Battered boundaries in the church
Why did I suddenly, relentlessly, find my boundaries battered? Who knew battered boundaries in the church would set me on a new life quest?
Shunning in the church
When a group shuns, it rejects someone who has belonged. How shunning in the church looks, why it hurts so much – and why you can overcome.
Wrecked by religion in the church?
Have you seen anything prideful, controlling, cruel, in your church culture? Yes, and it’s wrecked you? No, not really? Either way, it matters what you do next.
Real royalty: Spectacle and grace in Esther
Esther’s story paints a picture of two types of reigning. One type turns on spectacle. The other flows from grace. “Which is real royalty?” Esther’s life asks.
Reign of terror: Narcissism in Esther
Two people in power. One, highly offended. The other, easily exploited. Both, given over to evil. As in Esther, that can erupt into a reign of terror.
Abusers like Ahab & Jezebel use one another
They’re eerily alike: Ahab and Jezebel, who ruled in Elijah’s day. Men and women church leaders, who use one another to abuse everyone else.
Obsession with power, in the church
You begin to see something distressing in the church. Can it, might it, be an obsession with power, eerily like the Baal worship of old? Whatever do you do?
Toxic church? Healing promise: Real belonging
Long ago and still today, God promises his traumatized, grieving, scattered people: I will be a sanctuary to you. I will protect you. I will gather you back.
Spiritual schizophrenia and the two-headed snake
"How long will you try to go both ways?" Elijah cried. When God's people opt into spiritual schizophrenia, they empower a two-headed snake.
Counting the cost, going with God
Counting the cost, going with God, may not look as we have thought. It may mean saying yes to the Lord Jesus and following him where our church culture forbids.