Recovering from Church Hurt
Every so often, I try to share something to help encourage us on the road to recovery. This week I read an incredible series by Mike Friesen at Christianity For The Rest Of Us called Recovering From Abusive Christianity. This series is well written and redemptive, I strongly recommend it! (scroll down for links to the series)
Here’s a couple of excerpts from Mike’s blog:
…from part 1…
Much abuse has happened under the banner of Christianity. And, much of it is has a response similar to my Sunday school teacher‘s, “Don’t question the Church. Don’t question the Bible. Don’t question God.” Still, it has not stopped a few brave people, a few courageous prophets from saying, “This doesn’t work for me. This can’t be all that there is.” Along the way, these brave, courageous souls are met with much resistance and much hostility. They’re met with a certain kind of violence, a violence to the soul. They’re met with a spiritual abuse.
…from part 4…
This is the hope out of the great tragedy of spiritual abuse. We are able to incarnate a selfless glory. We are able to bring about a community of love. Our wounds can be a healing presence for others. We can either be arrogant victims or wounded healers. In learning to forgive, to give up control, we hand our wounds over to God and to others as an offering of hope, wisdom, and love.
Here are the links to Mike’s series:
Recovering From Abusive Christianity pt 1
Recovering From Abusive Christianity pt 2
Thank you very much for being so brave. They always say something is wrong with you or your not supposed to be offended.
I am interested in hearing & learning what “Churchburned” is all about! I’d like to become a part of this I think!
Thanks
this is what i realy need to over come in my life now so i can move on in life
Just remember, we, the body of believers, are The Church, and we are to love one another the way Christ loves us. If you’ve been hurt, forgive, for it is forgiveness that sets YOU free. God Bless.
I believe that religion is one of the most abused systems in the world (Christianity and other religions). There are many that are using the church, your beliefs, and your naivety to their advantage. They are using the church for their own personal gain. Often when we first come into the knowledge of God we can be misled. As we grow in Christ and understand what the Word of God says we can recognize when something is not right a little quicker. The reality can still disillusion us. The word of God does say that the road to life is narrow and difficult and only a few will find it. The majority are on the wide road which leads to destruction. Mt 7:13 -14 There are huge crowds of people in church. The Word tells us there is no huge crowd on the right road. We have to be wise.