Love does not...
How do you know if something is abusive? Start by looking at what love does...and does not.
How do you know if something is abusive? Start by looking at what love does...and does not.
Last spring, law enforcement and community agencies around the United States reported that the number of calls for help dramatically decreased as stay-at-home orders became the norm. That’s good, right? Unfortunately, it’s not good.
Chances are good that if you have more than three members in your church, one of them will be touched by domestic/dating violence during his or her lifetime.
Sadly, most of these hurting parishioners (both women and men) will never find their way to your office and receive the spiritual nurturing they so desperately need.
Lisa, a retired engineer turned library director, sat looking at her phone as she sipped her morning coffee. It had been a year since she had retired and she was looking for something, some new way to connect with and love those around her. Not knowing what path to follow, Lisa prayed.
Elsewhere, Tricia and her husband John also prayed as they held the hands of their little foster son, five-year-old Sam. They had been to several hospital visits, sat in a number of waiting rooms, and watched Sam go through one painful round of medication after another. They weren’t sure how they would make it through to the next day.
Irmo, South Carolina is a special place to me. It’s the place where, four years ago, my husband and I were assigned on Call Day at the Seminary to Hope Lutheran Church. It’s where we brought both our daughter and son home. It’s where I now call home and where I have been blessed to be part of a congregation that is on fire to serve its surrounding community.
But our church had a problem that many churches can experience.