Survivor Claims Spiritual Abuse at Coral Ridge Presbyterian, Part 2 The Roys Report

Guest Bios
Show Transcript

What do you do when you realize you’ve been abused by your church? Do you appeal to the denomination? Do you speak up publicly to seek justice, even if you suspect the majority won’t listen?
In this second of a two-part podcast, Lori Harding tells what she did in this situation. She recounts returning to her former church—the well-known Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, Florida—and asking the church to right past wrongs. In this podcast, you’ll hear how her church responded. And you’ll hear part of an interview I conducted with current Coral Ridge Senior Pastor Rob Pacienza.
You’ll also hear what happened when Lori asked for help from her denomination, A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians (ECO). I’ll read an email Lori received from the senior executive with ECO, after she told him details of how a church in his denomination treated her.
Though Lori didn’t get the responses she’d hoped for, she says she has experienced freedom simply by refusing to be silenced. And that in itself has been helpful.
Because this interview brings Lori’s story full circle, you may want to start with part one. This is an extremely eye-opening podcast, with insights on celebrity church leaders, NDAs, and spiritual abuse. 
This Weeks Guests
Lori Harding
Lori Harding is an MDiv graduate of Knox Theological Seminary, an ordained pastor, and former Associate Pastor and Executive Director at Grace Community Church in Boca Raton, FL. Working in ministry for the past fourteen years has given Lori ample opportunity to see firsthand the devastating effects of patriarchy, narcissism, and abuse within the church. She currently advocates for abuse victims and works to expose the realities of church abuse. Lori resides in Fort Lauderdale, Florida with her husband and enjoys spending time with her family.
Show Transcript
SPEAKERS
DEBBIE VIVEROS, JULIE ROYS, ROB PACIENZA, LORI HARDING, ATTORNEY DAVID GIBBS
JULIE ROYS 00:03
What do you do when you realize you’ve been abused by your church? Do you appeal to the denomination? Do you go back to the church seeking justice? Do you speak up publicly? Even if you suspect the majority won’t listen? Welcome to the Roys report, a podcast dedicated to reporting the truth and restoring the church. I’m Julie Roys. And in this podcast, I continue my interview with Lori Harding, someone who faced these difficult questions following alleged spiritual abuse at two Presbyterian churches. The first is Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. This is the church where Dr. D. James Kennedy pastored for decades before his death, and it’s where Billy Graham’s grandson Tullian Tchividjian pastored for several years before news broke of Tchividjian’s sexual misconduct. Harding served under Tchvidjian and says she was wrongly fired and ostracized by the church for simply questioning Tchividjian and raising financial questions. She also served at another church where she says she was fired for noting a vast wage disparity between her and the senior pastor. If you missed our first podcast, I encourage you to go back and listen to the first one before continuing with this episode. That said, this is an extremely eye opening podcast. And you’ll hear what happened to Lori when she declared freedom from the forces that sought to silence her. And you’ll find out what happened when she went back to Coral Ridge, urging the church to right its past wrongs. We’ll get into all that in a moment. But first, I’d like to thank the sponsors of this podcast, Judson University, and Marquardt of Barrington.** Judson University is a top ranked Christian University providing a caring community and an excellent college experience. Plus the school offers more than 60 majors, great leadership opportunities and strong financial aid. Judson University is shaping lives that shape the world. For more information just go to JudsonU.edu.** Also if