YA group, Marty\u2019s tone was always condescending, and his presentations always had ridicule handy to hurl at people he needed to control.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>And the parish? They let Marty run amok for a decade. They gave him carte blanche for parish holy week activities and retreats. Year after year, Marty was the face of young adult ministry. And his group of followers grew ever smaller and much older than 35 by the whimper at the end. How many Catholics did Marty and his clique poison?<\/p>\n<h2>The Damage Done By A Catholic Ministry Manipulator<\/h2>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Around the mid-2000s, I was hired to be campus minister to a nearby university. I can\u2019t tell you how many collegians I met who were turned off to campus ministry because they imagined it was like Marty\u2019s way of running things. Marty was the face of our ministries, remember. One of my best servant leaders came close to not joining campus ministry because of a presumed connection between us and Marty\u2019s dangerous young adult farce.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">In late 2002, at a local chain called Flanigan\u2019s, I saw a young woman who had been once very close with Marty and the young adult\u2019s back in Fall 1999. Back then, she attended weekly like me. Apparently, something later happened, she had left, and nobody knew why.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>She glared hatred at me. <\/em><\/h2>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Understand: I hadn\u2019t seen this woman since 1999. I\u2019ll never forget the look she gave me across the tables\u2014it was filled with hurt, betrayal, bitterness, and anger all rolled together. She remained silent. But I could tell that she still associated me with that group, with Marty, someone I couldn\u2019t stand. I can\u2019t believe she would not give that same devastating look to anyone she associated with the YA group or the parish.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Marty had done something to her that occasioned a hatred for anyone associated with that parish. From 2002 through 2011, I ran into this woman three times, always in different restaurants. No matter how much time had passed, her eyes blazed with hatred.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">I never in my life exchanged words with her, even before. But her glare communicated so much. And seeing her years later, words were not uttered even though so much was communicated. By the second and third encounters, I was campus minister to the nearby university and had nothing to do with Marty the Manipulator and his sideshow routine. But because she was very much emotionally embedded into the YA group when I did briefly attend, she forever associated me with it.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Marty\u2019s Victims\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Over the years, I met many women and men who had suffered terribly from something unspeakable at the YA group. What was it? Better not to speak of those things, huh? God forbid I cause a scandal to Holy Mother Church. By the way, the always verbally-orthodox Marty the Manipulator is nothing compared to the Archdiocesan monsters I would see manipulate people with impunity over the years.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Oh, I did bring concerns about Marty to the pastor\u2014a disgusting feudal landlord\u2014many times. I was scolded for this, ordered to forget about the parish and work on what I was hired to do, the university next door. \u201cThat place of marijuana smoke!\u201d he mockingly remarked.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">It was the same for anyone who tried to complain about Marty and his deep psychological problems. They were constantly given the cold shoulder by parish leaders and the church office. How dare they criticize or \u201cdamage the reputation\u201d of such a holy man as Marty the Manipulator! Who could ever find any blame in him?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The woman who glared at me three tables away in the restaurant could. Many others no longer connected to the Catholic Church could. Countless students from the University were turned off by his abusive techniques.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Watch out when a Catholic group leader tells you that <em>\u201cthe Holy Spirit is the leader of this group!\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here\u2019s a story about what happens when a parish gives a manipulator or sociopath a ministry leadership position.\u00a0\u00a0 Ever encounter a sociopath leading a ministry group? I have. Do you know any ministry leader that is a manipulator? I do. I know many. Do you think God protects the Catholic Church from enabling a sociopath […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4218,"featured_media":7459,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[4232,4379,4367,4235,4370,4373,2323,1694,4355,4382,4352,4349,4385,4391,4358,4361,4364,4388,4376],"class_list":["post-7454","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-adom","tag-american-psychiatric-association","tag-antisocial-personality-disorder","tag-archdiocese-of-miami","tag-aspd","tag-aspd-in-catholic-ministry","tag-catholicism","tag-christianity","tag-cult-leaders","tag-cultlike-behavior","tag-manipulative-ministers","tag-manipullator","tag-master-manipulators","tag-parish-life","tag-pastoral-ministry","tag-pastoral-theology","tag-sociopaths","tag-toxic-personality","tag-young-adult-ministry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Marty the Manipulator: Sociopaths in Christian Ministry<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\""The Holy Spirit is the leader of this group!" Beware of any ministry leader who proclaims this. In fact, avoid and\/or warn others about this manipulator.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/messyinspirations\/2021\/04\/manipulator-sociopaths-christian-ministry\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Marty the Manipulator: Sociopaths in Christian Ministry\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\""The Holy Spirit is the leader of this group!" Beware of any ministry leader who proclaims this. In fact, avoid and\/or warn others about this manipulator.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/messyinspirations\/2021\/04\/manipulator-sociopaths-christian-ministry\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Messy Inspirations\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-04-21T18:01:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-04-21T21:59:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/1251\/2021\/04\/SociopathMinistry.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"782\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"411\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Fellow Dying Inmate\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Fellow Dying Inmate\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"12 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/messyinspirations\/2021\/04\/manipulator-sociopaths-christian-ministry\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/messyinspirations\/2021\/04\/manipulator-sociopaths-christian-ministry\/\",\"name\":\"Marty the Manipulator: Sociopaths in Christian Ministry\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/messyinspirations\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-04-21T18:01:37+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-04-21T21:59:36+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/messyinspirations\/#\/schema\/person\/a52dbe13234c070b663c2cf1ed620915\"},\"description\":\"\\\"The Holy Spirit is the leader of this group!\\\" Beware of any ministry leader who proclaims this. In fact, avoid and\/or warn others about this manipulator.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/messyinspirations\/2021\/04\/manipulator-sociopaths-christian-ministry\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/messyinspirations\/2021\/04\/manipulator-sociopaths-christian-ministry\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/messyinspirations\/2021\/04\/manipulator-sociopaths-christian-ministry\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/messyinspirations\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Marty the Manipulator: Sociopaths in Ministry\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/messyinspirations\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/messyinspirations\/\",\"name\":\"Messy Inspirations\",\"description\":\"Insightful, thought-provoking, and stimulating discussion \u2013 Patheos\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/messyinspirations\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/messyinspirations\/#\/schema\/person\/a52dbe13234c070b663c2cf1ed620915\",\"name\":\"Fellow Dying Inmate\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/messyinspirations\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/94601171cafbabacd76ab08ea0680661?s=96&d=identicon&r=pg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/94601171cafbabacd76ab08ea0680661?s=96&d=identicon&r=pg\",\"caption\":\"Fellow Dying Inmate\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/messyinspirations\/author\/fellowdyinginmate\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Marty the Manipulator: Sociopaths in Christian Ministry","description":"\"The Holy Spirit is the leader of this group!\" Beware of any ministry leader who proclaims this. In fact, avoid and\/or warn others about this manipulator.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/messyinspirations\/2021\/04\/manipulator-sociopaths-christian-ministry\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Marty the Manipulator: Sociopaths in Christian Ministry","og_description":"\"The Holy Spirit is the leader of this group!\" Beware of any ministry leader who proclaims this. In fact, avoid and\/or warn others about this manipulator.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/messyinspirations\/2021\/04\/manipulator-sociopaths-christian-ministry\/","og_site_name":"Messy Inspirations","article_published_time":"2021-04-21T18:01:37+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-04-21T21:59:36+00:00","og_image":[{"width":782,"height":411,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/1251\/2021\/04\/SociopathMinistry.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Fellow Dying Inmate","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Fellow Dying Inmate","Est. reading time":"12 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/messyinspirations\/2021\/04\/manipulator-sociopaths-christian-ministry\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/messyinspirations\/2021\/04\/manipulator-sociopaths-christian-ministry\/","name":"Marty the Manipulator: Sociopaths in Christian Ministry","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/messyinspirations\/#website"},"datePublished":"2021-04-21T18:01:37+00:00","dateModified":"2021-04-21T21:59:36+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/messyinspirations\/#\/schema\/person\/a52dbe13234c070b663c2cf1ed620915"},"description":"\"The Holy Spirit is the leader of this group!\" Beware of any ministry leader who proclaims this. In fact, avoid and\/or warn others about this manipulator.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/messyinspirations\/2021\/04\/manipulator-sociopaths-christian-ministry\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/messyinspirations\/2021\/04\/manipulator-sociopaths-christian-ministry\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/messyinspirations\/2021\/04\/manipulator-sociopaths-christian-ministry\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/messyinspirations\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Marty the Manipulator: Sociopaths in Ministry"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/messyinspirations\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/messyinspirations\/","name":"Messy Inspirations","description":"Insightful, thought-provoking, and stimulating discussion \u2013 Patheos","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/messyinspirations\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/messyinspirations\/#\/schema\/person\/a52dbe13234c070b663c2cf1ed620915","name":"Fellow Dying Inmate","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/messyinspirations\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/94601171cafbabacd76ab08ea0680661?s=96&d=identicon&r=pg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/94601171cafbabacd76ab08ea0680661?s=96&d=identicon&r=pg","caption":"Fellow Dying Inmate"},"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/messyinspirations\/author\/fellowdyinginmate\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/messyinspirations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7454","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/messyinspirations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/messyinspirations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/messyinspirations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4218"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/messyinspirations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7454"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/messyinspirations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7454\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/messyinspirations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7459"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/messyinspirations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7454"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/messyinspirations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7454"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/messyinspirations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7454"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}