An abuser may be male or female from any culture or from any racial or socio-economic background. They may appear normal, charming, or religious. They may be the usher, the elder, or even the pastor at your church. Abusers come from all walks of life. Each abuser though does exhibit certain common traits. These traits…
Set aside the church’s self-prescribed “principles and practices”, and search the living Word to find out what Jesus would do. Here are some things Jesus would not do:
I have been pondering something. Whenever we educate the church about domestic violence, we often note that there is a high possibility that 1 in 4 women in their congregation have or will experience domestic violence in their lifetime. Let’s look at this from a different perspective. If we say there are 1 in 4…
Dear Pastor, Since 1995, FOCUS Ministries, Inc. has been reaching out to women who are struggling in abusive and dysfunctional relationships. Most of them belong to churches like yours. They sit in the pews on Sunday morning alongside their abusive husband. Perhaps you are unaware that behind the smiles and handshakes is a secret that…
Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. James 19-20 NIV All of us have from time to time said things that we later regret. Emotions run high and anger comes to the surface. There are,…
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:16-17 NIV This familiar passage of Scripture…
Close your eyes for a moment. Can you just picture God giddy with excitement as he was molding and shaping you in your mother’s womb. Picture Him with a twinkle in His eyes singing as he worked. And just before you were born He passed that twinkle as a special mark of his perfection on…
When someone has sinned against us, we must choose our response carefully. We may hear various voices from church leadership claiming to know what we should do. Forgive and forget are often the words they choose to say followed by a forceful push toward reconciliation. This approach places a heavy weight of guilt on the…
My 4 year old cries and cries and tells me to call someone to take us away because Daddy’s being mean again. He doesn’t hurt anybody physically but can make an otherwise wonderful day turn into a nightmare in a matter of seconds. He has an uncontrolled temper……always has. I’ve been married for 23 years…
I married a pastor. After 7 years of his alcoholic binges, and his horrible verbal abuse of my daughters (he was their stepfather), I left him and got a divorce. I know divorce is not an option in the Bible. but I didn’t know what to do, and couldn’t talk to anyone about what we…