Episode 21 - Restoring the Flock: God’s Blueprint for Healing After Collective Trauma (Guest: Pastor Kayleigh Clark)
Description
YOUTUBE LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rREm75DGcgk
In this podcast episode with our guest, Pastor & scholar Kayleigh Clark we explore how collective trauma reshapes churches, why language and listening matter, how sometimes the first step of finding healing a church is about asking the right questions, and how new shepherds can gather what harm scattered. She shares a path from lament to restoration with trauma-informed ministry, empathetic witness, and patient trust-building. Additional topics, references, website & terms mentioned below.
• Defining collective trauma and loss of communality
• The body of Christ keeps the score as a diagnostic lens
• COVID’s disruption, decision fatigue, and grief in congregations
• Betrayal trauma and why defenses form around leaders
• Jeremiah 23, negligent shepherds, and God’s new shepherds
• Using careful, descriptive language before hard labels
• Pastors’ secondary traumatic stress and pastoral self-care
• After-pastors, church splits, and rebuilding safety
• Theology that heals vs theologies that harm and shame
• Shifting diagnosis from behaviors to “what happened to us”
• Revitalization & Reformation.... with Restoration as a third path to consider
• Lament, middle-space testimonies, and empathetic witnessing
• Reading scriptures through the eyes of the sufferer
• Practical methods to restore trust and communality
Check out Restor(y) resources at restorycenter.com
Restor(y) is a nonprofit founded by Pastor Kayleigh Clark whose mission is to accompany churches through healing, restoration, and wholeness
Link to article of "New Shepherds For A Hurting Church
https://www.restorycenter.com/blog/new-shepherds-for-a-hurting-church
A Theological Framework for Religious Trauma (Short Video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSIpj-NhhnA
Kayleigh's Blog on Restor(y)
https://www.restorycenter.com/blog
Jeremiah 23 NIV
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/search=Jeremiah%2023&version=NIV
TERMS
Secondary Trauma https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secondary_trauma
DARVO is an acronym that describes a common pattern of behavior used by individuals—often abusers or manipulators—when they are confronted about their harmful actions. It stands for: D – Deny, A – Attack, RVO – Reverse Victim and Offender
Soul Bruises Episode on DARVO
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2240617/episodes/16013641
Collective trauma happens when a whole community or group of people goes through something deeply painful or disruptive—like abuse, conflict, disaster, or loss—and it impacts not just individuals, but the relationships, trust, and identity of the entire group.
Betrayal trauma refers to the psychological harm that occurs when someone experiences a profound violation of trust or safety by a person or system they depend on for protection, care, or support.
Communality refers to the quality or state of sharing things in common — a sense of belonging, mutual responsibility, and connection within a group or community
"Be Human, Be Kind, Be Both."