Episode 188: Megachurch Pastor Restores Himself to the Pulpit After Infidelity

02/10/22 • 36 min

Tavner Smith is pastor of Venu Church, one of the fastest growing mega church movements in the US. After alleged infidelity with a staffer was discovered, others on staff urged him to step down for a year until they could sort out details. Smith refused, saying that he would be back in the pulpit by February. After only six weeks of him stepping away from the pulpit, he placed himself back into his preaching position.
In the meantime, eight staff members resigned and several other people left the church, siting a toxic environment with zero accountability. In this episode, we talk about the toxic church culture that enables pastors (and other leaders) to have the power to restore themselves while, ironically, having the power to kick other members out of the church. This broken system is what allows leaders to control the narrative and keep abusing.
The Roys Report article: TN Megachurch Pastor Returns After Six-Week Absence for Alleged Adultery
https://julieroys.com/tn-pastor-returns-pulpit-absence-alleged-adultery/
The Roys Report article: Pastor’s Alleged Infidelity Causes Staff Exodus from Venue Church
https://julieroys.com/pastors-alleged-infidelity-staff-exodus-venue-church/
Dr. Robert Caildini's book, The Psychology of Persuasion:
https://amzn.to/3gvmPcG
Jimmy’s book, The Devil Inside: How My Minister Father Molested Kids In Our Home and Church for Decades and How I Finally Stopped Him
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1950948617/ref=cm_sw_su_dp
Find us on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/jimmyhintonauthor
https://www.facebook.com/SilentGriefSupport
And Twitter:
https://twitter.com/JimmyHinton12
https://twitter.com/clarahinton
Intro--
Film Glitch by Snowflake (c) copyright 2017 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/snowflake/56350 Ft: reusenoise
Outro--
I Have Often Told You Stories (guitar instrumental) by Ivan Chew (c) copyright 2013 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/ramblinglibrarian/41284

Previous Episode

Episode 187: Has Your Host Lost His Mind?

Questions are pouring in. . . has Jimmy lost his mind? Won't you get frostbite? Why would you do this? So we decided to have a little fun with this episode and answer a lot of the questions we've been getting about what would possess your host to climb an ice fall and go swimming in an icy river. Hope you enjoy and, as always, stay warm!!
Insights by Kari Leibowitz on her PhD. study on Norwegian people in winter:
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/07/the-norwegian-town-where-the-sun-doesnt-rise/396746/
Wim Hof (Ice Man) Brain Over Body Michigan Study:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YficBlvPwWQ
Wim Hof Influencing the Immune System:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6jqaALpEFM
Jimmy’s book, The Devil Inside: How My Minister Father Molested Kids In Our Home and Church for Decades and How I Finally Stopped Him
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1950948617/ref=cm_sw_su_dp
Find us on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/jimmyhintonauthor
https://www.facebook.com/SilentGriefSupport
And Twitter:
https://twitter.com/JimmyHinton12
https://twitter.com/clarahinton
Intro--
Film Glitch by Snowflake (c) copyright 2017 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/snowflake/56350 Ft: reusenoise
Outro--
I Have Often Told You Stories (guitar instrumental) by Ivan Chew (c) copyright 2013 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/ramblinglibrarian/41284

Next Episode

Episode 189: Do Abusers Really Groom Their Victims?

We hear all the time that abusers "groom" their victims and the communities around them. But is this term accurate for what they are really doing? We've been talking about abusers testing their victims and the people around them for years. We finally explain why in this episode. Terminology is important.
Here is a blog post I wrote on this subject:
https://jimmyhinton.org/why-i-talk-about-abusers-testing-instead-of-grooming/
Champions of Illusion Part 1 (With Drs. Macknik and Martinez-Conde)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXgRO8g95sw
Champions of Illusion Part 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xm4B8eyDHGU
Jimmy’s book, The Devil Inside: How My Minister Father Molested Kids In Our Home and Church for Decades and How I Finally Stopped Him
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1950948617/ref=cm_sw_su_dp
Find us on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/jimmyhintonauthor
https://www.facebook.com/SilentGriefSupport
And Twitter:
https://twitter.com/JimmyHinton12
https://twitter.com/clarahinton
Intro--
Film Glitch by Snowflake (c) copyright 2017 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/snowflake/56350 Ft: reusenoise
Outro--
I Have Often Told You Stories (guitar instrumental) by Ivan Chew (c) copyright 2013 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/ramblinglibrarian/41284