I have always believed that the church is a place of healing, where the broken, oppressed and marginalized can experience wholeness and find meaning for their existence. However, the church seems to cater for those who are whole and fears being messed up by the messy.
What is your experience?
What can be done?
About Me
- Vernon Brackett
- I am a Minister of Religion and work as a Guidance Counsellor in a public school
Luke chapter 7, tells us of a major social issue was center around a woman, who is marginalized because of her gender; in addition, she is a widow who has now lost her only son. She has no family and is without social and economic support. She essentially has no status and is in an extremely vulnerable situation. Christians come upon similar situations that encourages us to respond as Jesus did; touching the core of her needs. As far as the Jews were concerned this makes Jesus ceremonially uncle and an outcast. Christian are afraid to be labled as Jesus was. is this what is wrong with some members of the church?
ReplyDeleteYou have made a "heart-cutting" statement, "Christian are afraid to be labeled as Jesus was." How can we call our selves Christians if we are not willing to BE like Jesus.
ReplyDeleteI have found healing when I was broken and oppressed and I have found wholeness and meaning for my existence with the help of the church. I have come to love and appreciate who I am through the teachings of the church. Come just as you are and allow the Lord to transform and direct your life. Those words I can clearly remember. It has been a journey and I am still not there yet but with the continued teaching of the good ole bible based church, I continue to walk in faith and declare God's promises. I am forever grateful for the church which has helped me to extend my prayer vision and has encouraged a renewed boldness and expectation of God's purpose in my life. I have come to realized that my life has purpose and it was designed to be an effective servant of God and in so doing, help to encourage and reach the broken and lost at any cost. The church is fulfilling it's mandate in most areas and it is only for us as individual to decide and allow someone to help us along.
ReplyDeleteI am happy for your experience. The church should help us and guide us as we seek to fulfill God's purpose for our life. In our quest to fulfill God's purpose, it is not all of us that get it right. We make mistakes and blunders. This may result from our own doing or the enemy strategy to hinder us from being who we ought to be. How far is the church willing to go for those who missed the mark? Is the church willing to soil its "image"?
ReplyDeleteMore than anywhere else the church is a place where people where a lot of mask. It does not and it should not cater to whole people! That is not the church's job! And then i beg to ask the question, what do you define as whole, which one of us is truely whole? People think that the church is safe but it is really not! While it should be a place of safety, according to the word, and while we as christians should go to church,(that our strength may be renewd) our real saftey is in Christ!
ReplyDeleteNila, i love your comments. I strongly believed that the church should pattern its ministry after that of Jesus. Jesus proclaimed at his inauguration that His ministry entails preaching the gospel to the poor, healing the brokenhearted, setting captives free, opening the eyes of the blind (literally and figuratively)and setting at liberty them that are bruised. This is the ministry of the church. The church should be a place that provide healing for the oppressed, the broken and the marginalized. We must remember that the church is Jesus' hands, feet, mouth and ears in this world.
ReplyDelete