Give It A Name

There is a profound difference between a church full of broken people and a church that creates broken people.

When spiritual leadership turns toxic, the devastation reaches to the core of a believer's faith. Victims are often left wandering in a dense "fog" of confusion, isolation, self-doubt, and spiritual trauma-unable to articulate what happened, yet carrying the heavy weight of unacknowledged harm.

In Give It a Name, Ben McCarthy offers a candid, diagnostic, and deeply compassionate guide through the hidden mechanics of spiritual abuse and institutional power dynamics. Written out of an enduring love for the Body of Christ, this book serves as an advocate, a mirror, and a roadmap to help you reclaim your voice, process religious trauma, and step back into the light of grace.

Inside Give It a Name, you will discover:

• Unmasking the Mechanics of Spiritual Abuse: How cultures of fear are manufactured, how gaslighting is the language of abusive leaders, and why double-speak and spiritual identity theft keep victims trapped in cycles of doubt, weariness, and enduring shame.
• The Role of Systems and Enablers: A clear-eyed examination of how leadership teams and governing boards often choose institutional preservation over truth and flock care.
• Language to Break the Fog: Essential diagnostic terms and symptoms to help you validate your experience, shed false shame, and reclaim your identity in Christ.
• A Framework for Leadership Accountability: Practical, character-first tools for ministry leaders, boards, and churches seeking to build safe, transparent, and abuse-resistant communities.
• A Path Toward Genuine Restoration: How to navigate lament, engage in holy venting, rebuild healthy boundaries, and discover the hard-earned freedom of true humility and forgiveness.

Whether you are searching for validation and healing after a season of church hurt, or you are a pastor, elder, or ministry leader striving to safeguard your congregation against toxic power dynamics, Give It a Name provides the clarity, courage, and biblical wisdom you need.