Retreat | Church Hurt // Can I Ever Trust Again? @retreatliving | Uploaded January 2022 | Updated October 2024, 3 hours ago.
First things first, church hurt is real. It's not a phrase lightly used for complaining millennials who want to get out of having to go to their parents' church. It’s no urban legend or monster with a potential existence. It’s a cry from broken people all over the world. A cry that very few can understand until they experience it.
With deconstruction on the rise (the pulling apart of one's belief system), church experience can often be the root of it. People of all ages step away from the faith because of something they experienced within it. Not just from the church, but also from the people who fill it. Church hurt is real, and it's no respecter of persons. You can be 95 or 19, and church hurt can completely wreck your soul and rip your heart out. You can have bad experiences with leaders, church people and even organizations as a whole.
For those of you who have experienced something different than a healthy Christ centered church. I want to start by validating your grief. No matter if you left your church yesterday or three years ago, I want to say that your grief is very real. Your pain is understood by few, but it's real. Your wounds are real. If you have experienced church hurt, if you have experienced poor leadership, lies, physical or spiritual manipulation. You are going to go through a season of struggling to go to church. Many of you will not go to church for a time.
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🎙Retreat Podcast: (Extended Conversations & Stories)
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What you experienced with church hurt was not normal. You watched a Netflix drama that you didn't ask to live through. It may not have been assault or rape of your body, but it was so degrading to your soul. Why are church people mean? Why do leaders fall? Why did God allow it? All reasonable questions that we can ask after a tough season of disappointment.
I want to lovingly say, there is more out there than what you experienced. If you refuse to live again, unwilling to forgive and offer grace. You are choosing to stay stuck in a bad season. Healing happens in layers and in moments and that’s okay. Invite God into your process and lay your frustration at His feet.
First things first, church hurt is real. It's not a phrase lightly used for complaining millennials who want to get out of having to go to their parents' church. It’s no urban legend or monster with a potential existence. It’s a cry from broken people all over the world. A cry that very few can understand until they experience it.
With deconstruction on the rise (the pulling apart of one's belief system), church experience can often be the root of it. People of all ages step away from the faith because of something they experienced within it. Not just from the church, but also from the people who fill it. Church hurt is real, and it's no respecter of persons. You can be 95 or 19, and church hurt can completely wreck your soul and rip your heart out. You can have bad experiences with leaders, church people and even organizations as a whole.
For those of you who have experienced something different than a healthy Christ centered church. I want to start by validating your grief. No matter if you left your church yesterday or three years ago, I want to say that your grief is very real. Your pain is understood by few, but it's real. Your wounds are real. If you have experienced church hurt, if you have experienced poor leadership, lies, physical or spiritual manipulation. You are going to go through a season of struggling to go to church. Many of you will not go to church for a time.
Click the link to subscribe to my channel: bit.ly/2YVCgVj
💌 Sign up for our free community! letsretreat.org
Receive exclusive content like videos and blogs in your inbox! 😊
🎙Retreat Podcast: (Extended Conversations & Stories)
Apple: apple.co/3UFVt64
Spotify: spoti.fi/3O8tYiS
What you experienced with church hurt was not normal. You watched a Netflix drama that you didn't ask to live through. It may not have been assault or rape of your body, but it was so degrading to your soul. Why are church people mean? Why do leaders fall? Why did God allow it? All reasonable questions that we can ask after a tough season of disappointment.
I want to lovingly say, there is more out there than what you experienced. If you refuse to live again, unwilling to forgive and offer grace. You are choosing to stay stuck in a bad season. Healing happens in layers and in moments and that’s okay. Invite God into your process and lay your frustration at His feet.
