Stephen Mansfield begins Chapter 3 (“Man: The Greatness and the Grief”) of Healing Your Church Hurt by describing the glorious feeling we have when we experience the dynamic of joining with fellow believers as we worship the Lord and live as a community of faith. As we feel transformed, we believe we’ve found reasons for […]
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” -Hebrews 12: 1-2 In Chapter 2 of Healing Your Church Hurt, Stephen Mansfield summarizes the lesson we […]
In Chapter 2 (“The Sea Breeze of the Centuries”) of Healing Your Church Hurt, author Stephen Mansfield observes that when we hurt we think we’re walking alone. Since no one else has experienced our specific pain, they cannot possibly understand how we’re feeling- and don’t wish to draw near. This sense of isolation only deepens […]
As Stephen Mansfield concludes Chapter 1 of Healing Your Church Hurt, he discusses three important factors in finding the way out from religious offense syndrome. 1. We need to know how to be clean and free from what we’ve done to ourselves via our church hurt. This is not an attempt to fix the body […]
In Chapter 1 of Healing Your Church Hurt, author Stephen Mansfield notes that through reflection on his own woundedness he became aware that the cause of the offense is not as significant as the common characteristics of the offended soul. He goes on to list five characteristics of a poisoned soul. 1. A poisoned soul is […]
“A man’s suffering times are his best improving times.” -George Whitefield, Anglican priest, 1714-1770 For almost a decade Stephen Mansfield had been pastor of a near four thousand-member congregation that pursued the things of God. Then, amidst conflict and uproar, his pastorate came to an abrupt end. As Stephen describes that time, “Demons danced and […]
Stephen Mansfield begins Chapter 1 (“The Image of Our Folly”) of Healing Your Church Hurt by relating a defining image of his life that occurred at age 22. Stephen was a dormitory director at a major Midwest university. One day his pager buzzed with an urgent message to report to the sports complex. Paramedics were […]
In the Prologue of his book Healing Your Church Hurt, author and former pastor Stephen Mansfield poignantly describes what happens when a seemingly idyllic Christian church relationship suddenly turns sour: “Then it happened and you’ve been running the facts over and over again in your mind. There was the turning. Perhaps you should have seen […]
In Chapter 10 (“All the Way to Victory! Looking Beyond Ourselves”), the concluding chapter of Emotions, Charles Stanley discusses three lessons the Lord teaches us during times of adversity. 1. God is training you to trust Him for all your needs. Our inward focus and self-reliant attitude is a terrible form of bondage. That’s exactly […]
Charles Stanley ends Chapter 9 of Emotions with six ways to maintain our trust in God when we’re faced with difficulties and distresses. 1. Allow signs of despair to lead you to prayer. Dr. Stanley emphasizes that the negative emotions we’re experiencing reveal our need to turn to God and reestablish/strengthen our relationship with Him. […]
As Charles Stanley concludes Chapter 9 of Emotions, he compares God’s graciousness and tenderness to us in our adversity with God’s care for the prophet Elijah as he fled from Queen Jezebel. 1. The Father cared for Elijah’s physical needs. Being rundown from weariness, loneliness, and frustration negatively affects our emotions. Even though Elijah lost […]
In today’s post, Charles Stanley concludes his discussion of the four consequences of despair. 2. Poor testimony. Dr. Stanley states that Satan’s goal is to “damage your testimony and squelch your effectiveness for the kingdom of God”, to stop us from revisioning our calling. When despair is our primary response, there’s nothing in our witness […]