Not always an empty sob story

In my 27 years of being a Christian I have been a member of four churches.. two were full of corruption with abusive leadership and resulted in several splits and a trail of good ppl bloodied and broken.. and yet two were incredible churches with amazing leadership and reflecting Christ in every way... it's a 50/50 risk sad to say from my experience..

the thing is that you have to let ppl decide for themselves how long they need before they are hungry enough to risk being hurt again.. if they truly love God and are calling on him for healing and help, his spirit will lead them to a church family (or several along the way to wholeness) that will love them back to health..

here's the thing.. as the church, when we become defensive because someone is speaking against our family, we add to their hurt and allow Satan to push the wedge deeper between them and the family of God.. but if we truly listen to them with compassion and love them and speak wisdom to them and walk it out beside them, not in judgement or with a condescending aire.. but with a heart of sincerity that recognizes that they are hurting for whatever reason.. we have the opportunity to be Jesus to one of our own, our brother, our sister, our friend... and to love them to wholeness.. and when that love and trust and strength is restored.. it opens the door for us to speak discpline and wisdom one to another.. it opens the door to loving one another as Christ commanded us.. so that our witness is one of power and strength...

in this world of broken homes and loneliness... some ppl just need to know that someone is on their side.. that God is on their side.. so many songs have been written about that need in ppl, in you and in me.. when a person lacks a support system, a family, the world and the sin of some church leaders can really devastate them and rob them of hope.. especially when leadership abuses their authority and ppl are battered, betrayed and spiritually raped by someone they trusted.