The Counter Culture Mom Show with Tina Griffin

What are the red flags of abusive leadership? Anna Vaughn survived years of spiritual abuse while working for a charismatic but narcissistic ministry leader. After walking away from that ministry with the rest of the interns following her, she went through a period of time when she was angry at God and even questioned His character. But God was good, and He brought her through that season. Now, Anna is the director of Stirred Up Ministries and the author of Caught in the Crossfire. Anna details how she escaped past spiritual abuse, how she felt in the fallout, and how God healed her in the eventual aftermath. Anna was called to continue to work in ministry, but with new eyes and an open heart to help others heal from past spiritual abuse as well.

TAKEAWAYS

Wounds from childhood are often a catalyst for why adults end up with destructive behaviors

Many people get hurt by pastors or churches and blame God

God is not responsible for the sins of fallen humans; we must separate Creator from creation

Once something demonic is exposed, it fights you even harder

🛠 TOOLS AND RESOURCES FROM EPISODE

BARK (get 10% off with code TINA): https://bit.ly/CCMBARK

Caught in the Crossfire book: https://amzn.to/4qsl2YM

🔗 CONNECT WITH ANNA VAUGHN

Website: https://www.stirredupministries.com/

YouTube: https://bit.ly/45z6IEv

📢 THIS EPISODE SPONSORED BY

Capstone Legacy Foundation: https://capstonelegacy.org/

Artza (get 20% off with code TINA): https://bit.ly/3H0uUGG

Equipping The Persecuted: http://equippingthepersecuted.org/

Waveguard (get 20% off with code TINA): https://waveguard.com/tina

🔗 CONNECT WITH COUNTER CULTURE MOM

https://linktr.ee/CounterCultureMom

📺 WATCH OUR PREVIOUS SHOWS

https://theccmshow.lightcast.com/

📲 GET OUR APP & FREE PARENT MEDIA GUIDE

https://counterculturemom.com/download-new-app/

💵 SUPPORT THE MISSION

2025 Recap & 2026 Goals: https://bit.ly/2026CCM

Make a Tax-Deductible Donation: https://counterculturemom.com/partner/

Anna Vaughn was excited to begin a new chapter of her life - working in a new job running a ministry’s internship program at just 19. Unfortunately, what ensued was several years of major spiritual abuse from the leadership of this church - an experience that has led her to where she is today: healed, whole, and transparent. Anna is now the founder of Stirred Up Ministries and the author of Caught in the Crossfire, a book that exposes spiritual abuse by recounting not just her experience, but also the experiences of others who have experienced the same abuse. Unforgiveness and bitterness hold us in bondage, but not the person who has hurt us, she shares. Anna is a testament to what it looks like to expose toxic leadership without being burdened by anger.

TAKEAWAYS

Unforgiveness does more damage to ourselves than anyone else

Spiritual abuse signs may look like: fear, intimidation, and isolation

Sometimes very charismatic leaders hide their red flags really well, but that shouldn’t stop us from exposing the abuse

Spiritual abuse often goes hand-in-hand with a cult-like culture at church

🛠 TOOLS AND RESOURCES FROM EPISODE

Kerusso T-shirts (get 15% off with code TINA): https://rstr.co/kerusso/tina   

Valued video: https://bit.ly/4z6ZBk2

Caught in the Crossfire book: https://amzn.to/4qsl2YM

🔗 CONNECT WITH ANNA VAUGHN

Website: https://www.stirredupministries.com/

YouTube: https://bit.ly/45z6IEv

📢 THIS EPISODE SPONSORED BY

Faces of Choice: https://bit.ly/facesofchoiceCCM

Covenant Eyes: https://bit.ly/TheHealingChurchFREEBook

Waveguard (get 20% off with code TINA): https://waveguard.com/tina

🔗 CONNECT WITH COUNTER CULTURE MOM

https://linktr.ee/CounterCultureMom

📺 WATCH OUR PREVIOUS SHOWS

https://theccmshow.lightcast.com/

📲 GET OUR APP & FREE PARENT MEDIA GUIDE

https://counterculturemom.com/download-new-app/

💵 SUPPORT THE MISSION

2025 Recap & 2026 Goals: https://bit.ly/2026CCM

Make a Tax-Deductible Donation: https://counterculturemom.com/partner/

What do Christian leaders do in the seasons of life where they find themselves in the wilderness? What did John the Baptist do? What did Jesus do? These are the questions that Jason Jensen, the author of Formed to Lead, faithfully addresses. He focuses on the beginning of Luke 3, when the Word of God came to John in the wilderness. Why is the wilderness important? How does it cultivate growth and maturity? How can we not just survive, but thrive during those moments and learn to lean totally on God? We need to pay attention when we’re experiencing those seasons of life, cultivating that time by implementing spiritual disciplines that will help us slow down and learn important lessons God wants to teach us. Jason calls this “creating a wilderness space” to allow the Word of the Lord to arrive and bless.

TAKEAWAYS

God taught the Israelites in the desert that they needed to totally rely on Him

Listen quietly and daily to the voice of the Holy Spirit

Create spiritual disciplines and don’t be afraid to listen to your fellow believers’ experiences and insights

Rest is so important; it allows us to give our leadership burdens to God

🛠 TOOLS AND RESOURCES FROM EPISODE

Donate to Counter Culture Ministries: https://bit.ly/4g9uqgz

Formed to Lead book: https://amzn.to/4xT8NHr

The Pastor’s Sabbath: https://bit.ly/4hFUTnd

🔗 CONNECT WITH JASON JENSEN

Website: http://www.formedtolead.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jason.jensen.507027/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jensenjason/?hl=en

X: https://x.com/jjensenivcf

📢 THIS EPISODE SPONSORED BY

Waveguard (get 20% off with code TINA): https://waveguard.com/tina

Equipping The Persecuted: http://equippingthepersecuted.org/

Faces of Choice: https://bit.ly/facesofchoiceCCM

🔗 CONNECT WITH COUNTER CULTURE MOM

https://linktr.ee/CounterCultureMom

📺 WATCH OUR PREVIOUS SHOWS

https://theccmshow.lightcast.com/

📲 GET OUR APP & FREE PARENT MEDIA GUIDE

https://counterculturemom.com/download-new-app/

💵 SUPPORT THE MISSION

2025 Recap & 2026 Goals: https://bit.ly/2026CCM

Make a Tax-Deductible Donation: https://counterculturemom.com/partner/

Leadership may look a little different for everyone, but for a Christian, our leadership style should be modeled after Jesus Christ. What better way to learn about the leadership approach of Jesus than in the Bible? Jason Jensen is the Vice President for Spiritual Foundations for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. He is also the author of Formed to Lead, an important book examining Jesus’s leadership style, especially in the first chapters of Luke. Jason explores the connection between spiritual discipline and strong leadership qualities. Jason urges leadership toward reframing their assumptions about what leadership should look like: it’s not about getting a position of power; it’s about creating a positive culture and influencing others in all the right ways.

TAKEAWAYS

If we learn from our failures, we will perform better in the future

Tender humility should be balanced with bold faith and we need both attributes to be Godly leaders

When Jesus asks us to lead, we should expect character formation to happen next

The Holy Spirit will help us to reform our lives as we lead

🛠 TOOLS AND RESOURCES FROM EPISODE

Download the CCM App: https://bit.ly/4woLF3b

Formed to Lead book: https://amzn.to/4xT8NHr

🔗 CONNECT WITH JASON JENSEN

Website: http://www.formedtolead.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jason.jensen.507027/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jensenjason/?hl=en

X: https://x.com/jjensenivcf

📢 THIS EPISODE SPONSORED BY

WAVwatch (get 15% off with code TINA): https://wavwatch.com/tina

Medi-Share: https://www.medishare.com/tina-griffin

Jase Medical (get a discount with code TINA): https://bit.ly/JaseCCM

Equipping The Persecuted: http://equippingthepersecuted.org/

🔗 CONNECT WITH COUNTER CULTURE MOM

https://linktr.ee/CounterCultureMom

📺 WATCH OUR PREVIOUS SHOWS

https://theccmshow.lightcast.com/

📲 GET OUR APP & FREE PARENT MEDIA GUIDE

https://counterculturemom.com/download-new-app/

💵 SUPPORT THE MISSION

2025 Recap & 2026 Goals: https://bit.ly/2026CCM

Make a Tax-Deductible Donation: https://counterculturemom.com/partner/

Most ministry leaders implode because they fail to pay attention to their internal struggles. Dave Wiedis is the author of The Spiritually Healthy Leader: Finding Freedom from Self-Sabotage and the founder of ServingLeaders Ministries. Whether it’s self-sabotage by acting against our self-interest, hurting others, or damaging our relationship with God, Dave explains that many people are dominated by unidentified ruling passions, like seeking success, affirmation, respect, or avoiding pain or embarrassment. Such pursuits can supplant the Lordship of Christ by becoming functional idols. To lead well and avoid self-sabotage we must repent by honestly and humbly identifying our ruling passions and submitting to the lordship of Jesus Christ in every area of our lives.

TAKEAWAYS

Whatever drives you has the capacity to control you, and human passions must never take the place of Christ in our lives

Submitting to the lordship of Christ requires humility and honesty

You must reflect on and heal from your past experiences that gave rise to your ruling passions to become a great leader

Those who are unaware of their own ruling passions pose a unique danger as leaders

🛠 TOOLS AND RESOURCES FROM EPISODE

The Spiritually Healthy Leader book: https://amzn.to/4g9kEtw

🔗 CONNECT WITH DAVE WIEDIS

Website: https://www.servingleaders.org/

📢 THIS EPISODE SPONSORED BY

Medi-Share: https://www.medishare.com/tina-griffin

Waveguard (get 20% off with code TINA): https://waveguard.com/tina

Faces of Choice: https://bit.ly/facesofchoiceCCM

🔗 CONNECT WITH COUNTER CULTURE MOM

https://linktr.ee/CounterCultureMom

📺 WATCH OUR PREVIOUS SHOWS

https://theccmshow.lightcast.com/

📲 GET OUR APP & FREE PARENT MEDIA GUIDE

https://counterculturemom.com/download-new-app/

💵 SUPPORT THE MISSION

2025 Recap & 2026 Goals: https://bit.ly/2026CCM

Make a Tax-Deductible Donation: https://counterculturemom.com/partner/