The Tent: A safe place for shepherds to reflect together
RegisterRegister   Log inLog in 

Dealing with damaged goods!

 
Post new topic   Reply to topic
ShepherdLeader.com Forum Index -> While Shepherds Watch Their Flocks -> Day 37: Authority and Abuse
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
Bill H



Joined: 11 Jun 2008
Posts: 21

PostPosted: Thu Jun 26, 2008 2:56 pm    Post subject: Dealing with damaged goods! Reply with quote

I have frequently come across people who have not only been disappointed by the church but also damaged by the church. This is a travesty and tragedy. A viable much needed ministry today is for grace-filled faith communities to reach out to the never churched and the de-churched and offer the hope of Jesus and healing ministry of Jesus. These broken souls need to experience the power of God’s grace.
Spiritual abuse is rampant. Ministries have been set up to offer recovery from spiritual abuse. The leader who wants to dig into this subject will find a couple of books helpful.
WHEN BAD CHRISTIANS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE: Where We Have Failed Each Other and How to Reverse the Damage by Dave Burchett. This is an informative read laced with anecdotes and humor. It’s not exactly an academic treatise but does identify the issue of sheep being bruised and scattering because of legalism, hypocrisy, judgementalism and nastiness. Burchett shares how his church made his and his wife’s pain worse when they were dealing with the trauma of the arrival of a severely handicapped baby.

Ken Blue began a teaching series outlining the difference between the way of Jesus and the religion of the Pharisees. He had unwittingly struck a chord. His teaching resonated with people who had been contnrolled, shamed and damaged by spiritual manipulators and legalists. The result is a must read: Healing Spiritual Abuse: How to Break Free from Bad Church Experiences. The book has a subtitle: The Biblical Answer to the Wounds of Legalism.
Tim Laniak tells the tragic-comic story of a man throwing rocks and yelling at a heard of sheep and goats. An indignant tour guide confronted the man for his behaviour unbefitting of a shepherd. The culprit responded that he was no shepherd- he was a butcher.

Sadly, people searching for God, looking for hope and healing have been yelled at and pelted with rocks by butcher-pulpiteers. In John 8, it took Jesus’ intervention to rescue a sexually broken woman from a religious gang of rock throwers.

As leaders, we must guard against the abuse of power and be prepared to be agents of healing amongst those who have been on the sharp end of religious rock throwers and spiritual abusers. Our chief ointment is the gospel of grace and Ken Blue does a masterful job of not only diagnosing the problem of spiritual abuse but also offering soul medicine. Pick up a copy!
_________________
Bill H
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
ShepherdLeader.com Forum Index -> While Shepherds Watch Their Flocks -> Day 37: Authority and Abuse
Post new topic   Reply to topic All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Page 1 of 1

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum

FAQFAQ   SearchSearch   ProfileProfile   MemberlistMemberlist   UsergroupsUsergroups   RegisterRegister 
Log in to check your private messagesLog in to check your private messages   Log inLog in 


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group