This past year, I’ve had a front row seat–indeed, I’ve been fortunate to be in the thick of the action–as God’s been at work: in my life, in the lives of those around me, and in The District Church. Here are some examples: God’s been at work through prayer in my small group, where we’ve prayed for …
Love your neighbor as yourself: Thanks to @NevineZaki for posting.
Please, please, please read Nick Kristof’s op-ed: "Religion and Women."
Welcome to Advent! Hope you had a great Thanksgiving weekend! News Religious leaders around the world condemn the Swiss ban on minaret-building. Green Tips for (more) eco-friendly flying this holiday season. Miscellaneous Photo profiles of 47 world leaders.
News The House health care bill passes over the weekend, 220-215!! Meet Anh “Joseph” Cao, the lone Republican Congressperson to vote for the bill. Here’s a statement from his official website. As reasons go, standing up for the poor and uninsured in your district is a pretty good reason for it. And the fact that …
![[tw/cw: spiritual abuse]
Over the dozen years I've been in pastoral ministry, one of the biggest reasons that I've encountered for folks' disillusionment with God and faith and Jesus and Christianity is the chasm between what Jesus was like and what his followers — and especially those who claim to speak for him — are like.
It is hypocrisy, it is spiritual abuse, it is a lack of integrity, it is misuse of power and platform, it is exclusion and marginalization and oppression. These sins can so undercut the witness and words of Christians that it is no wonder people question whether Jesus actually makes any positive difference, whether Jesus is actually worth following.
A couple of weeks ago, I addressed this in a sermon on the Parable of the Tenants (Mark 12:1-12), because that is what Jesus was addressing — those who claim to speak for God but do what God would not do: engage in religious exclusion, economic oppression, and spiritual abuse.
It led me to share, for the first time in public, my own experience with spiritual abuse.
I hope this offers some healing for those in need.
Read more: https://www.justinbfung.com/2023/02/06/spiritual-abuse-and-starting-to-heal/
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