Awkward Saints
Independent investigations into spiritual abuse, coercive control, and authority structures in the Church.
About the Project
Awkward Saints is an independent research project investigating spiritual abuse, coercive control, and authority structures within the Church. We examine how discipleship systems can become mechanisms of manipulation, even when presented with biblical language.
These investigations are systematic analyses built on primary sources, clinical psychology, and survivor testimony. The goal is to provide frameworks and vocabulary that help individuals—whether survivors or leaders—recognise the difference between genuine spiritual community and systems designed to consolidate power.
Where to Start?
Most visitors arrive to explore the Mike Breen Investigation.
Mike Breen Investigation
A comprehensive investigation into Breenism—a discipleship system that has influenced thousands of churches worldwide. This investigation examines how its frameworks and language can function as mechanisms of coercive control, analyzes Mike Breen's own restoration process, and provides practical tools for survivors and communities affected by high-control discipleship.
The Architecture of Coercive Control
An independent investigation reveals how the discipleship methods of Mike Breen systematically employ psychological manipulation, transforming discipleship into an architecture of control.
Read the investigation →Toolkit for Responding to Breenism
A practical guide to the specific mechanisms used to construct and maintain high-control spiritual environments, with frameworks to recognise and respond to coercive dynamics.
Access the toolkit →Investigation Overview
Beyond Breenism
Additional essays and analysis exploring broader patterns in church leadership, authority structures, spiritual safety, and the mechanisms that allow harm to persist in religious communities.
Awkward Saints YouTube Channel
Visualising the invisible: Why Awkward Saints is moving to video to map the structural mechanisms of control.
Learn more →Getting Off the Donkey (coming soon)
Survivorship bias, the 'Start-Up' trap, and the uncomfortable lesson of Nehemiah.
The Architecture of Simplification (coming soon)
How providing critique of discipleship frameworks can feel impossible.
Rooted in Strength
Reimagining the graft metaphor in church planting through horticultural truth.
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