When your church experiences deep hurt
There are ways forward.
Although I hope your church never has to go through it, sometimes congregations find themselves in soul-wrenching pain. Maybe it’s because a conflict has escalated to the point that there seems to be no way forward. It could be that a trusted leader has been accused of misconduct, and members feel both shock and a profound lack of safety. Or it might even be that the extreme political divisiveness of the past decade has become so entrenched that there are two distinct congregations sitting in the same sanctuary on Sunday mornings.
These situations can be profound disruptions to our individual and collective spiritual lives, prompting us to ask hard questions of God and stretching our abilities to love our fellow (all-too-human) brothers and sisters as reflections of God’s image. When this is the case, something more than conflict resolution or a call to reconciliation is required. What we need is soul repair.
Soul repair is a process by which those involved in deeply wounding circumstances can look at the hard truths of what happened and helpfully weave these experiences into their personal and congregational narratives. This is spiritual work that allows people to reconnect with self, others and God and to move ahead together with purpose and hope.
Click here to keep reading on the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship blog.