President Donald Trump continues to use his position as a Bully Pulpit. Anyone who has ever been a member of an abusive church setting can relate. Once you have endured this Modus Operandi, you easily recognize when you see it again. Watching President Trump, I've come to the conclusion, that everyone who runs a bully pulpit, utilizes the same method of operation.
.Donald Trump, never having held public office, is still in reality show/business mogul mode. He is used to telling people to do it his way or hit the highway. On the "Apprentice," he was famous for saying, "You're fired." What works on television, and the boardroom however, was never intended for church pulpits, nor the Whitehouse.
The mindset and methodology of pulpit bullies
Recently President Trump threatened Capital Hill Republicans. He said that if they did not support him regarding Obamacare reforms, they might lose their jobs. This smacks of dictatorship and brought back harsh memories from an abusive church I attended.
We were told never to question our pastor's authority. Those who worked closely with our spiritual leader defended his every action. If one dared to ask a question, it was redirected back at that individual. The concerns members brought forth were ignored. And never discussed. We would always have the tables turned and be told we had bad attitudes. Never was there an admission of wrong from the top.
Sound familiar? Donald Trump blames everyone else, and never apologizes for anything.
President Trump holds grudges and bad mouths people on Twitter when they disagree with him. My former pastor and others like him rewarded loyal church members by giving them top leadership positions. Members who asked questions were called rebellious.
And these pastors seem to take it as a personal attack. Sometimes they would say ugly things from the pulpi, as if they desired to shame the people they believed were against them
This is the mindset and methodology of pulpit bullies. They must have absolute control and loyalty without question and they always place the blame on others.
When their authority is questioned, or they are not obeyed, they become irate and lash out at those they are supposed to be looking out for.
There must be balance
Churches were never meant to be a one-man show. They run best when deacons, trustees, other leaders and the pastor can come to some type of agreement. When the pastor makes every single decision and no one an interject their perspective, there is no balance. Likewise, the president of the United States is not supposed to be a lone wolf dictator. Our various branches of government are set up in such a way as to prevent this. Sadly it seems the bully pulpit is taking over a lot of churches, as well as the Whitehouse.
The same way Sean Spicer and others on Capitol Hill stand firm in defending President Trump, bully preachers have spokespersons, who use the pulpit to covey the pastors wishes to the congregation and emphasize that he is the leader and to be obeyed at all times.
These men and women much like Mr. Spicer, stick to the script, even when they know something is not true, or that causes harm. They believe they are to defend their leader/president/pastor, even at the expense of others and this causes things to be very unbalanced.
