Beware of SnakesBeware of Snakes
Recovery & Restoration with Mandy Creed Green
Mandy Creed Green uses her fear of literal snakes as a metaphor for harmful people in church communities, linking spiritual abuse and hidden sin to real damage in believers’ lives. Through scripture and personal stories, she talks about confronting wrongdoing, protecting the vulnerable, and sometimes walking away from toxic churches while still holding tight to Jesus.
43:29•4 Jul 2026
Beware of Snakes: Church Hurt, Hidden Sin and Holding On to Jesus
Episode Overview
- Harmful people in churches are compared to venomous snakes whose hidden sin and false teaching quietly poison vulnerable believers.
- Scripture calls Christians to confront unrepentant sin directly, involving others and, if needed, the whole church, while still aiming for restoration.
- Covering up sexual sin, abuse, or toxic doctrine is described as complicity, and Mandy stresses that crimes must be reported to authorities, not just church boards.
- If leaders refuse correction and a church protects its brand over its people, she urges believers to leave, warn others, and refuse to give silent approval with their presence.
- Repentance is presented as raw surrender that accepts consequences, while everyday ministry is shown to happen in ordinary jobs and homes as believers protect and care for the wounded.
“Sometimes the real snakes don't have scales. They have sermons or impressive casserole recipes.”
How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety and faith when the hurt comes from inside the church itself? This question runs through “Beware of Snakes” as host Mandy Creed Green mixes dark humour, raw honesty, and scripture to talk about spiritual danger in Christian communities. Mandy starts with her very real terror of actual snakes, sharing tense and funny stories of copperheads, cottonmouths, and her husband David charging out with a machete.
Those moments set up the central metaphor: “Sometimes the real snakes don't have scales. They have sermons or impressive casserole recipes.” From there, she shifts to the “snakes” in church life—people whose hidden sin, false teaching, or hypocrisy quietly poison vulnerable believers. You’ll hear her walk through a long list of Bible passages, from Romans and Galatians to Matthew 18, showing how Christians are called to both protect the flock and still leave room for repentance and restoration.
She doesn’t shy away from naming examples of high-profile church scandals, or from saying plainly that covering up abuse or sexual sin is never holiness, it’s complicity. The tone will suit anyone who loves Jesus but feels bruised by church culture. Mandy speaks as someone who has seen spiritual abuse push people into deconstruction, substance use, and despair, and she keeps circling back to God’s desire to heal faith rather than scrap it.
She gives very practical guidance: when to confront, when to involve leadership, when to call the police, and when it’s time to “run… from the snake” and leave a toxic church altogether. At the heart of it all is a call to courage: to shine light, protect the vulnerable, and keep serving Christ—whether that’s from a pulpit, an emergency room, or around your kitchen table.
If you’ve ever thought, “Is it okay to walk away from a damaging church and still cling to Jesus?” this might be the challenge and comfort you’ve been waiting for.
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