Church Hurt

 Three questions

1. What is the church?
2. What is church hurt?
3. What do I need to do now?

Before thinking about church hurt, we must think about the question...
what is the church?

The Bible uses images like the body (1 Corinthians 12:12 - 31), the bride of Christ (Ephesians 5:22 - 24), and the family (1 Timothy 3:15).  Each of these images reference the importance of relationship.  Relationship with God and relationships with other believers. Ephesians 4:11 - 16 builds upon the reality of relationships as Paul writes about building one another up, "until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God," growing up together into Jesus Christ as a body grows. 

The following statement is on tbcgr.org, our church website.

The church was not designed for your entertainment and consumption.  It is meant for the glorification of God (worship of God) and the edification of believers (building one another up).

"A group of Christians who assemble as an earthly embassy of Christ's heavenly kingdom to affirm one another as his citizens through ordinances, to proclaim the good news and commands of Christ, to display God's own holiness, and love through a unified and diverse people in all the world, following the teaching and example of [godly] elders."  Rediscover the Church

Now that we have a better understanding of what the church is, let's look at the next question what is church hurt?  

Church hurt is "pain that happens in the context of spiritual community through pastors, leaders, members, systems, and even theology used and applied wrong."  As it is talked about today, church hurt could be anything from unmet expectations to physical abuse and everything in between.