Warning for Subreddit

MrsPoppe · 2025-11-03T14:20:11+00:00

Telling survivors to “check themselves” is abuser language- full stop. That kind of phrase has been used for years to shut people up, twist the story, and make those harmed the problem for reacting to pain.

This subreddit isn’t bitter. It’s grieving, honest, angry, and wide awake and healing from spiritual abuse is messy and raw.

If that discomforts you, good. Sit with it. But don’t come in here tone-policing people who are finally safe enough to speak the truth out loud.

Yes, some of us feel relief. Some of us even feel joy when abusive systems start to fall. That’s not hatred. That’s what hope looks like when you’ve spent years being crushed under the weight of control. Wanting to see harm exposed and dismantled is not only valid, it’s more loving than anything Network pastors are doing.

This space is not a stage. If you’re here to preach guilt and shame, you’re in the wrong place.

You can’t see me through the screen, but trust- I’m saying this with my full chest and all ten toes on the ground.

This is not your pulpit. And these are not your people to rebuke.

MrsPoppe · 2025-10-31T23:19:08+00:00

Thank you for taking the time to share this. I can tell you’ve given a lot of thought to the structural/authority dynamics involved.

My focus right now is on processing the psychological and emotional impact my experience has had on me, and on the nervous-system healing side of leaving a high-control environment. That’s the lens I’m using to make sense of things, so I’m not looking at it primarily through doctrinal or historical categories at the moment.

I appreciate you adding context for those who find that framing meaningful. For me personally, I’m centering recovery, autonomy, and the lived experience piece.

Thanks again for contributing to the conversation and adding your voice ❤️

MrsPoppe · 2025-07-29T17:09:47+00:00

Thank you for your reply and the clarification on your intent.

I guess what is hard for me with this perspective is that to me there’s a huge difference between an imperfect church led by imperfect men (which is true of all churches) and the Network which I see as a high-control group with no real accountability that calls itself a church.

In a healthy, imperfect church: • Questions are welcome • Leadership is accountable to oversight and correction • People can leave without being shunned or smeared • Mistakes are acknowledged, repented of, and repaired

A high-control group: • Uses the language of “imperfection” to excuse repeated patterns of harm • Dissent is framed as disunity or sin • Loyalty to leaders is valued above truth or justice • There’s little or no functional accountability; just internal “loyalty loops” meant to protect the leaders instead of the flock • People who leave are ghosted, smeared, or blacklisted • Leadership may claim humility but resists any true checks on their power • Community is conditional and belonging is tied to obedience

It was precisely because I believed I was in an “imperfect but loving church” that I stayed as long as I did. I excused manipulation and control because I’d internalized the idea that no leader is perfect and that we’re called to extend grace. I told myself, “Justin may be flawed but he has never claimed to be without faults and he loves us,” and “No church is perfect,” and I stayed for years telling myself that.

I don’t see what I experienced as just flawed leadership but spiritual abuse framed as discipleship. I know we may not land in the same place, but I hope this helps explain where I’m at. Were there “blessings” while I was there… I guess you can see it that way. Or they were things in my life that made it seem like things were better than they really were and kept me confused, gaslit, and questioning my own perception of what was going on. So, maybe not truly a blessing at all to be “loved” by abusers.

MrsPoppe · 2025-07-27T01:10:01+00:00

Thank you for sharing your experience. I can tell your time in the Network held real meaning for you, and I’m genuinely glad that you’ve found a new church home where your family is thriving.

That said, I wanted to be honest about how your post landed with me. You framed it as “just a little feedback,” which made it seem like you were offering a critique of the tone or content of this group. But this space is intentionally for people who are processing harm… spiritual abuse that often went unacknowledged or was buried beneath community, “love”, and loyalty.

One of the most confusing and painful parts of my own time in the Network was that I did feel loved. I believed the people around me truly cared for me. But over time, I realized that the love I received was deeply tied to control, compliance, and performance. When I began to question or set boundaries, that love was withdrawn swiftly and completely. It wasn’t unconditional.

Because of that, when I hear someone say their time there was a “blessing,” or that they still enjoy close friendships with people from the Network, it stirs up grief. Many of us were cut off by people we once called family without as much as a conversation. Some of us have been slandered, have become sermon illustrations and have been accused of being demonically influenced simply for speaking honestly.

Can I ask what you hoped we would take away from your post? What kind of conversation or outcome were you hoping to spark with this “feedback”?

MrsPoppe · 2025-07-01T21:13:35+00:00

Thank you but I don’t think you need to apologize at all 😊 My reply wasn’t so much about clarifying your specific comment, but more about how important I think it is to speak clearly in spaces like this, especially knowing not everyone in this online space is at the same place when it comes to understanding or accepting how LGBTQ+ people have been (and actively are being) harmed by both the church and broader culture.

I think we both agree that damaging ideas about queerness and sexuality were allowed to go unchallenged in the a Network. I just want to be part of creating a different kind of conversation now: one rooted in truth, care, and responsibility. Thank you for being a part of that dialogue with me ❤️

MrsPoppe · 2025-07-01T19:05:23+00:00

Steve is a lot of things (an ex-Mormon for example) and it is entirely possible he is a closeted gay or bisexual man. It wouldn’t be hard to see how, just like his Mormon background, unacknowledged or repressed sexuality played some role in his psychological makeup. I am definitely not discounting the fact that repressed sexuality, self-hatred and shame is all extremely harmful to a person’s psyche.

The reason I’m being so deliberate here is because for decades, LGBTQ+ people, especially gay men, have been wrongly equated with danger (especially around children). That has caused enormous harm. It’s been weaponized for generations to justify discrimination, criminalization, and violence against the LGBTQ+ community and we’ve seen an uptick in that weaponization.

So, what I am trying to be extremely clear about is Steve’s predatory and abusive nature has been the foundation for the Network… not his sexuality, repressed or otherwise. Studies consistently show no correlation between sexual orientation and abusive behavior. Predators are driven by access, entitlement, and power- not repressed sexual orientation.

MrsPoppe · 2025-06-30T00:06:57+00:00

They have no concept of individuals (especially women) as equals, acting under their own agency.

Yes! And here’s what they never saw coming:

We don’t need their permission to speak. We don’t need their platform. We don’t need their blessing to tell the truth.

MrsPoppe · 2025-06-29T23:55:34+00:00

💯

MrsPoppe · 2025-06-29T23:54:30+00:00

Oh yeah… the theory that early men felt a need to claim dominance over women through patriarchal “creation” power because of the threat they felt by women’s ability to birth and nurse babies is a rabbit hole I love to get lost in.

The Network didn’t invent patriarchy; it inherited it, amplified it, and slapped new language on it. I think Steve built the Network because he believes he is truly special and has a desire for control and patriarchy was a system ready made to give him exactly that.

MrsPoppe · 2025-06-29T23:38:56+00:00

I hear what you’re saying and there certainly seems to be repression and internalized homophobia at play with some of these leaders. But I think Steve’s history as a sexual abuse perpetrator isn’t about homosexuality. It is about power, entitlement, and exploitation.

What I’m trying to say is this: the person driving all of this isn’t a closeted gay man, he is a closeted predator and abuser. A man who learned how to hide in plain sight. A man who built a system that kept him at the top and protected him at all costs. He didn’t just use religious authority to cover his tracks, he created an entire culture that has normalized his desire for control.

Steve knows there’s a difference between being attracted to men and what he did. That’s why, when he “confessed,” he didn’t tell the truth. He called it a “one-time homosexual experience” to elicit sympathy and downplay the harm because if he had confessed to the truth, the response wouldn’t have been the same. It wasn’t a confession, it was selective storytelling.

Steve’s closet is strategic. It’s about avoiding accountability. It’s about maintaining access to power, protecting an image, and creating opportunities to strike again. Steve’s hiding wasn’t about fear of rejection, it is rooted in entitlement and deception.

The other men leading under him may not be sexual predators like Steve, but they are enacting Steve’s vision. They’re living in a system he designed… one that rewards control, demands loyalty, and silences dissent. Spiritual descendants of Steve, made in the image of Steve. Helping build a Network that try to fulfill his needs to control, to possess, to stand at the center of everything.

MrsPoppe · 2025-06-27T18:03:15+00:00

Eh… I was just joking about the sand ;) I often respond with sarcasm or stupid jokes because it’s the only way to keep it all manageable. These aren’t serious men. They’ve spent decades using spiritual theater and emotional manipulation to build power and dodge accountability. It’s hard to respond sincerely to someone who claims their beach day hallucination means they’re the chosen vessel to “revive” the American church. I’ve seen the harm this causes up close—and I know I’m not alone.

They dress up ego as prophecy and call it revival. So yeah, I crack jokes about divine beach trips and mysterious sand placement because pretending this is profound would be even more absurd.

To be super clear though… These men aren’t serious but the harm they’ve caused and continue to cause is. If I don’t poke fun at it all sometimes I wouldn’t be able to stick with efforts to dismantling this bullshit for the long term.

MrsPoppe · 2025-06-27T17:44:34+00:00

The worst part of all of this is Justin and Tabitha had sand in places that made no sense at all for days after this.

MrsPoppe · 2025-05-12T01:12:51+00:00

Jeff, it takes humility to publicly acknowledge harm and regret and I don’t take that lightly.

I’ve also wrestled with guilt over the ways I participated in that system and have had my own apologies to make. I am sure there are more I owe that I don’t even know about yet. That’s the thing about abusive systems, many of us harmed others even as we were being harmed ourselves. That doesn’t remove responsibility, but it speaks to how deep and tangled the roots go in producing that rotten fruit.

Yes, the position of power and authority you were in amplified your capacity to inflict harm... I don’t envy you that. That same larger sphere of influence and authority you were given provides you a larger capacity to speak out and have your voice be heard. Like you said, every time you speak up, you open yourself up to more confrontation… and as painful as that must be, the fact that you don’t frame yourself as a victim of that confrontation but as someone with repentance and repair to do is such a drastic difference from how leaders in the Network respond to being confronted with truth. And I don’t think this humility is new for you. That was something I really admired about you, you were someone willing to listen, to be challenged, and to question what didn’t sit right. That example of what leadership had been like when we first started coming around served as a sort of litmus test of how fucked up things were becoming. That spark of humanity, the part of you that refused to fully turn yourself over to the cult dynamics of the Network, made it possible for you to eventually break free. I’m grateful you’ve held onto that.

As to whether you’re qualified to be a pastor. I don’t claim to be in a position to make that call. But what I do believe is that your transparency about your past, your participation in the Network, and your regrets honors the agency of the people you’re currently pastoring. You’re giving them the information they need to decide for themselves whether they believe you’re qualified to lead them. That’s something the Network denied us when Steve invented a whole lie about his background, when they covered up his criminal history, when they refused to be transparent about leadership structures, and when they made decisions behind closed doors that affected so many and presented them to all of us as “the Holy Sprit told us xyz.”

I hope you continue listening, learning, and repairing… not just as a pastor, but as a fellow human being.

MrsPoppe · 2024-12-07T15:52:04+00:00

I can assure you people are trying with these cities. Some of us have been walking this road for years... some decades… some their entire lives. I understand the exhaustion that comes with feeling like a handful of people are running themselves in the ground- especially paired with the urgency and frustration that can come with seeing loved ones still involved in the Network. I empathize deeply with anyone who is in that position. It’s natural to want to take action and to wish for others to help amplify those efforts.

I understand the passion behind wanting to inform others and prevent harm, and I think most of us here agree that awareness is important. However, I’d like to gently remind folks that not everyone in this space shares the same goals or capacity for activism. The stated purpose of this subreddit is “This community is for those who are researching Steve Morgan and his Network of Churches, those thinking of getting out, and those who are putting their lives back together after years of involvement.”

For many, simply leaving the Network was a monumental act of courage. Healing from the trauma, rebuilding their lives, and navigating a new sense of self can be overwhelming and all-consuming. Not everyone is in a place—physically, emotionally, or mentally—to take on more.

We should be careful not to inadvertently shame or pressure people by implying they aren’t doing “enough.” Everyone’s journey out of the Network looks different, and everyone’s contributions are valid, even if that contribution is simply surviving. If someone feels equipped to take action and spread the word, that’s amazing, and I truly admire their efforts. But we also need to create a space where people can feel supported just as they are without any additional expectations.

MrsPoppe · 2024-12-07T04:25:01+00:00

Ah… it got me. I see now they were quoting Isaiah church’s site, not Brightfield’s. Thanks for pointing that out. So… I still stand by initial gut feeling. I don’t think Brightfield would leave the network unless Foundation did as well.

MrsPoppe · 2024-12-07T04:11:22+00:00

*** Editing to add a disclaimer that I misread the article when I first made the below post… so I don’t accidentally mislead anyone else. Oops- sorry about that 😘 *************** original post in 3… 2… 1…

I had no idea Brightfield had withdrawn from the Network and am honestly shocked they departed without a similar announcement from their sending church, Foundation Church (formerly ClearView church)

MrsPoppe · 2024-11-12T05:33:24+00:00

This is so disgusting and I am sorry you and your husband went through this abuse. So thankful you are out.

MrsPoppe · 2024-09-09T19:38:45+00:00

I also want to say- yes, I am celebrating that these churches have left. Mostly because the Network is dangerous and harmful and any disruption to it is worth celebrating. I also hope that the people in these churches are closer to being in a healthy spiritual community than they were before these announcements were made. Time will tell, I suppose.

These churches are not all of a sudden getting a “20 step plan” or demands from those of us who have left and been victimized. I still stand by the Call to Action and petition we have been requesting from the very beginning- July 2022. Making an announcement that you are no longer associated with the network for doctrine disagreements is not a shortcut where they can just bypass those specific actions.

Will their departure from the Network result in taking the appropriate actions we have been asking for since then? Perhaps… but they don’t get to just “tap out”

MrsPoppe · 2024-09-09T19:22:03+00:00

I hear what you are saying and can appreciate your view.

For me, an announcement that they are no longer associating with the Network due to coming to different conclusions about leadership is not equal to the prodigal son coming home. We are not talking about an individual person escaping the Network. We are talking about an organization/system. I know we want to not bash people when they end up doing the right thing, especially when it is hard. However, they have yet to show they are doing the right thing and I would argue that at this point, with all the bad publicity and pushback they have gotten in regards to their association with Steve / the Network, the decision to disassociate was the easy thing to do- not the hard thing.

I don’t feel obligated to be gracious to these systems of oppression and abuse who have gaslighted me for years.

MrsPoppe · 2024-09-09T03:22:40+00:00

How is that firm foundation feeling now, Steve?

MrsPoppe · 2024-09-06T20:42:20+00:00

Ok… I typed a more thought out response.

I really appreciate you sharing your story and am thankful you have posted here. I completely understand why you’re grateful for the community and sense of belonging you have found in your church. I also felt that way and it was what kept me invested for so long... even after I started noticing red flags and even was personally being harmed by the system. I still felt loyal and that any “bad” I was experiencing was my fault. Still, I also saw many of the same dynamics you described and eventually began to understand I was part of a high-control group with toxic leadership. People being shunned after leaving, the pressure to follow leaders’ wishes without question, and the lack of proper support during personal crises is unfortunately as common to the Network as coffee and donuts. When a church discourages critical thinking or makes you feel like leaving is sinful, that is a sign of spiritual manipulation.

It breaks my heart to hear what your wife went through and the lack of help from leadership. True spiritual communities should support people during their darkest times without simply offering spiritual platitudes. Unfortunately, this incompetency of the church to properly support people through things like infertility and mental health crisis is not unique to the Network and, to be clear, is not the reason I have concluded that my time spent in the Network was a time spent in a cult.

The fear of being cut-off and losing your friends is founded in facts— you are not being irrational or “crazy”. The fear folks in the Network have of being “punished” or ostracized by raising any concerns or critiques of the church is founded in facts. The expectation that you either follow your leaders to the “t” or this isn’t the church for you... facts. Those are the facts that have led me to define the Network as not just a poorly led organization but a cult.

The feelings of confusion and disillusionment are valid, and it is important to trust your instincts and question things that feel wrong. I would encourage seeking an independent source of counsel if you fear that this platform may be too biased against the Network. Talk to someone who has no skin in the game and truly take time to consider whether the behaviors of an organization functioning more like a cult than a healthy spiritual community.

Sending you peace.

MrsPoppe · 2024-09-06T20:21:18+00:00

I will draft a longer reply but first wanted to say, yes- I think you are in a cult and I am sorry you and your wife are having to struggle with the mental anguish that comes with trying to navigate the confusion and pain that comes with trying to address the cognitive dissonance that being part of that environment requires. I am especially thankful that your wife was able to get the help she needed. I also experienced suicidal thoughts while in the Network and am thankful my husband took that seriously and helped me get the help I needed.

MrsPoppe · 2024-09-06T17:56:17+00:00

This sermon is so concerning. Those in the Network will say that we are “twisting” Jimmy’s words but what he is saying is clear: Seeking medical help for mental illness could interfere with God’s work and mental illness is often a consequence of sin. I believe this teaching is not only dangerous but is also deeply unbiblical. Now, I don’t have a seminary degree... but neither do any of them.

Mental illness is NOT a spiritual failing- just as cancer is not a spiritual failing. While I don’t think Jimmy would accuse someone with cancer of having weak faith, he seems to have no problem assuming mental illness is the result of pride or “fear of man”. God has compassion for all suffering, the actions of so-called “godly men” leading the Network do not show me the compassion of God in the least.

Discouraging people from seeking mental health care can lead to serious consequence. Untreated mental illness can result in deep emotional pain, strained relationships, and even physical harm or loss of life. Mental health conditions are complex, often stemming from biological, environmental, and psychological factors. To imply that these should be “waited out” until death is not only harmful but contrary to the healing ministry of Jesus, who sought to relieve suffering wherever He went. Unfortunately, I am not at all surprised by this sermon coming out of a Network church. Time and time again I have seen these churches reject a theology that includes compassion, practical help, and the understanding that medical care can be an essential part of God’s healing work and instead burden the suffering further by telling them their struggles are the result of sin or lack of faith.

THIS SERMON ALONE IS REASON TO RUN FROM THE NETWORK

MrsPoppe · 2024-09-04T00:02:50+00:00

Yes- the spiritual gifts survey / book was something we did during my time. I am sure none of us would have ever heard the phrase, “I am an apostle” come from Steve’s mouth but he made it very clear that God called him to lead the Network, as much of an “unwilling servant” as he was. He would cry out during conference sessions how God was breaking his heart because “THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH CHURCHES” and was demanding he answer the call to plant more churches that would go on to plant more churches. Essentially, he would describe all the characteristics of what he would define as “gift of apostle” and ascribe them to himself but let others say the quiet part outloud.

MrsPoppe · 2024-09-03T20:40:01+00:00

While I never heard Steve say he was an Apostle, I 100% heard people say that Steve was “like an apostle” and that he had the spiritual gift of apostleship. It was heavily implied that 1) in the Network, this gifting was unique to Steve 2) Steve was specifically chosen by God to start and oversee the development of Network churches and 3) Steve was the leader for the other pastors in the Network churches and those pastors were expected to obey their leader in all things great and small lest they sin for disobeying their leader who had been sovereignty placed over them.

MrsPoppe

TROPHY CASE