Brett Anderson @Isaiah45_7 - Twitter Profile

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about 2 months ago

“He left because his feelings were hurt.” “His expectations were not met.” “It is his sin that needs to be addressed.” “He is a divisive person.” “He would not submit to church authority.” “He’s not welcome to visit this church.” I could go on. There’s a scene in the movie Braveheart where William Wallace is betrayed by Robert the Bruce. When it happens, Wallace breaks and collapses, giving up. I know the paralysis that sets in when you’ve lost faith. I know the exhausting internal battle of wanting to glorify God while being silenced, whether by others or by your own inability to do anything but shut down. I know what it is like to have your thoughts and feelings dictated to you and to be labeled. I know what it feels like when collaborative gossip happens behind your back and you are ambushed. I know how stones feel when they come disguised as hugs and “I love you.” I know what it is like to try to lead your family to safety only to have the war follow you wherever you go, because a letter was sent and whispers of slander and gossip continued. I know what a prayer sounds like when you’re in fear that you may see someone who hurt you in public. I know the careful planning involved in forbidding certain people from being in my presence. I know the heavy shame of recognizing the right thing to do yet failing to do it because I was not equipped and could not due to more pressing issues such as a daughter’s bone marrow transplant. I know what it is to lose all faith in the very place that is called to offer help and safety, and to find it has become the primary source of anxiety and pain. I know the reality of both individual and systemic abuse in the church. I know church hurt deeply and intermittently. Having experienced it myself, I rank it among the most difficult seasons a believer can endure. I often point to the imagery of that particular scene in Braveheart to describe an experience that can stretch on for months, if not years. Yet even in all of this, no matter how deep the pain, no matter how numb and overwhelmed one becomes, Jesus remains worthy of worship. I know what it is to lose faith in the bride and cling to the Bridegroom, trusting in faith that He is sufficient. This is a topic that desperately needs to be studied and defended because far too many people minimize or dismiss it as emotional sabotage or toxic empathy or turn away to keep peace. In my experience, adding a deep study of classical theism, along with how biblical counseling should held and occur, greatly strengthens the discussion. In my opinion, biblical counseling lacks a deep connection to the biblical and systematic theology of classical theism. In this, counseling must reform to better align with biblical truth in order to understand the moral responsibilities of all parties in each context. Yet another field that must be explored and implemented to help bring understanding is logic. Abuse often happens due to illogical frameworks that manipulate and control the perceived reality and narrative. In truth, biblical counseling must be a multidisciplinary discipline in the form of listening ti gain understanding but remaining scripturally authoritative in first principles and in application, and in this reject disciplines that are antithetical to scripture. We must submit to God’s authoritative definition. “Guard your heart above all else,for it is the source of life.” Proverbs 4:23 I have really found these four books to be extremely helpful in equipping and guarding the heart with this topic in mind. If you’re a biblical counselor, I would appreciate your book recommendations on the topic of church hurt and church abuse. The betrayal - Braveheart https://t.co/ypxgUtow76

Isaiah45_7's tweet photo. “He left because his feelings were hurt.”

“His expectations were not met.”

“It is his sin that needs to be addressed.”

“He is a divisive person.”

“He would not submit to church authority.”

“He’s not welcome to visit this church.”

I could go on.

There’s a scene in the movie Braveheart where William Wallace is betrayed by Robert the Bruce. When it happens, Wallace breaks and collapses, giving up.

I know the paralysis that sets in when you’ve lost faith. I know the exhausting internal battle of wanting to glorify God while being silenced, whether by others or by your own inability to do anything but shut down. I know what it is like to have your thoughts and feelings dictated to you and to be labeled.

I know what it feels like when collaborative gossip happens behind your back and you are ambushed. I know how stones feel when they come disguised as hugs and “I love you.” I know what it is like to try to lead your family to safety only to have the war follow you wherever you go, because a letter was sent and whispers of slander and gossip continued. I know what a prayer sounds like when you’re in fear that you may see someone who hurt you in public. I know the careful planning involved in forbidding certain people from being in my presence.

I know the heavy shame of recognizing the right thing to do yet failing to do it because I was not equipped and could not due to more pressing issues such as a daughter’s bone marrow transplant. I know what it is to lose all faith in the very place that is called to offer help and safety, and to find it has become the primary source of anxiety and pain.

I know the reality of both individual and systemic abuse in the church.

I know church hurt deeply and intermittently. Having experienced it myself, I rank it among the most difficult seasons a believer can endure.

I often point to the imagery of that particular scene in Braveheart to describe an experience that can stretch on for months, if not years.

Yet even in all of this, no matter how deep the pain, no matter how numb and overwhelmed one becomes, Jesus remains worthy of worship. I know what it is to lose faith in the bride and cling to the Bridegroom, trusting in faith that He is sufficient.

This is a topic that desperately needs to be studied and defended because far too many people minimize or dismiss it as emotional sabotage or toxic empathy or turn away to keep peace.

In my experience, adding a deep study of classical theism, along with how biblical counseling should held and occur, greatly strengthens the discussion. In my opinion, biblical counseling lacks a deep connection to the biblical and systematic theology of classical theism. In this, counseling must reform to better align with biblical truth in order to understand the moral responsibilities of all parties in each context.

Yet another field that must be explored and implemented to help bring understanding is logic. Abuse often happens due to illogical frameworks that manipulate and control the perceived reality and narrative.

In truth, biblical counseling must be a multidisciplinary discipline in the form of listening ti gain understanding but remaining scripturally authoritative in first principles and in application, and in this reject disciplines that are antithetical to scripture. We must submit to God’s authoritative definition.

“Guard your heart above all else,for it is the source of life.”

Proverbs 4:23

I have really found these four books to be extremely helpful in equipping and guarding the heart with this topic in mind.

If you’re a biblical counselor, I would appreciate your book recommendations on the topic of church hurt and church abuse.

The betrayal - Braveheart

https://t.co/ypxgUtow76

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Brett Anderson

@Isaiah45_7

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