Develop a plan in your churches that includes you or some senior leader who will be part of the process of walking alongside someone who has been victimized. The main team will likely be those more qualified to care for the person (e.g., a trained trauma counselor), but it is very important that your church leadership plays a personal role in the healing process as well.
An immoral act, a crime and/or the pain of telling the truth all demand a pastoral response to all involved.
Dear congregation member:
Reach out to your leaders with your questions.
You may feel as though they have 20 other important issues to deal with, but as a part of your local congregation, your church ought to be one of the first places where you can ask your questions and share your concerns.
Let me be honest: There are countless women in churches in America today who are wondering if they can even stay in church as they continue to see so many in leadership held unaccountable for their moral failures or their abusive actions. There are also countless men who want to advocate for women but don’t have a platform to do that.
The vision of the body of Christ as having different members must be recalled on a regular basis. Your own role in the church, whether larger or smaller, is critical. And your voice is important. If you are in camp two (which I mentioned at the start of this article), ask first if you have clearly expressed your questions and concerns to your church leadership. If you have and they have gone unanswered, email your leadership with a link to this article.
It might sound like I’m joking, but I’m really not. Unfortunately, some leaders need to be reminded on occasion that it is they who serve their congregants, not vice versa.
I’m not saying that these words will open up all the needed important conversations, and I’m not trying to lay out every path that you can take to get the answers. I AM saying that many are afraid to ask—and you should not be.
Continually turn to Jesus first.
All of us are fallen in one way or another—you, me, your church leader, your best friend, your spouse.
Only Jesus is perfect. So, go to him first.
We may believe that another person will have all the answers to our questions. Here’s the thing: They won’t. Jesus calls us to bring our hurt and pain to him first. He reminds us that he is the answer to all the wrongs in the world, and that he will one day make things right.
For some, it might be the community that brings them to Christ. For others, coming to Christ will lead them to community. But, the community that is called church can be a place of healing—but we start with Christ.
As you wonder if you should stay in church, consider Jesus. Even when all turned against him, he stayed faithful to love them with the ultimate sacrifice. I’m not saying you should stay in your church if there are clear patterns of sin that are unresolved, but what I am pleading with you is this: Don’t turn away from the God who loves you.
Turn to him in prayer and in thanksgiving. Find your hope in him to carry you when hard questions are slow to be answered.
He is faithful.
Know that many of us are cheering you on.
I cannot count the number of women and men who have impacted me over the years because of their honest questioning of what they saw around them. Any faith worth having is one that asks hard questions. These times of questioning and leaning into God often lead us into deeper levels of faith.
If it seems as though others are not willing to come alongside you in finding answers, remember that many pastors and leaders and brothers and sisters in Christ are cheering you on as you pray for the church to have integrity for the sake of Christ and the world.
Keep fighting the good fight, knowing that our God is on your side. Fight with integrity. Fight for the truth. Fight to bring light to darkness.
Hope
Don’t give up hope. These may be dark days for the church, but Jesus is the light of the world, and as we press on to purify ourselves, his light will shine brighter and brighter.
Hebrews 12:12-13 reminds us, “Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed.”
Indeed, we are in a very difficult season and by all outward standards the church in America is on a perilous path. But for the grace of God who works in us…
Pastors, church leaders, members, Christian friends, now is neither the time to put your heads in the sand nor to abandon ship.
It’s a time to strengthen yourselves in the power of Christ, knowing that Jesus is our guide and seeks to restore his church.
It’s hard. But it is essential. People matter. The gospel matters. And so does how we respond.
This article originally appeared here.
