Smoke and mirrors: A looking glass - held up in front of a large, wispy plume of smoke in the distance - reveals only thick, impenetrable smoke, very near at hand.

Beth Moore and LifeWay: The ploy

When the "threat alarm" goes off in an abusive church system, the response is orchestrated and brutal. But it's church: Appearances must be kept up. People loyal to the system confuse while pretending to clarify, cover-up while pretending to address, attack while seeming to answer, put-down while pretending to help.

Closeup of a shiny, multicolored, beaded curtain. Behind it, a haze of green light - and who knows what else.

Behind the scenes at Living Proof Live

This is what happened when I served as onsite leader for a Beth Moore Living Proof Live event. It’s a peek into celebrity culture, the exploitation and manipulation of women and abuse in the Southern Baptist Convention.