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Why I Left My Church One Easter

Why I Left My Church One Easter-3 It took me more than five and a half years to write this story, the one where my heart left my church one Easter. And even now, I am fully aware of the following:

I left a building and a shepherd, not the people and not my true Shepherd. I still run a prayer group (going strong many years now) with wonderful women I met there. The Church, ultimately, is the Body of Christ, and I will never abandon her.

1 Corinthians 12:12-14, ESV
For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body–Jews or Greeks, slaves or free–and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many.

I still love the people who remain, and I am keenly aware that they have their reasons for finding something of value there. For a few years, I did as well.
None of this is to disrespect that particular church or shepherd. We are all God’s children.

But I believe this story has value. I hope you can have an open heart while reading it.

As Easter 2011 approached, I felt that sick feeling in my gut I had been feeling for years, really. Easter is a time to invite friends to church, to celebrate the resurrection of Christ, to spread love to a world that needs it (yes, we should be doing that all the time, but people tend to seek a church out for Christian holidays).

But I had a major problem:

I couldn’t picture wanting to invite anyone to my church.

In my mind at the time, right or wrong: If they were already broken, they could break more. If they needed Christ, they would only find Him being beaten on a cross.

They wouldn’t necessarily get the message that His resurrection brought grace.

I agree that it is very important we understand He took on our sin. Our sin and what should have been our judgment placed upon His body are realities we must never forget.

Every week I would crawl into the church seats needing the rest of the story and only hearing what a wretch I was. I didn’t mind the reminder, but I needed the part after the cross as well…the part about #grace.

— Bonnie Lyn Smith (@BonnieLynSmith) February 5, 2018

The judgment-only focus did not mix well with depression, anxiety, and abandonment already part of my history. Nor did it help a young mother longing to connect with a real, loving, compassionate God.

So, I knew it wasn’t a good sign when I begged my husband to go away that weekend with the kids. We could still attend church—just not our own. How sad is that? I’m not proud of that moment, but I needed the other half of the story. I needed grace. So to Burlington, VT, we went and worshipped and celebrated Easter with a lovely evangelical church there who took us in.

And that’s the day I knew I had to leave. Read the rest of this entry »

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Posted by Bonnie Lyn Smith on February 5, 2018 in Grace in Big Gulps, Healthy Church Life, Ministry Moments

Tags: 1 Corinthians 12, balm in Gilead, Body of Christ, broken pastor, brokenness, church accountability, church health, church hurt, church life, church oppression, communicating a loving God, communicating Jesus, compassionate God, depression, disagreement within church, do not forsake the fellowship, fellowship of believers, freedom of Christ, grace, grace in action, grace of God, healthy church, healthy churches, Hebrews 10:25, leaving a church, loving Father, loving God, one body, one Spirit, Shepherd, sin, spiritual health, toxic churches

Last 5 Signs of a Healthy Christian Church (Part 3)

17 Jun

Last 5 Signs of a Healthy Christian Church

We continue this week with the last installment of a three-part series on healthy Christian churches. The goal of this series is not population growth in a church but to give our churches a “check-up” to see if they are healthy or suffering from dysfunction: toxic dynamics, wrong teaching, or unbalanced leadership.

The first 10 signs can be found at 5 Signs of a Healthy Christian Church and 5 More Signs of a Healthy Christian Church (Part 2).

At the end of this list is a “bonus” sign listed, but really it is essential in the same way as Number One (Christ is the center of conversations, preaching, teaching, programs, prayer, worship, and all decisions.) Be sure to check it out because we begin and end with who God is, and really, isn’t that upon whom our faith is built? Read the rest of this entry »

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Posted by Bonnie Lyn Smith on June 17, 2016 in Drawing Healthy Boundaries, Healthy Church Life, Ministry Moments

Tags: bearing fruit, church accountability, church dysfunction, church health, church leadership, dysfunctional church, fruit of the Spirit, healthy churches, heaven, heaven and hell, hell is real, Holy Spirit, pastoral accountability, praying churches, trinity

5 More Signs of a Healthy Christian Church (Part 2)

10 Jun

5 More Signs of a Healthy Christian Church, Part 2

Last week we discussed 5 Signs of a Healthy Christian Church in an effort to take the pulse of our churches and discern whether they are healthy or suffering from dysfunction: toxic dynamics, wrong teaching, or unbalanced leadership.

This series is not intended to determine metrics for church growth. It serves more as a checklist to measure the heart, practice, and biblical integrity of our individual Christian churches.

Be sure to revisit our starting point in last week’s blog post, but here’s a quick recap of the first five points covered:

Christ is the center of conversations, preaching, teaching, programs, prayer, worship, and all decisions.

Conviction (repentance) and grace are both present.

The church welcomes and includes children, individuals with special needs and disabilities, and the mentally ill. This takes place from the top down.

There are sinners, still working through their sanctification, in the church.

The pastor is not a solo act. He is accountable to his denomination and/or affiliation.

Picking up where we left off, let’s examine five more signs of a healthy church. How is your church doing? Read the rest of this entry »

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Posted by Bonnie Lyn Smith on June 10, 2016 in Drawing Healthy Boundaries, Healthy Church Life, Ministry Moments

Tags: Body of Christ, church dysfunction, church elders, church health, church leadership, dysfunctional church, gossip, healthy church, healthy churches, miracles, partiality, pastoral accountability, pastoral care, pastoral humility, pastoral transparency, safe churches, servant leader

5 Signs of a Healthy Christian Church, Part 1

03 Jun

5 Signs of a Healthy Christian Church, Part 1 I think from time to time it’s good to do a “wellness check” on our churches. Over decades of church participation, I’ve been able to reflect on unhealthy congregations from the vantage point of safe, healthy ones.

With some regularity, I watch hurting folks crawl out of churches, still strong in their faith, but damaged and limping from the psychology of unhealthy leadership. Twice in my life, I, too, had to detox from churches that damage.

Why is that? How did well intentioned, theologically sound, God-fearing pastors and ministers of the Word end up being instruments of harm?

And really, no church is going to be perfect, so what’s the big deal?

To be clear, I do not have a theology degree. I do not currently have a paid staff position of ministry (although I have in the past). I have been merely an observer of brokenness within the church and have studied what it is that leads faith-filled, humble people to run for the exit ramp after years of trying to make it work.

I prefer to take it from the positive side. If you find your church has most of these elements, then I would say Read the rest of this entry »