National Back To School Month
Dear Patheos Friends; It’s been four weeks since we connected here. I am finally caught up on all feedback. Appreciate all your input and well wishes. And today kicks off the month of August- National Back To School month. Families all across the nation are preparing for a new school year. Parents, it’s time to get the kids back on a routine schedule.
The Church Collective
This post is not about your typical back to school but a different type of education for everyone that follows and loves Jesus Christ. The last six weeks have been filled with so many unraveling within the Body of Christ. The church collective (The Body of Christ) increased in cynicism before a world that has been looking for things to say for a long time. They now have enough to chew on. Not the kind of press that lifts up the name of Jesus and draws people to Christ. It has been one dagger news for followers of Jesus, one right after another. News that drives potential believers away from God. From news of betrayal of trust, deceptions, misuse of funds, to abuse of power, the list seems to be unending. Some news outlets are even keeping a tracking list of the sour news. Sad times for the church collective.
The World Is Not The Problem
In the last six weeks, my husband and I have heard from so many hurting people. Some old, some young. The common thread is the abuse they have faced from leaders they trusted. At a recent meeting, the question was asked by one of the panelists, “How did the church collective get here?” Here meaning these times of sour news of betrayal of trust, deceptions, manipulations and much more. A time where spiritual leaders lack the fear of God. A time where friends do the unthinkable with pulse-less conscience. A time where the Bible and the Holy Spirit is no longer important to the church collective. A time of celebritism and entertainment in the church collective. These are the things that get the Jesus lovers on their knees, crying to God to have mercy on His people! The church collective is the problem and not the world being the world!
Good Followers Training
We got here because for years, the church collective has been trained to be good followers of the church building who ask no question. Good followers who live under a rock. Good followers who turn the other cheek. Good followers who are naive. Good followers who are unaware of abuse of all forms. Instead of learning to follow Jesus Christ who lives out grace and truth, for years the church collective had their gaze on other things. With the rug pulled from under our feet, the church collective is right here in these unprecedented times.
Spiritual Abuse
We are here because teaching the church collective about abuse was seen as a taboo. So, what do we do in these times? It’s time for the church collective to be educated on what spiritual abuse is, what spiritual abuse looks like, and how to be Christlike in these times. The Bible is filled with examples of how Jesus Christ, our perfect example, showed up against spiritual abuse. We see a great example in Matthew 21: 12-14, “Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. “It is written,” He said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.”
Holy Calling
It is time for the church collective to beware of spiritual abuse. And for anyone who is a leader within the church collective, more is required by our Savior and Lord. We cannot say we belong to Jesus and carry ourselves just like the world. Our God will not have it from us. Leading within the church collective is not a career- it is a holy calling! God will not allow His leaders to coast when it comes to representing Him and His Kingdom. God is serious and He is not playing with any of us in these times. God is Holy and holy He has called His people to be!
Beseeching God
It is time to get serious if we say we are followers of Jesus Christ. It is time to cast off deceptions, abuse of power, gaslighting, coverups, and all works of darkness. It’s time for us the church collective to get comfortable with questions, with transparency, with vulnerability, and with holiness that we are called to. It is time for us to be what 1 Peter 2:9 says of us. Followers of Jesus Christ, you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.” It’s time to get on our knees and faces, beseeching God for His abundant mercies for His Bride- the church collective.
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