Your article reminds me that it’s not just churches where we see problems like this pop up quite often.

Abuse seems rife in all sorts of spiritual/self-help group endeavors that follow a sort of “church model" of having a charismatic leader at the top instructing a congregation.

Human nature being what it is, I guess that’s not shocking. But are we following the right model for worshiping and addressing spiritual growth?

Is it possible that the hierarchical model with a leader at the top is impossibly flawed or must inevitably lead to abuse?

Some scholars suggest that the earliest Christian churches didn’t have leaders in the ordinary, everyday sense of the word. Perhaps that’s worth thinking about.

I’m not personally a big fan of AA, by the way, or 12-step in general, but I think it’s interesting that they conduct their meetings without leadership. They don’t have ministers or anybody like ministers.

Perhaps that’s why, even though they’ve been around so long, you don’t hear much scandal emanating from their ranks.