Episode 225: What Do We Do with “Church Hurt”?

For many, church is a sanctuary, a place of healing, guidance, and community. But for others, church can represent pain, betrayal, and confusion. Whether it’s due to witnessing a leadership failure, experiencing cultures of legalism, exclusion, or spiritual abuse - church hurt can leave lasting scars that challenge not only a person's trust in others, but also their relationship with God.How do people who have experienced these things overcome their feelings? How do we grieve the failures of people we respected and loved? How do we confront bitterness and what in some cases may be justification for personalsin? How do we find the strength to forgive and move on in our pursuit of Christ?In this episode, we're joined by Jonathan Kindler, professor of Biblical Counseling at the Living Faith Bible Institute, who has both experienced “church hurt” firsthand and dedicated much of his work to helping others navigate it. Together, we explore why these painful experiences happen in places meant for love and acceptance, and what people can do to overcome them. We also look at how leaders should respond when people in our congregations have experienced a trial or hardship within the church setting.Visit https://www.lfbi.org/learnmore