‘Cute Shoes’ Online Discussion ~Chapter Four
When I began typing this morning my first thought was “What? Could it be possible that we are already on Chapter Five?” The answer to that was clearly “no”. We are only on Chapter Four (..because I ditched y’all last week. Sorry about that.) but man is it a loaded one. Church Can Hurt, girls. ‘Tis sad, but true.
Before we get rolling, I want to be sure to say once again that you are always free to jump in the discussion at any time whether you’ve participated at all or randomly.
So, yeah. Church can hurt. I don’t want to sound flip but I need to let y’all know up front that I am one who deals with painful/complicated things in a private way and will then try to smile my way through it in public. Healthy, right? My therapist thinks so, too. If I seem like I’m not laid low by the heartbreak we’ve experienced in ministry, it’s for two reasons: a) I refuse to be. b) If I were I probably couldn’t tell you in this format.
Vague much?
With that said, if you’ve read the book you heard me tell about a heart-wrenching ministry experience (p. 87-90) that at the time was very painful. However, I wouldn’t trade that experience for anything and I mean ANYTHING because it literally saved us later when we saw a similar situation begin to rear it’s ugly head again. We wouldn’t have known how in the world to stop it in it’s tracks had the same scenario not played out from beginning to end once before.
What I want to encourage you with today is the knowledge that NOTHING you will undergo as a shepherd of the church is a wasted suffering. We are refined through persecution and we are perfected by learning that we are sometimes the ones in the wrong. As impossible as it may seem, as much as you are able, embrace the ugly. God speaks through it all, girlfriends. Luke and I wouldn’t be even one fraction as capable ministers if it weren’t for the mileage of misery. We want to be shocked by people and their actions but the truth is, when Satan is in the mix, anyone is capable of anything – even the family serving behind the pulpit. Knowing that, we can be aware of his schemes to divide the body and hopefully head his forked tail off at the pass.
I want to keep today’s discussion positive without ignoring the fact that many of you may be in the midst of hot controversy even as we speak. Here are a couple of questions to consider. You are free to elaborate but try to keep the length manageable:
1. What lessons have you learned in your most current season of church conflict that have made you and your hubby better servant leaders? What methods of forgiveness did you employ? Did you realize your own mistake and make amends?
2. If you are still embittered because of a painful church experience, state as succinctly as possible why you’ve been unable to move forward. If you aren’t currently in a mess, speak encouragement in your comment to a sister who is.
3. Anything in particular resonate with you from this chapter?
Thank you girls for hanging in with me! Oh, how I’d love to have these conversations in a coffee shop with you somewhere. In the meantime, consider yourself hugged.
Lisa
I appreciate your heart so much. I’m loving your book (we could’ve co-written it, sister). Much of your experience is familiar to me.
My husband is not pastoring right now because of “church hurt”. The details of it all are too much to even go into. But, I can say….that it has nearly destroyed our family. Our kids had to watch as a toxic group of leaders tried to completely wreck their dad and his ministry. They are so very affected…but have not turned from God (in spite of what they’ve witnessed).
I hear so often of ministry families who walk away……completely walk away. That isn’t the case for our family.
We’ve stayed in the same town as our “old” church. This has been pretty difficult. But again….it was because of our kids. They’re in high school & college now.
We wanted to keep some normal for them.
I completely forgive the church. But I cannot forget. It hurts so much to see many of them around town. We’ve been told so many terrible things that they’ve said against us, it’s painful to even imagine it.
We ministered to them (lovingly and wholeheartedly) and some of them act as if they never knew us. Ouch!
What have we learned?
SO VERY MUCH!!! Like you, we know what to watch for to avoid it happening again. We, unfortunately….don’t feel like we can be completely vulnerable to another congregation again. People are fleshly (even church people) and do things that are not of God…..and satan loves using them for his destructive work.
We are open to serving in full-time ministry again….but at this moment….we just wait!
God knows….and sees.
Oh…and yes, we’ve done a complete inventory of “what is NOT RIGHT in our hearts and lives” reflection with God. He revealed some things that needed to go. We’re just healing now.
We have been hurt and we have learned lessons. We have learned to turn TO God, and to each other. To keep our mouths shut outside our home, and to continue to love on our church family.
Easy? no. Best? yes.
My latest hurt was personal, church member vs. me. But became church member and her husband vs. me and my husband. It was ugly. The church stood strong and did not let this problem divide them. God showed Himself mightily in many meetings! I had sought her forgiveness 3 times, after many months I sought her out again. She was vile in describing her feelings toward me and my family, so I have gone on. I have shaken the dust from my shoes. I am at peace because I have done what God asked me to do. Seek forgiveness and reconciliation. It didn’t turn out the way I thought, but I am free. And it is good!
This chapter was like gold to me. It came at just the right time. Thanks so much Lisa!
.-= Julie´s last blog .. =-.
Several years ago, after a nasty little group of people succeeded in turning the majority of the church against my husband through a full on strategic smear campaign, he resigned knowing that it would never end. The Lord used this situation to birth a new church of lovely Christlike people who had stayed clean through the whole thing, not to mention all the painful but priceless lessons learned along the way… not the least of which is the ability to laugh some things off.
So 3 years later, I was on a field trip with our large homeschool group about an hour away from our home. I had stayed behind to see a few more exhibits at the museum and found myself in a pleasant discussion with a few believers about the Lord, and His word and how many churches were struggling to stay true.
I had never met the lovely lady who began to tell me that they had left their church a year prior because the church wasn’t staying true to the Word of God. I asked if they had found a new church (of course I was scouting and considering inviting them to visit us).
“Oh yes we have.” She said happily, “In fact, we have returned to the church where we both grew up. We left had left the church 4 years ago, just before they got this Pastor who was, I guess, like the Devil Himself. Since he resigned a few years ago, we decided to return.”
Of course, in my mind I am thinking, “Naaah, it couldn’t be.” But the years added up. You have to realize I live in one of the largest counties in the world, in a city who had more churches per capita than most and we were on the opposite side of the city.
But still I had to ask, “Do you mind if I ask the name of the church you are referring to?”
Sure enough, she had just unknowingly referred to MY husband as “The Devil Himself” (of course, having never met him).
I extended my hand, with a smile on my face….
“Oh, then I should reintroduce myself. You can just call me “The Devil’s Wife”.
Poor thing was so ashamed she was speechless. After the shock wore off, she humbly acknowledged the all too obvious lesson she had just learned.
I did my best to let her know I wasn’t angry at her or anyone else for that matter. I just stated for the record, “it simply isn’t true.” and left it at that.
It was important to me to not get involved in the discussion about whether he was actually the Devil or not.
During the process, my husband said over and over to me and many other godly people, “Don’t get dirty” and “Don’t worry about trying to defend me.” You have to realize that this kind of thing goes way beyond logical opinion and reasonable facts are not even an issue with those who would desire to slander and destroy a man of God. At that point, it is simply a feeding frenzy. I know many of you know exactly what I mean.
Fact: in general, people are much quicker to unify over negativity than they unify over truth… its just the nature of sinful flesh.
You can stand firmly on your ground, but its critical for your own walk that you avoid getting into the details of who said what and why. All this does is provide more opportunity for gossip and put you in a position of carrying around guilt over “getting dirty”.
The most important lesson here is that GUILT COLORS YOUR JUDGEMENT. Stay clean, don’t get dirty, let God be your defender and know that sometimes it may be years later before someone recognizes their own foolishness.
Regardless, forgive them, have a laugh (when someone calls your husband “the spawn of Satan”, one of my favorite titles assigned to my precious husband at the time) and move forward. Knowing that if you have your eyes set on the Lord none of this matters in the end. This is your chance to be an example to God’s children of how to walk in the midst of injustice. People will learn as much by how your respond (or withhold your just response) as they will by your words.
Your Chief Shepherd will lead you into quiet pastures someday, and exalt you in due time.
One of the best things to come out of our struggles has been the intimate family bond my husband and I have created with each other and with our boys. As God formed the people of Israel into a cohesive group in the Wilderness years, so he has formed a cohesive family from ours.
I think I’ve learned that you just have to let go. I can’t change people’s hearts, but God can. I think I’ve also learned the need to truly love the people in your congregation and to make sure that they see you love them. For an introvert like me, that can be difficult at times. And I’ve also learned that it’s okay to shake the dust from your feet and move on. God calls us to congregations, and God will release us from those congregations when His time is right, even if the work doesn’t seem quite finished yet.
I worked for over a year on forgiveness with some members of our congregation. I prayed about it daily, because that’s all I felt like I could do. I decided that I, on my own, was not capable of forgiving, but that God could work within me to make that happen. I was completely shocked the day I realized forgiveness had come. I was finally able to reach out again to those who had hurt my husband and show them love and affection. God is truly amazing!
.-= Sara´s last blog ..Confession 91: God’s Got it Covered =-.
In our very first year of ministry, we were hurt deeply by another couple in our church. It was very frustrating for me to see my husband attacked, but the Lord (somehow) allowed me to remain patient and loving towards them (the wife especially). I can’t say that my attitude towards them was always the best (especially in private conversations with my husband). I do know that the Lord taught us that He does give patience in areas that our flesh wants to react! Ironically, that couple left our church so that he could pastor another church a couple hours away! =)
You brought up the fact that our husbands don’t need us to fight their battles for them, and I thought that was a very important point!! I need to cultivate my prayer life even more to be a proper support for him. That’s where his real wisdom and power will come from!
Lisa, this book has been such an encouragement to me already! Although, I have not been in ministry extremely long, I can identify with what you write. I appreciate your openness and honesty about this unique calling in our lives!! I hope to meet you in person one day!! Thanks so much!!
.-= Rachel´s last blog ..Above all…… =-.
I have been hurt as a PK, youth director, and pastor’s wife. As long as you are in ministry at some point in time you will get hurt. It is a given. Our church split in 1994 long before we were even here. There is still hurt from the events leading to this split. From the stories I have heard, there is so much ugliness, attacks, and snide behavior. I don’t know how God can he honored by any of it. My hope is someday some of these people find reconciliation and there is forgiveness exchanged between the two churches. I don’t think it’s right, but I can see why non-Christians want nothing to do with the church when they see this!
One thing I learned which was also stated on page 95 was separating people from their actions. It makes them easier to love. Also having a humble spirit. I, too, have heard very few people in ministry state, “It was me. I messed up.” Instead I hear so much about people playing the victim, saying they were burned by the church etc. It makes it very easy to feel like the church is there to serve you verus the other way around.
All I can say is listen, listen, listen! Most people’s criticism have a hidden agenda you can find. For instance I had a parent upset with my youth program because her daughter never wanted to go. Her real struggle was the fact her daughter was in a toxic relationship that resulted in some pretty bad decisions that I obviously had no control over. People want to be heard. They want to belong. Often these people are very broken. Any kind of change makes them feel uneasy.
.-= Amy´s last blog ..Why I could not sleep last night =-.
I have to confess, I don’t have your book, even though I would love to read it! It is on my “Got to get while in the States” list.
I live in the south of Mexico where my husband is the preacher to his home congregation. We have been here almost eight years now after he felt called to attend preaching school. The church has been here since the mid 70’s, but has never had a healthy teaching of what Christian living really entails. This state is known for being one of the most stubborn states in Mexico, so I think the church needed someone just as stubborn as the members to really make it grow! :)
There were roughly 20 members when we arrived, and now Praise God the church is peaking the 90’s. Because of the growth, changes have been made. We all know change can be very difficult especially to those who are comfy with things as is. At present we find ourselves under heavy attacks of Satan, but at the same time we see the Lord sending more and more willing hearts to his flock.
It is so very hard to be the butt of critisism and discord. It is even harder when people are just plain mean!
I like what someone commented above about seperating the person from the sin. It is so hard. It is so hard not to take it personal when they attack on such a personal level! I think one thing we have really learned is to not fall in the same pattern as the unhappy brethren of murmuring and giving ear to gossip. I sometimes wish we could knock the dust off our feet and leave, but my husband is determined to see this church grow to the point of needing Spiritual meat.
SORRY TO RAMBLE! What I wanted to say is that your blog and this topic in particular really hit home with me, and I thank you and your readers for their encouraging words. Rom. 8:28 promises us that all things work to our good, and I pray that in the future we can see the warning signs that come with experience.
God bless!!!
.-= ´s last blog ..Brotherly Sisterly Love =-.
This whole chapter is underlined and re-underlined. I hate conflict. I am a “people-pleaser” and if everyone isn’t happy around me I suffer. I realize this is a sin issue in my life and beginning to deal with the fact that I must obey God and not seek man’s approval has gone a long way to begin to help me in times of conflict.
To my way of thinking my husband is the most winsome, charming man and best preacher around. (No bias there) I can’t understand why anyone would want to fight with him and always want to rush to his defense. This is especially true in our current situation where the church has developed a very bad habit of criticizing loudly and longly all of the leadership (lay and clergy). There are even cases of law suits against the church. I suffer and he suffers with such bitter words and attitudes.
It’s been painful to see a couple that was responsible for getting my husband and I together as a couple and have been good friends for years, suddenly give us the cold shoulder and quit attending. All over an administrative question (that the church council decided, not my husband). I have agonized over that. For my own peace of mind, I have had to let it go. I asked them if there was something I had done and they told me no, the problem was with the administration. So, why, I ask, have they quit speaking to me? No answer! I pray for them and await our reconciliation. It’s been hard to learn that I cannot control how other people feel about me. But through the Holy Spirit, my own attitudes CAN be controlled.
My husband and I have made a decision not to dwell on the conflicts and instead pray over them. Often we don’t even share with one another, so as not to “feed” a negative attitude. It is very easy to turn “sharing” into complaining or into gossip, as Laura pointed out in the Round Table. We chose not to “dig” at issues and to pray together or separately about such conflicts. That has really made it possible to love our ministry here and continue to open our hearts to this congregation.
.-= Peggy Fonseca´s last blog ..The Eagle Will Be Landing =-.
Necoe, OK, 34, lay person/former PW
I think this topic should be expounded to a whole entire book. :) (Maybe that could be your next book. LOL)
There is no perfect church out there, no perfect ministry, and no perfect pastor. I think what hurts so bad about church conflict is that in many ways it is like a marriage for the pastor and his family and the church as a whole. When the pastor leaves under difficult circumstances it’s similar to a divorce. Both sides are really hurting from the split. Then when the church “remarries” to another pastor they carry that baggage with them. (And many times the minister does too.)
There was one particular church related problem that I personally learned so much from. My husband was not the senior pastor, but was on staff. We tried to remain neutral as long as we could. The thing that sticks out to me most about that time was when, during a church meeting, one of the deacons asked the pastor if he had done anything wrong, and his answer was “no.” This stuck out to me, because in his mind he probably didn’t do anything wrong intentionally, but there were things said and done that had hurt other church members. I loved, Lisa, how you used the example in the book of going to that friend who was slowly pulling away from you because she had been hurt.
It saddened me to think of the people in ministry that I have perhaps “driven away” by unintentional mistakes.
After this time I did a huge personal study on unity, especially found in Ephesians. When we look at Christ’s example we should always, ALWAYS take the high road. He was after all God, and had the rights and powers of God, yet he humble himself, became a man, lived a life. Instead of taking his rightful place, he choose death on a cross.
How much more should we, especially the leaders of a church? The members will follow your example of humility and unity. There are some people out there who want to chase you away (we had a man once tell us that he chased all the other pastors from the church and he would do the same to us if he didn’t like us.) These are the minority though. Most church members want to know that you love them unconditionally, and that can be so difficult when they do things to hurt your family. (Or it seems like they are doing it to hurt your family.)
I also wanted to comment back to Beth, from a previous post. I love the devil’s wife story. You should embrace the humor in it. It can be very painful, but with forgiveness and peace you can look back and laugh. Think of how we laugh at Peter and all his blubbers. What a great lesson on personal perspectives. Use that opportunity as a way to build a bridge of forgiveness not fear.
.-= Necoe´s last blog ..A lesson in osmosis =-.
I have cried so many tears of pain these past 7 months. My husband has been in church ministry for over 10 years. One and half years ago, we moved from a loving church family in FL to our current church in KY where my husband is the pastor. We moved for several reasons, but the main reason was to be closer to our extended families (who live in KY and TN). Our two-year-old daughter was born with a rare condition effecting both her legs. She wears a right prosthetic leg and is missing bones in her left leg, knee, ankle and foot. We needed the support of our family….we needed to be closer to them. And in moving to this church in KY, we felt that God had given us a wonderful opportunity to be closer to family, to reach a large unreached community, AND to be closer to a hospital that gives wonderful care to our daughter.
Yet, members of our current church have been extremely hurtful in word and in deed. We are hurting terribly and I so long to be back with our FL church family. Just today I apologized to God for longing so desperately to be where He had not placed me. Despite the painful circumstances, I want to be content where He has me….I want to still sing praises to His Name and have joy in my heart because of Him alone. But right now, I just have tears and loving memories of what a church family can be.
.-= Tara´s last blog .."God moves it!" =-.
Port St. Joe, Fl. 29, Preacher’s Wife
We have just moved to a new church and leaving our first church brought about many mixed emotions. We have not experienced hurt or betrayal anywhere near what many in the ministry have, but I felt like we got just enough of a taste to grow some compassion in this area. I have to say that the lesson God has been speaking to me is that just because people think something doesn’t make it true. Just because people feel a certain way doesn’t mean it’s true. At the end of the day when I stand before God if I know that I have done my best to serve Him and His children, then that is all I can do.
That said, it doesn’t make it hurt any less when people say hurtful things! Just this last weekend we had an experience that had me so fired up (with a former church member) that I could have spit nails. Then our SS lesson was about taking the Lord’s Supper and not having anything against a brother. I knew I HAD to make it right in my heart. I had to forgive. When my hubby started preaching about the crucifixion and I started praying asking God what to do with my anger I heard His words, “Father forgive them, they know not what they do.” The story of His death hit me in a fresh way as my husband preached about the insults and the lies that people were saying about Him as He was crucified. It must have hurt worse than the physical pain.
Lisa, when you wrote about not fighting our husband’s battles, it was so what I needed to hear! My husband is so much more gentle and easy going than me. Sometimes I am tempted to tell people exactly what I think! But I know you are right that it would just hurt him and make him look weak. Thank you so much for your words of wisdom!
Port St. Joe, Fl. 29, Preacher’s Wife
We have just moved to a new church and leaving our first church brought about many mixed emotions. We have not experienced hurt or betrayal anywhere near what many in the ministry have, but I felt like we got just enough of a taste to grow some compassion in this area. I have to say that the lesson God has been speaking to me is that just because people think something doesn’t make it true. Just because people feel a certain way doesn’t mean it’s true. At the end of the day when I stand before God if I know that I have done my best to serve Him and His children, then that is all I can do.
That said, it doesn’t make it hurt any less when people say hurtful things! Just this last weekend we had an experience that had me so fired up (with a former church member) that I could have spit nails. Then our SS lesson was about taking the Lord’s Supper and not having anything against a brother. I knew I HAD to make it right in my heart. I had to forgive. When my hubby started preaching about the crucifixion and I started praying asking God what to do with my anger I heard His words, “Father forgive them, they know not what they do.” The story of His death hit me in a fresh way as my husband preached about the insults and the lies that people were saying about Him as He was crucified. It must have hurt worse than the physical pain.
Lisa, when you wrote about not fighting our husband’s battles, it was so what I needed to hear! My husband is so much more gentle and easy going than me. Sometimes I am tempted to tell people exactly what I think! But I know you are right that it would just hurt him and make him look weak. Thank you so much for your words of wisdom!
.-= Emily Fidler´s last blog ..Extreme Home Makeover: We Couldn’t Walk Through the Playroom Edition =-.
Wanted to let you know that my husband and I just finished reading your book and we loved it!!
I am recommending it to all of our ministry friends!
Add me to your blogroll when you get a chance!
Thanks so much!!
Erin (Married to a Worship Pastor) :)
1. What lessons have you learned in your most current season of church conflict that have made you and your hubby better servant leaders? What methods of forgiveness did you employ? Did you realize your own mistake and make amends?
Whew, this chapter was a good one and a hard one! Although our recent church conflict (is it really just a ‘conflict if your husband is fired?.. seems like that might be a little more than just conflict!) was a year and a half ago we still deal with the emotions and hurt! The Hubs and I were just talking about that yesterday. I know that in the future this conflict will help us when we serve at another church, mainly just because we have grown so much spiritually during this season in our lives. Eh, forgiveness.. that’s a hard one. Myself, I just pray that God will help me forgive. I’m not sure I’m there yet. For some reason this question brought me to tears. Big tears. So yeah, the emotions are very much still there. We have not made ammends. We have not spoken. Both my husband and I feel there were no mistakes made.
2. If you are still embittered because of a painful church experience, state as succinctly as possible why you’ve been unable to move forward. If you aren’t currently in a mess, speak encouragement in your comment to a sister who is.
I guess why I still struggle with bitterness is because of what I just said, we find no fault, no reason for how we were treated. And I know that God knows our heart. He knows who we are and He is in control. When we left we were baffled and confused. And we still are.
3. Anything in particular resonate with you from this chapter? I love where you quote 1 Peter 3:16-17 and say that God will never let unjustice reign…. maintain personal integrity. Yes.
.-= Crystal´s last blog ..Menu Plan Monday 4/5 ~ Weighing in =-.
BTW, thanks for your comment on my blog! I felt special to have you stop by!
.-= Crystal´s last blog ..Menu Plan Monday 4/5 ~ Weighing in =-.
Patty, 44 yrs. old, SC, married to a man who happens to be a pastor
This was a loaded topic for me, and I had to think about what exactly I should say. We were horribly hurt at our last church in KY. We basically left there and said to God, “NO more! We aren’t doing this again” However, as always, God had other plans for our lives.
We took 18 months off from the ministry to re-group and find that love for ministry that was missing. God healed our hearts, and took away the hurt while restoring us. As a result of that time, we are better equipped to serve our current congregation. The wonderful thing is that they love us, and show it; and we are able to truly reciprocate!
A huge lesson for me in all of this is that we did, in fact, make mistakes. While we didn’t do anything egregious to warrant the treatment received by those people, we certainly were not innocent.
I’d love to say, like a lot of you, that I stayed close to the Lord during that time, but I didn’t. I wanted Him to make it all better and when that didn’t happen, I was angry. I can see NOW that He had a plan, and He was working the plan. My relationship with Him has improved ten-fold through this experience.
I still struggle with wanting to defend Steve anytime someone says something no matter how benign–it’s ridiculous, and probably embarrassing to Steve! I’m working on it, though!!
.-= Patty´s last blog ..adoption pics =-.
Kay – Sierra Vista, AZ – senior pastor’s wife – 20 years of ministry
Great chapter and obviously one we can all relate too well to, and I do mean, sadly, too well. I am so grateful that God instilled me during my childhood years a deep love for His church because I’ve often felt that that love is all that has carried me through some very difficult seasons in ministry. And indeed, I do love His church passionately to this day, even though I get very angry with it too.
As I’ve read the comments above I’ve lost track of the exact questions I’m supposed to answer, but I’ll just wing it. I’ve also been struck with sadness by some of the current difficulties some are facing. I’m so sorry and my heart breaks for these dear women. I’m also strengthened to see that some of you have learned the same lessons I have so I must not be on the wrong page!
1. James and I have always felt it best not to defend ourselves at all. Yes, we’ll speak truth when appropriate and yes, we’ll answer questions and be up front about things, but we don’t go out of our way to defend our actions or words. This has been so hard for me. There have been many instances when I just wanted to pick up the phone or write a letter or stand up in business meeting and let someone have it. But, thank you Jesus, I didn’t. Boy, am I glad I didn’t. We believe God is our defender and He is very capable.
2. We’ve also learned that hurt people hurt people, so we try to be patient and forgiving and understanding of these hurtful folks. We assume there must be some reason they are on a mission to hurt and we somehow just ended up likely targets. That’s just the dilemma of ministry, unfortunately.
3. We do always try to look for that grain of criticism that we can grow from. Quite honestly, a lot of criticism just has to be tossed in the garbage, but there’s usually at least one or two nuggets of truth we can grow from. We don’t want our pride to keep us from being teachable, so we search hard if we have to in order to find something to grow from in the situation.
4. We try to keep in mind that we don’t battle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers of this dark world. Of course, that brings its own set of sadness. How sad to think that church members have lent themselves to the work of the evil one, but it happens. And that just calls for pity and compassion…usually. Sometimes, I do believe, it calls for a full frontal response to evil, drawing the sword of truth from its sleeve and doing the hard work of battle. But those times have been few and far between for us.
5. One final thing I’d like to point out. How my husband handles conflict leaves a lasting legacy for the next pastor of that church. Do ya’ll know what I mean? Sometimes we deal with crud from a congregation because they’ve been treated cruddy by their last pastor or by some pastor along the way. That’s not an excuse for bad behavior, mind you, but it happens. So we feel it’s always necessary and best to handle conflict with grace, with integrity, with dignity, with love, and with truth so that the next pastor and staff will be treated accordingly. We have an opportunity to set precedent or to break it. Big responsibility…
Loving it girls!
Kay
.-= Kay´s last blog ..100th Post Give-Away!!!! =-.
1. We have not yet faced the major conflict so many of y’all have had. Our main areas of conflict have been over new ideas vs. tradition. I haven’t seen any personal attacks. We are learning that the body of Christ is diverse, and that some people find meaning in things that we don’t. I also think this season has helped my husband and I really think what kind of leader he wants to be.
2. I really don’t think I can encourage from experience, but God did bring this Scripture to mind: Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. ~ 2 Cor. 4:16-18
3. My favorite quote was: “God will not allow even an ounce of pain if He doesn’t intend for it to produce pounds and pounds of cure.” So often I lack a long-term perspective on my trials, so this was a great reminder.
.-= April´s last blog ..Hope for the Future =-.