What do you think?
Rate this book
When Shepherds Prey: Confronting Abuse in Church Leadership—A Call for Reformation
The book a publisher called “too controversial.”
Why? Because it names hard truths the Church can no longer afford to ignore.
Every week, new stories emerge—pastors falling, spiritual authority abused, victims silenced, and institutions responding in self-defense. What once seemed like isolated scandals are revealing deeper patterns within the modern Church. For many believers, the question is no longer if abuse is happening, but why it has been allowed to continue for so long.
In When Shepherds Prey, Dr. Ron Cantor confronts one of the most painful crises facing the Church clergy sexual abuse, institutional cover-ups, and the failure to protect those who trusted their spiritual leaders.
This is not a comfortable book. It is raw, honest, and at times deeply unsettling. But it is written from the conviction that the Church cannot experience healing without first telling the truth.
The first section tells Cantor’s personal journey through two of the most significant leadership scandals to shake the charismatic world in recent years. As a longtime ministry leader with relationships inside these circles, he found himself drawn into the unfolding crises surrounding the International House of Prayer Kansas City (IHOPKC) and its founder Mike Bickle, and later allegations involving apologist Dr. Michael Brown. Through this narrative, readers see how abuse allegations emerge, how institutions respond, and the personal cost of pursuing truth when influential leaders are involved.
Cantor then explores the deeper dynamics that allow abuse to remain hidden for years and why institutions often struggle to confront leaders who have built powerful ministries and loyal followings.
Many believers describe these situations as “moral failure” or “an affair.” But clergy sexual abuse is something far more serious. When a spiritual leader uses position, influence, or prophetic authority to exploit someone under their care, it is not merely sin—it is a profound violation of trust and power.
When Shepherds Prey exposes patterns that repeatedly appear in cases of clergy
grooming disguised as pastoral carespiritual language and shame used to silence victims“forgiveness” weaponized to protect abusersinstitutions protecting leaders rather than the vulnerablewhistleblowers dismissed as divisive or disloyalThese dynamics are not limited to a single denomination or movement. They reveal a deeper leadership crisis that demands honest examination.
Yet this book is not written from cynicism toward the Church. Cantor writes as someone who loves the body of Christ and believes it is worth fighting for. Writing from within the charismatic world, his goal is not to tear down the Church but to call it back to the biblical standards of integrity, humility, and accountability required of those who lead.
Throughout church history, moments of crisis have often become moments of reform. The exposure of corruption is painful—but it can also become the beginning of renewal.
The Church must decide what it values protecting reputations or protecting the flock.
Because when shepherds prey on the sheep, silence is not unity, secrecy is not shepherding, and cover-ups are not care for the flock—they are complicity.
And if the Church truly desires renewal, reformation must begin with the courage to bring everything into the light.
Why? Because it names hard truths the Church can no longer afford to ignore.
Every week, new stories emerge—pastors falling, spiritual authority abused, victims silenced, and institutions responding in self-defense. What once seemed like isolated scandals are revealing deeper patterns within the modern Church. For many believers, the question is no longer if abuse is happening, but why it has been allowed to continue for so long.
In When Shepherds Prey, Dr. Ron Cantor confronts one of the most painful crises facing the Church clergy sexual abuse, institutional cover-ups, and the failure to protect those who trusted their spiritual leaders.
This is not a comfortable book. It is raw, honest, and at times deeply unsettling. But it is written from the conviction that the Church cannot experience healing without first telling the truth.
The first section tells Cantor’s personal journey through two of the most significant leadership scandals to shake the charismatic world in recent years. As a longtime ministry leader with relationships inside these circles, he found himself drawn into the unfolding crises surrounding the International House of Prayer Kansas City (IHOPKC) and its founder Mike Bickle, and later allegations involving apologist Dr. Michael Brown. Through this narrative, readers see how abuse allegations emerge, how institutions respond, and the personal cost of pursuing truth when influential leaders are involved.
Cantor then explores the deeper dynamics that allow abuse to remain hidden for years and why institutions often struggle to confront leaders who have built powerful ministries and loyal followings.
Many believers describe these situations as “moral failure” or “an affair.” But clergy sexual abuse is something far more serious. When a spiritual leader uses position, influence, or prophetic authority to exploit someone under their care, it is not merely sin—it is a profound violation of trust and power.
When Shepherds Prey exposes patterns that repeatedly appear in cases of clergy
grooming disguised as pastoral carespiritual language and shame used to silence victims“forgiveness” weaponized to protect abusersinstitutions protecting leaders rather than the vulnerablewhistleblowers dismissed as divisive or disloyalThese dynamics are not limited to a single denomination or movement. They reveal a deeper leadership crisis that demands honest examination.
Yet this book is not written from cynicism toward the Church. Cantor writes as someone who loves the body of Christ and believes it is worth fighting for. Writing from within the charismatic world, his goal is not to tear down the Church but to call it back to the biblical standards of integrity, humility, and accountability required of those who lead.
Throughout church history, moments of crisis have often become moments of reform. The exposure of corruption is painful—but it can also become the beginning of renewal.
The Church must decide what it values protecting reputations or protecting the flock.
Because when shepherds prey on the sheep, silence is not unity, secrecy is not shepherding, and cover-ups are not care for the flock—they are complicity.
And if the Church truly desires renewal, reformation must begin with the courage to bring everything into the light.
442 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 13, 2026
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
April 27, 2026
So, so good!
"It is not gossip to bring to light sexually abusive behavior that others have covered up. In fact, it’s biblical. Paul wrote, “Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them” (Eph. 5:11, ESV) and told Timothy, “As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest"
"It is not gossip to bring to light sexually abusive behavior that others have covered up. In fact, it’s biblical. Paul wrote, “Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them” (Eph. 5:11, ESV) and told Timothy, “As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest"
October 30, 2026
Charismatic Call to Action
As a Reformed and Presbyterian reader, I was intrigued to read an account of Clergy Sexual Abuse from the charismatic side. It has a different flavor and emphasis, but because of the author’s focus on the primacy of Scripture - there’s more threads of commonality than disunity. So even a mostly cessationist and a mostly charismatic can agree on many points about God and His attributes because the Word and the Spirit agree. (‘We don’t know what we are’, the response to Julie Roys’ quip about charismatics, is an accurate assessment of people caught in the aftermath of major deceit.)
The subject matter prevents this book from being an easy or fun read, but the more personal style allows readers to ‘hear’ the content as though the author were speaking in a Sunday School room. (Somewhere between a place where elders meet and an auditorium, and not quite like his living room.)
The historical recap of the Reformation - and some background on Azusa Street and Kansas City movements - feed into the subtitle. I am hoping that the call toward more outside accountability may lead toward a greater ecclesiastical judicial function (rather than more emphasis on trauma-informed advocacy or media/social media emphasis). However, I can appreciate the sense that until a Reformation sweeps away the excuses and tendency to circle wagons around ‘anointed’ leaders at the expense of sheep - a change in polity or structure won’t accomplish trust-building or healing needed by victims who have been betrayed and silenced. Sometimes, more layers of organization offer more places for predators to hide, and play off one group against another.
Ultimately, this book will be one of my go-to resources for trauma advocacy. It blends both a truthful approach about expected outcomes (advocacy sometimes leads to heartache and headache and lost friendships) with a long list of thought leaders in the evangelical advocacy world. The same names appear on repeat within advocacy resources: Diane Langberg, “Something’s Not Right” by Wade Mullen, Boz Tchividjian, Rachel Denhollander (who works with North Carolina group Called to Peace Ministries), the Pennsylvania Grand Jury Investigation Report, Julie Roys and her report, etc. But I wasn’t aware of David Pooler as a prominent voice, or Baylor University’s advocacy research - just the scandal attached to the University name. I will be interested to dig a bit deeper into the SBC-affiliated resources there.
Advocacy makes me twitchy on multiple levels- it can be politicized quite easily, despite the author’s assertions about the paucity of false accusations in the clergy realm. (That we know of.) There are a few political examples inserted into the book, which makes sense when you think about predators and their use of politics - inside and outside the church. At the moment, advocacy is a young movement. But just like with the Charismatic movement, something can begin well and take a sideways turn very quickly, as with Ananias and Sapphira. (I was glad to see this example of God’s intolerance of abuse offered alongside Nathan the prophet sent to rebuke King David -without fear or favor of his status. And not one word about Bathsheba’s complicity, because she was coerced and abused as well as Uriah, and the other mighty men who died in David’s cover-up of sin.) Why didn’t God just forgive Ananias and Sapphira, or just wipe away all the bad with David? Because they engaged in deliberate lies, manipulation, and deceit. And professing believers shouldn’t expect better treatment or less accountability.
In essence, this is an exploration of the pitfalls and prevention of a particular kind of sin that flourishes when aided and abetted by silence and cheap grace. (I have similar quotes embedded in “Wolves Among Us” by Dietrich Bonhoeffer.) It’s ridiculous for pastors to bully their congregants by private prayer, private confessions made to sympathizers rather than public contrition, and invoking loyalty rules for agreements made under duress and after sin has been committed. When did God say your good reputation is a reason for the sheep’s loyalty? Does that show loyalty to Him? If the Good News spreads better when listeners don’t know you’ve been a hypocrite - should you be the one spreading that News?
This book was well-written, but the last few chapters wandered a bit and had some repetition. But it’s well worth a read. I find it more accessible/less ‘professional’ in tone than Mullen’s work, and less therapeutic than Langberg’s (understandably, due to their callings in life). Point to Langberg - I’d love to hear the silence in an entire room of pastors told that what a pastor does (after a theoretical woman drops clothing in his office) reveals something about how he handles vulnerable people. The author of this book adds the example of Potiphar’s wife and Joseph, because it’s a Biblical illustration of a real-life power differential that negates consent or equality in culpability.
As a Reformed and Presbyterian reader, I was intrigued to read an account of Clergy Sexual Abuse from the charismatic side. It has a different flavor and emphasis, but because of the author’s focus on the primacy of Scripture - there’s more threads of commonality than disunity. So even a mostly cessationist and a mostly charismatic can agree on many points about God and His attributes because the Word and the Spirit agree. (‘We don’t know what we are’, the response to Julie Roys’ quip about charismatics, is an accurate assessment of people caught in the aftermath of major deceit.)
The subject matter prevents this book from being an easy or fun read, but the more personal style allows readers to ‘hear’ the content as though the author were speaking in a Sunday School room. (Somewhere between a place where elders meet and an auditorium, and not quite like his living room.)
The historical recap of the Reformation - and some background on Azusa Street and Kansas City movements - feed into the subtitle. I am hoping that the call toward more outside accountability may lead toward a greater ecclesiastical judicial function (rather than more emphasis on trauma-informed advocacy or media/social media emphasis). However, I can appreciate the sense that until a Reformation sweeps away the excuses and tendency to circle wagons around ‘anointed’ leaders at the expense of sheep - a change in polity or structure won’t accomplish trust-building or healing needed by victims who have been betrayed and silenced. Sometimes, more layers of organization offer more places for predators to hide, and play off one group against another.
Ultimately, this book will be one of my go-to resources for trauma advocacy. It blends both a truthful approach about expected outcomes (advocacy sometimes leads to heartache and headache and lost friendships) with a long list of thought leaders in the evangelical advocacy world. The same names appear on repeat within advocacy resources: Diane Langberg, “Something’s Not Right” by Wade Mullen, Boz Tchividjian, Rachel Denhollander (who works with North Carolina group Called to Peace Ministries), the Pennsylvania Grand Jury Investigation Report, Julie Roys and her report, etc. But I wasn’t aware of David Pooler as a prominent voice, or Baylor University’s advocacy research - just the scandal attached to the University name. I will be interested to dig a bit deeper into the SBC-affiliated resources there.
Advocacy makes me twitchy on multiple levels- it can be politicized quite easily, despite the author’s assertions about the paucity of false accusations in the clergy realm. (That we know of.) There are a few political examples inserted into the book, which makes sense when you think about predators and their use of politics - inside and outside the church. At the moment, advocacy is a young movement. But just like with the Charismatic movement, something can begin well and take a sideways turn very quickly, as with Ananias and Sapphira. (I was glad to see this example of God’s intolerance of abuse offered alongside Nathan the prophet sent to rebuke King David -without fear or favor of his status. And not one word about Bathsheba’s complicity, because she was coerced and abused as well as Uriah, and the other mighty men who died in David’s cover-up of sin.) Why didn’t God just forgive Ananias and Sapphira, or just wipe away all the bad with David? Because they engaged in deliberate lies, manipulation, and deceit. And professing believers shouldn’t expect better treatment or less accountability.
In essence, this is an exploration of the pitfalls and prevention of a particular kind of sin that flourishes when aided and abetted by silence and cheap grace. (I have similar quotes embedded in “Wolves Among Us” by Dietrich Bonhoeffer.) It’s ridiculous for pastors to bully their congregants by private prayer, private confessions made to sympathizers rather than public contrition, and invoking loyalty rules for agreements made under duress and after sin has been committed. When did God say your good reputation is a reason for the sheep’s loyalty? Does that show loyalty to Him? If the Good News spreads better when listeners don’t know you’ve been a hypocrite - should you be the one spreading that News?
This book was well-written, but the last few chapters wandered a bit and had some repetition. But it’s well worth a read. I find it more accessible/less ‘professional’ in tone than Mullen’s work, and less therapeutic than Langberg’s (understandably, due to their callings in life). Point to Langberg - I’d love to hear the silence in an entire room of pastors told that what a pastor does (after a theoretical woman drops clothing in his office) reveals something about how he handles vulnerable people. The author of this book adds the example of Potiphar’s wife and Joseph, because it’s a Biblical illustration of a real-life power differential that negates consent or equality in culpability.
April 20, 2026
This should be required reading for church staff
This is a much needed book throughout the global Church, including the charismatic church in America. Thank you Dr Ron Cantor for being a voice for victims and for leading the way forward to institutional change.
This is a much needed book throughout the global Church, including the charismatic church in America. Thank you Dr Ron Cantor for being a voice for victims and for leading the way forward to institutional change.
July 23, 2026
This is a much needed read for anyone in leadership or in ministry in the Church. Cantor dispels the arguments around restoring predators to ministry and exposes a Church that values gifts over character and “shepherds” over sheep.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews