Scorecard for Marriage Ministry Articles from Focus on the Family How Focus on the Family handles abuse, separation, and divorce Which articles help abuse victims—and which make...
Safe Churches & Friends
Pastor Education: How to Respond Biblically to Abuse and Betrayal in Marriage
Pastor Education: Sharpening Your Skills for Marital Crisis These resources are for pastors and ministry leaders who want to respond wisely to oppression in the form of domestic...
Church Betrayal After Abuse: Christian Divorce When the Church Sides with Your Abuser
Christian Divorce After Abuse: When the Church Sides with Your Abuser Church Betrayal After Abuse: The Second Trauma No One Warned You About There’s a saying many survivors...
Why Calling Divorce “Contagious” Hurts Christians Who Need Community
When Saying “Divorce Is Contagious” Misses the Real Story A response to Erin Smalley—and the Christians who spoke up against her view In 1998, I met a woman in a Sunday school...
What Is DARVO? How Abuse Survivors Are Silenced by Deny, Attack, and Reverse Victim Offender
What Is DARVO? How Harm Is Silenced by "Deny, Attack, and Reverse Victim & Offender" Why You Feel Unheard When You Name Harm If you have ever told your story and mentioned...
Safety-First vs. Marriage-First Counseling
Safety-First vs. Marriage-First Counseling How to screen counselors—and protect yourself—when your marriage may be unsafe Most people who reach out for marriage counseling aren’t...
Debunking the “Stay Together for 5 Years” Lie: When Divorce is the Right Decision
Many Christian leaders enjoy quoting the study Does Divorce Make People Happy? from the Institute for American Values, often proclaiming, “Two out of three unhappily married...
The Institute for American Values on Divorce: Why Sticking It Out Isn’t Always the Answer
Many people like to quote the study "Does Divorce Make People Happy?" from The Institute for American Values, proudly claiming, “Two out of three unhappily married adults who...
What is J.A.D.E. and Gray Rock?
J.A.D.E., Gray Rock, and How to Stop Feeding a Toxic Person’s Need for Conflict Toxic people crave arguments. They love to challenge you, attack you, and pull you into endless...
10 Grounds for Divorce Recognized by the Puritans (1639–1692)
This table shows every known divorce among the Massachusetts Puritans from 1639 to 1692. Forty divorces are recorded, with columns listing the archival source, date, names of the...
Nearly 6 in 10 Christians Leave Their Church After Divorce (Lifeway Data)
Nearly 6 in 10 Christians Switch Churches When They Divorce Most Divorcees Don’t Stay—And That Should Concern Church Leaders Lifeway Research found that nearly 6 in 10...
1 in 4 Highly Religious Marriages Report Intimate Partner Violence (Shocking Study)
1 in 4 Highly Religious U.S. Marriages Report Abuse How Common Is Abuse in Christian Marriages? Most people assume that deeply religious couples are protected from intimate...
DivorceCare Review: Pros, Cons, and What Abuse Survivors Should Know
DivorceCare® Review: Pros, Cons, and Who It Helps Most What DivorceCare® Is—and What to Know Before You Join DivorceCare® (DC) is a conservative Christian divorce recovery...
Churches & Christian Denominations with Unsafe Divorce Policies for Abused Spouses
Churches & Denominations with Unsafe Official Divorce Policies for Abused Spouses If you belong to one of these denominations or attend one of their churches, please contact...
12 Half-Truths in “How Could Divorce Affect My Kids?” from Focus on the Family by Amy Desai, J.D.
Fact check of the article "How Could Divorce Affect My Kids?" by Amy Desai, J.D., on the Focus on the Family website. WARNING: This article has 12 half-truths in it. It misleads...
15 Questions Before Divorce: What This Popular Christian Article Leaves Out
15 Questions Before Divorce: What Focus on the Family’s Popular Article Leaves Out Focus on the Family published an article in 2020 titled “Is Divorce the Right Answer? 15...
Book Review: Before You Say I Do — Christian Premarital Workbook
Book Review: Before You Say “I Do” (Norman Wright & Wes Roberts) A premarital workbook that ignores abuse, addictions, and other red flags UPDATE 2026: This book has sold...
7 Ways Churches Can Address Emotional Abuse in Christian Marriages
Summary: This article gives 7 ways churches-especially Evangelical churches-can address emotional abuse in Christian marriages better. Then this article documents 7 problems and...
Male Victims of Marital Abuse: David and John’s Stories
Male Victims of Marital Abuse: David and John’s Stories We don’t talk enough about male victims of marital abuse. But men can be chronically manipulated, emotionally abused,...
Stop Bashing Divorce Survivors From the Pulpit
No! Not Another Sermon That Bashes Innocent Divorce Survivors! It’s painful when Valentine’s Day falls on Sunday — or when the annual marriage sermon is on the schedule. Many...
Divorce Isn’t Proof You’re Weak — It May Be Proof You’re Strong
Does A Divorce Mean My Faith Is Weak?No, not if you needed a life-saving divorce to save your life and sanity—and your children's. In fact, it takes tremendous FAITH to say, "I...